Warmth
The Montbell Frost Smoke Parka is the warmest jacket of the test, followed by the Patagonia Hi-loft Down Sweater. Montbell considers it to be a full-featured alpine sweater for highly active users and I’d whole-heartedly agree with that description.  It does seem to have the loftiest down of the group (meaning the most puffy). The baffling is vertical and the sewing construction plays a part in warmth. Also, the Frost Smoke has wind-shedding Ballistic nylon, which helped during testing since there were light wind gusts, which is typically the case in our high-alpine Colorado environment.

Fit
This jacket is the least fitted of any of the women’s down jacket. It has a unisex cut and drops straight down from the top of the shoulders instead of tapering in. Compared to the other jackets, it is shorter in the arms, tighter around hips, wider in the shoulders and roomier in the chest. Since all women have different bodies, this is not a negative and I know plenty of women who do not appreciate the fitted silhouette.

When I put the hood over my helmet, it pulled the jacket up higher on my waist and felt tight around my neck.  It’s not as helmet-compatible for me as some of the other jackets.

Compressibility
The Montbell Frost Smoke parka is puffy, but light. It fits into a slightly bigger sack than the Marmot Jena.

Weight
It weighed in at 11.3 oz. (very close to what Montbell lists, at 11.5 oz.). It’s in the middle of the pack as compared to the super light 7 oz. Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer and the 15 oz. Sierra Designs feature-heavy Super Stratus.

Features
My favorite feature of the Frost Smoke Parka is the fleece-lined hand pocket since I have long, bony fingers that are always cold. The velcro wrist closures are also a boon and keep my wrists warm. I like how the hood can work as a visor or offer more coverage thanks to a piece of velcro in the back. This jacket is the only one of the test to feature a more durable fabric (40-denier nylon taffeta) for reinforcement around the shoulders (for carrying skis, packs or your boots after skiing) and the elbows and forearms (which always rest on tables). The exterior fabric also has a water-resistant DWR treatment.

Value
At $189, the Frost Smoke Parka is a bargain if you are looking for a warm down jacket with wind-shedding DWR-treated fabric for use during alpine activities. A few features add warmth and comfort. It doesn’t have a typical women-specific fit, but that’s a boon to some. This is a great deal for under $200.