Mountain Hardwear Callisto Review

Hi, I’m Rachel Piontak, and I’m from Tulsa Oklahoma, and today I’m going to be talking about my Mountain Hardwear Callisto Softshell Jacket.

I love this jacket. I saved up for three months to buy it because I was so excited about it, and I still love it. That was 2 years ago.

My favorite thing about it is that it isn’t huge and bulky and extremely puffy like a marshmallow. And yet, it keeps me very warm. Because of the softshell technology it’s very wind-resistant, and it also has this soft inside.

So, this, and say, a fleece, is what I’ve been wearing as my winter coat for several years now. Granted, I’ve never spent a winter in Colorado so we shall see if this can continue. But no complaints about its warmth or its wind-resistance. I think that’s my favorite part actually, is its (wind resistance).

I wear it biking all the time because even if it’s not windy outside, biking down a hill will generate wind and I don’t get chilly with this on. It has several good pockets. I like that it zips up like this (flush, so the zipper is hidden by fabric), it’s a very small, very inconspicuous zipper I suppose.

And, as you can see from the inside, it’s a very big pocket; very roomy. I could stuff a lot of gloves and phones and lots of things in there and not be bothered by it.

It doesn’t have any arm pockets. I generally like arm pockets, but in this case, I don’t miss them. I guess because I like the other pockets so much. So, just two regular pockets.

It is a women’s jacket, so it’s cut a bit narrower right here (along the sides). That’s what I read on the product design website anyway, so I believe it, I suppose. (puts on jacket) I normally wouldn’t wear it over this fleece unless it’s very cold, but I guess it’s cold enough now.

So you can see that when it’s worn over my fleece and over my other shirt that it is a bit snug, but definitely still zip-able, and still very comfortable. I can feel it’s tight, but it’s fine. Normally I would wear something like this with just one long-sleeve shirt, or a base layer or something under it, and I would be very comfortable.

It also has the little additional (wrist cuff with thumb hole). It only starts right at your wrist, so it isn’t a whole other layer. It starts close to the wrist, and it has a place for your thumb. So that really, really cuts down on the cold breezes going into your arm. And it allows you to clench your fists and feel like you’re wearing gloves.

Ideally, you put gloves over this and then you’re completely covered because you’re holding down your sleeve and then you’re covering it with another layer, so that’s perfect.

Could you spin around in it?

Oh yeah! So you can see the narrower cut.

And how many stars out of 5 would you give it?

I think I would give it 5 stars. It’s everything that I think a softshell should be and more because it’s very comfortable.

Great, thank you so much!

Yep! Anytime.