Up until this season, the wool midweight jackets we’ve tried have been woefully heavy—nice for around town, but too much to lug in your pack. Enter this game changer: It packs a lot of warmth and versatility into a sub-one-pound package that scrunches up small (about the size of a mini Nerf football).

The Sierra (Cascade is the women’s version, pictured) is made of buttery soft, stretchy, 21-micron merino that has a lofty, brushed, heat-trapping inner surface with a smooth, pill- and snag-resistant outer surface. “The wool breathes really well, even under a shell, so I found myself keeping this on through a wide range of conditions and exertion levels,” says one tester who also wore it solo on dry days up to 60°F, and under a shell down to freezing.

The fit is all performance with a body-hugging torso and a to-the-butt hem. Gripe: Zippered handwarmer pockets fall directly under a pack hipbelt.

$200 (Sierra)

$180 (Cascade)

14 oz. m’s S-XXL, w’s XS-XL

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