Mammut Women's Miva Hooded Down Jacket

Still on the fence
March 11, 2012

I'd like to start off by saying that I have bought Mammut in the past and have usually been very pleased with the fit and quality. With the Miva, though, I am still on the fence about it. I have been searching for the perfect down jacket for the whole season. The Mammut Miva jacket is very lightweight and warm, warmer than other jackets I have tried, including the popular NorthFace and Patagonia. That said, this has been one of the wimpiest winters we have had on record in Minnesota so I have not tried it out in a truly harsh environment yet. Appearancewise, there are some things about the Miva that are distracting. With this jacket Mammut has gone to the fitted look that is so popular today. I am 5'3" so although the waist part fits me fine, the jacket is a bit long on my torso so it ends up below my crotch and is rather restrictive there since it ends on my butt where for someone who is 5'7" it would probably be hip length. I had this problem with every other brand of jacket as well, most likely because of my height. This jacket does have a two way zip so that allows me to unzip on the bottom and have a better movement. This just doesn't look quite right, however. Secondly, the assymetric stitching gives it an off look. Thirdly, although this is the warmest of the 750-800 fill jackets I have tried on I have noticed a lot of feathers keep sticking out. I know that is the nature of the beast with down. However, these seem to be actual feathers, with the hard quill part and on the longish side, and they do not look like down clusters. To sum it up, this jacket is the warmest, has an odd fit, questionable down quality and distracting stitch. Since I need a warm coat, though, I am still trying to decide on this one. BTW I am 5'3", 130 lb, 34" chest.