Montane Men’s Fireball Nano Hooded Jacket Review 2023

Recently nominated for an Outdoor Industry Awards prize at the 2023 Outdoor Trade Show this ultralight and versatile insulated jacket is great for both high intensity activities and rest stop throw ons.

PROS

• Ultra Lightweight
• Windproof
• Warm enough for summer rest stops

CONS

• Unnecessary handwarmer pockets.

Montane have been a staple on the UK mountain and climbing scene for over 25 years and were an early adopter in the trail running scene. There will be very few hikers and climbers who won’t have heard of their famous Terra Pants and any weekend on the hills will be filled with people wearing them (including this reviewer). They do, however, have an excellent range of innovative hiking and trail running kit as well as an extensive selection of classic mountaineering and climbing kit.

The Montane Fireball Nano Hooded Jacket is part of the Fireball insulated jacket range and sit at the lightweight extreme end. At a gossamer 225g it really is (and feels) totally lift and compact and great to wear. It reduces weight by ditching the insulation in the arms and hood and just focuses on delivering warmth to the core areas. This makes sense because for the activities the jacket is designed for (summer hiking and trail running) you’re not planning on stopping for long, if at all, so you don’t need as much extra protection as you might need in winter.

The perfect situation for the Montane Fireball Nano Hooded Jacket, a breezy reststop on a fasthiking day.

The breathable, stretchy, Featherlite outer is made from nylon and felt perfectly fine next to skin so I was able to wear it with just a t-shirt without feeling chaffed. That said, I feel the seams in both the arms and the hood would benefit by being either flat locked or counter lapped instead of serged. This would have helped with extra shower resistance as well as offering a more comfortable and premium feel to it. Also the arm construction felt a little over complicated and would have benefitted from being a one piece construction. I understand that maybe that compromises articulation at the elbow but the added shower resistance of less seams would be better in typical UK conditions. However, it’s been perfectly fine to wear and totally comfortable, although I haven’t worn it for actual climbing as I feel the material could rip easily if caught against rough rock).

Although I would only climb in the jacket in an emergency, for summer belay sessions it was perfect.

The DWR has worked well, I’ve been using the jacket throughout the summer including this recent rainy spell. The water beaded off well and the jacket dried out quickly, it has also been as breathable as it can be for my body conditions – I run hot and sweaty when running so no windproof (or fleece for that matter) can cope with those conditions and I don’t expect it to. As I said above though, it dried out quickly and the beauty of synthetic insulation is it can be popped in the wash and it will be dry and ready to wear in no time.

The hood is elasticated and will fit over a cycling helmet (just), if you completely zip up the YKK main zip it will impair head mobility (when wearing a helmet) but it you have it partially undone (which is more likely in belay situations) it’ll be fine. Think, breezy belays where you can through the jacket on and you want a bit of extra warmth on your head. The arm cuffs are elasticated too and are easy to pull over lightweight gloves and provide a good seal. The two, zipped, hand warmer pockets are well situated but I feel are unnecessary for this type of jacket. The Fireball Nano is designed for fast moving activities and in these situations hand warmer pockets are redundant. It would be much better to have a single, large chest pocket for accessing food or a phone. Indeed, with the advent of modern style trail running harnesses on packs I’d argue that no pockets are needed. That said, people like and expect pockets so it’s a tough call – it’s no use being too niche if no-one buys it.

The hooded fitted well with a cap and the DWR shed showers well, dodging showers trail running over Barden Moor, YDNP.

Finally the insulation is 40g/m2 of recycled polyester so more than enough to keep the chill at bay for that important drink or food stop. The insulation is applied only at the front, back and shoulders and is internally baffled. It’s worked perfectly well for all the activities I’ve been using for which has mainly been fast hiking, trail running and sport climbing belaying. The compact nature of the Fireball Nano Hooded Jackets means there is no excuse to not pack and if it means I can ditch a windproof and shave some pack weight then all the better!

The Montane Fireball Nano Hooded Jacket comes in two colour ways: Eclipse Blue and Acer Red and sizes S-XXL.

The SRP is £165 and it can be bought direct from montane.co.uk

Disclaimer – CGR reviewers and writers are never paid to provide a review and the website does not take advertising or link to affiliate sales. We are a bunch of keen climbers and travellers that accept sample products and offer an honest and independent review of the item.