Sierra Designs' DriDown Better Vest is a great mid-layer to have handy in your pack or own your back.

"A vest with covered shoulders?" my wife asked when I tried on the DriDown Better Vest from Sierra Designs.

Yes, it seemed odd. And even looks kind of odd. 

But it works.

When I first saw the vest (MSRP $99), I was curious, both of the shoulder sleeves and the quarter-zip neck. The quarter-zip was a no-brainer. I like the venting quarter-zips allow, and the lack of a strait-jacket feeling they provide. 

But those shoulder sleeves. I was initially stumped. What was the point, and how would they look?

The simple answer to their purpose is for added warmth. When a down jacket is too much, and a T-shirt not enough, this shouldered vest helps retain body heat. As for the look, well, a black base layer helps make these vests, with their vertical black stretch panels, look decent.

The vests are cut "trim," as the designers say. I was fearful that I would pop a seam pulling it on. But the stretch panels prevented that from happening, and also kept the vest snug. That was a benefit during a recent trip to Glacier National Park, where I tested the vest on a 16-mile roundtrip trek to Avalanche Lake, and the next day while snowshoeing above Marias Pass.

The vest, with 800-fill duck down, did peel off my body somewhat damp, but it dried quickly.

All in all, a great light, packable mid-layer when it's not too cold nor too warm.