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Rab Cirrus Insulated Jacket — The mid-layer you wear every single evening
Best overall

The mid-layer you wear every single evening

Rab Cirrus Insulated Jacket

PrimaLoft synthetic, packs to a water bottle

4.4 on Amazon

Synthetic keeps insulating when it gets damp, which in a Himalayan spring matters more than the extra warmth-per-gram of down — it is noticeably less warm than a down jacket of the same weight, and that is the deal.

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What you get

  • Still warm when damp — the whole case against down in wet seasons
  • Packs small enough to live in a daypack all day
  • Face fabric survives a rock scramble

What it costs you

  • Less warm than equivalent-weight down
  • Not enough on its own above 4,500 m
  • Not windproof

Do not buy this if: Sub-zero evenings at 5,000 m as your only warm layer. This is the mid-layer under a down jacket, not a replacement for one.

Treks we recommend this for

Not every route needs it. These are the ones where our guides would put it on your list.

The alternatives

Everything else we recommend in insulation & down, including the ones we think suit a different trekker.

Rab Microlight Alpine Down Jacket — For people who will use a down jacket at home tooBest down jacket to own

For people who will use a down jacket at home too

Rab Microlight Alpine Down Jacket

Warm, well-cut and light enough to carry all day — but understand what you are buying: a rental shop in Thamel will hire you a warmer expedition jacket for a few dollars a day, and we earn nothing telling you that.

Skip it ifOne trek and then a wardrobe. Rent a −20 °C jacket in Kathmandu for a fraction of this and spend the difference on boots.

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Baffled 800FP down, rated around −20 °CRent, do not buy

The big parka for two cold nights of a two-week trek

Expedition down jacket (−20 °C)

You need this for perhaps three evenings of an Everest Base Camp trek. Buying one costs several hundred dollars; renting one in Kathmandu costs a few, and the shops keep them in good condition because their business depends on it.

Skip it ifAnyone who trekks or climbs regularly. If this is your third Himalayan trip, buy your own.

Rental shops in Kathmandu and Pokhara carry this — about usd 1-2 per day in thamel or lakeside. We take nothing from that.