An ultra-light synthetic hoody that scares away the competition.

The base of operations for Mister Wrist(er) is located in Montreal, Canada, which is home to some of the harshest winters on the planet. My wife and I started seriously running about three years ago, and in that time we’ve tackled Trail runs, as well as Half and Full marathons. Our runs were primarily during the balmy summer season, but it was only last winter that we woke up one (too cold for comfort) morning and decided; let’s try our hand at winter running.

In that time, we’ve learned a thing (or two) about stepping out into the frigid sub-zero temperatures that visit this northern city every winter season. Essential; if you are planning on staying active when its -10 (+) below, invest in great layers. We visited both Arctery’x and Ice-Breaker stores and chatted extensively with the store staff, trying to soak up as much knowledge about winter layering as we could. It really seems like a daunting world for a beginner runner, where the heaviest and thickest coat is counter-intuitively not the right answer.

Ultra-Light Mode : Activated

This is where the search for an ultra-light synthetic jacket became a slight obsession of mine. I had already built up my current cold weather running system with an Ice-Breaker merino base layer, an Under-Armour quarter zip mid layer, and a Nike winterized running softshell jacket. This was perfect for temperatures of 5 to -15 degrees. However, I needed to sub out my softshell jacket for something insulated and ultra-light for those extreme temperature runs of -20 and below.

After searching through the archives of The North Face, Arctery’x, Salomon, and Rab, I fell onto the Mountain Hardwear Ghost series of garments. I was immediately struck by how much this line stood out vs the others I had researched. Form-fitting, and not overly baggy. Extremely light, yet durable. Constructed with an outer layer of fabric that appeared bright vs dull, as well as a subtle logo placement. The Ghost “Whisperer” hoody series was made of 800 fill goose down, which would have worked great to toss on at the end of my run to keep warm, but I needed something that would not get overly wet during my high output period of running. Therefore my attention turned to their Ghost “Shadow” line. This was a similar garment, but constructed with highly breathable synthetic insulation. I opted for the all black colour-way, which was the stealthiest configuration.

The Specs

-recycled 10D x 10D face fabric and lining

-80g insulation (body), 60g (hood + side panels)

-2x zippered hand pockets

-packable with internal carabiner clip loop

-drawcord hem adjustment

The Proving Ground

My goal is to report back on the performance of this garment once the heavy winter season kicks in here in Montreal. My usual route is along the lachine canal, which tends to track even cooler given the flat topography and body of frozen water. I’ll have my trusty running companion in the Casio AE – 1200 beside the cuff of the Ghost Shadow during all the future testing.

-Mister Wrist(er)