Eberlestock McCall Jacket Review

Some pieces of gear get a lot more consistent use than others. To me, a good jacket (similar to a good pack) is one of those pieces. It gets thrown around camp, it brushes up against just about everything, gets exposed to many different elements, hopefully, gets a good amount of blood on it, and still needs to be durable enough to perform well to keep you warm, dry, and comfortable at the same time. While Eberlestock is very well known for its high quality and dependable packs, its technical apparel also aligns with this earned reputation.

It’s not easy coming up with a good insulation or outer layer, as our gear-centric industry has picked apart so many different pieces of apparel. There’s a big reason you’ve seen so many apparel companies come and go over the years, and it’s because making good technical apparel is tough, really tough. As premium jackets have continued to get more and more expensive, I think that as consumers we all expect more out of them–I know I certainly do. I’ve been using Eberlestock’s line of technical apparel for a few years now, and all of their offerings have done an excellent job with durability, range of motion, fit and finish, and function. I have yet to have any of them fail me, and our Arizona deserts are not very forgiving for apparel, to say the least.

We had the pleasure of testing out this new Eberlestock McCall jacket on our Idaho Spring bear hunt last year before the McCall series was released and have been wearing it and putting it to good use since then. So, no, we didn’t just get this jacket in the mail yesterday. I’m not going to get too far into the weeds on the specs, as you can visit the website listed in this article to learn more about that, but I am going to tell you how much I enjoyed wearing these McCall series jackets. I pretty much lived in this jacket for about a week, and in that week, Idaho threw just about every weather condition at us–rain, snow, wind, and sunshine. To be honest, it could not have been a better time to really put a jacket to the test.

The level of comfort that this Eberlestock McCall jacket provided was far greater than I expected. It kept me dry, warm, and comfortable through it all, as it was specifically designed for extreme conditions and frigid temperatures. The outer layer of the jacket has a 20D DWR-treated fabric, keeping the feathers inside and any water or liquid right off. Not only that, but it also cleaned up very nicely after getting quite a bit of blood on it (successful hunt). It features a premium 850-fill-power Granger DWR-treated down with graphene-filled side panels, and the entire jacket can stow into its own pocket when not in use. In fact, I used it as a pillow at the end of the night during the hunt.

The range of motion you have in this jacket while glassing, moving in steep country with quick elevation changes, and the adjustable cinch cords were thoughtfully designed with active hunters in mind. While it’s not meant to be a brush-busting jacket, there were plenty of those moments and this McCall series held up great. In similar conditions, a different down jacket would have been torn to shreds.

The McCall series is offered in a hooded down jacket, a regular down jacket, and a down vest in several different solid and camo colorways. I highly recommend this for any adventure you have on the docket, and I’m certain it’ll serve you well, as it’s done for me.