REVIEW: Wild Things High Loft

Wild Things has been producing clothing for alpine sports/mountaineering/etc. for several years and is somewhat lesser known compared to NorthFace, Arcteryx, and the like. They also have a Militaryline, like many US outdoor companies, and some contracts with the US military – for example, the Loft clothing issued to the US Marines. Today, Martin takes a look at a heavy winter jacket, the High Loft by Wild Things.

The High Loft Jacket is essentially a civilian version of the well-known Level 7 ECWCS jacket or the US Marines Happy Suit often found on Ebay.com. The main difference with these jackets is the hood - on the High Loft Jacket, it is fixed and not removable. USMC and ECWCS jackets, depending on the manufacturer, may have detachable or stowable hoods.
Other features:
70 Denier textured nylon shell
6 oz PrimaLoft Sport Synthetic filling
2 large outer pockets with 2 oz Primaloft filling and zipper closure
2 large interior mesh pockets
330d Cordura reinforced elbows down to the wrists
Hood with visor (pictured above), inner drawstring, and extra collar to keep the neck warm when the hood is not worn
Elastic drawstring waist - adjustable inside through the two outer pockets

The jacket - here the inner view...is kept simple, no unnecessary frills, beautiful Coyote Brown, and very, very warm. The jacket runs large, designed to be able to wear multiple layers underneath + chest rig and plate carrier. The author normally wears XL and the size L jacket is still very wide, which is not a problem if you want to wear additional layers underneath. With the loft jackets, you always end up looking like the Michelin Man. This is evident from the pictures.

The warmth performance is significant (pictured: inner lining with large mesh pocket): normally you can wear it outside without additional insulation. A t-shirt and shirt underneath, and it's nice and cozy. It provides very good wind protection and quickly provides the desired insulation. A special highlight is the hood, which snugly fits the face with the inner drawstring and leaves only a small part exposed.

When compressed in size Large (sleeve closure in the picture), it becomes a package, where the bulky hood is a downside, making it somewhat challenging to compress, but considering the temperatures it's designed for, the size is acceptable. The weight is also acceptable for the size.

CONCLUSION: Beautiful, simple, and warm. Other than the compression issue, I don't notice any negatives, although it is a huge thing in my size. It is not cheap, I purchased it in Germany for 245 euros, you may be able to find the Marine jacket cheaper on Ebay.com if you're lucky (and you might get it at a lower price there in spring and summer). Importing it doesn't make it much cheaper, customs and shipping add to the cost. The US price is $299 - it's hard to find it cheaper anywhere else.
The Wild Things High Loft costs $299 directly from the manufacturer.

Special thanks to Martin for this review