Anyone used the Feathered friends Helios or Volant?

Just want to know if anyone has some advice on which to get / experience with the product. I’m a fan of feathered friends and looking to buy a medium weight down parka. Helios is 200g and Volant is 300g down for reference. Khumbu is too much for my needs. The alternative is getting a MH Nilas on sale. Mainly will be used for cold belays, summit days on Rainier and just a bomber never cold layer.

Been using FF for 25+ years. I have a Frontpoint jacket (what is now the Khumbu). For a medium weight jacket the Volant would be my choice as it is baffled. But I have never needed a down jacket like that on Rainier, cold belays yes.

I got a Volant for 6,000m peaks in the Andes and it was perfect for that application. It's a great jacket for really cold conditions though very bulky. If it's cold enough for my Volant, it's too cold for me to climb rock. The detachable hood (on my circa 2005 version) leaves something to be desired IMO. If a hood is important to you, I'd look elsewhwere.

I own and use a Hooded Helios. Great jacket, super warm for its lightweight, but the hood sucks. It's "helmet-compatible," but just barely. It's super tight and I'm not able to zip it all the way as the hood's too small.  IMHO, all FF's hoods desperately need a redesign. 

If I were you, I'd take a look at the Rab Mythic Ultra - 240 grams of 900-fill down at a total jacket weight of 537 grams in a men's medium. That's a lot of warmth for not a ton of weight.

I'd also consider the Cumulus Neolite Endurance - 255 grams of 850-fill down at a total jacket weight of 532 grams.  Cumulus is a Polish company who hand-stitch their products in Poland using the plumage of Polish geese; considered to produce the best down n the world. 

Not going to lie, the Rab Mythic looks amazing

I actually own both the FF Volant and the Rab Mythic Ultra. If I could go back in time I would probably have purchased the Helios instead. Don’t get me wrong, the Volant is the the warmest jacket I’ve ever owned and it seems quite durable.  That said, as PNW resident who mostly climbs in WA/OR, I have yet to encounter a scenario where this jacket felt warranted (even atop Rainier!). Do I still pack it with me on less intense summits (Hood/Adams) just in case I were to get caught in a storm, yes…but practically speaking it has always felt unnecessary. The RAB Mythic Ultra is without a doubt the most comfortable jacket that I can remember owning. I really like how it extends past your waistline. I don’t belay, so I get that this might be a negative attribute depending on your use cases. My only knock on this jacket is that it feels paper thin. You can even see the down through the (10D) material. Then again I mostly wear it around town and have not put its durability to the test in a more rigid environment.

Hope this helps!

Rab makes great down jackets, I have been happy with the Positron for 6000m peaks- it hits a sweet spot for warm, durable, but still fairly light. Looks to be the same overall weight as the volant at around 750g). Worth noting that i hardly use this weight of jacket in the pnw though. I haven’t used FF jackets (but I know they make quality stuff, I got their sleeping bag for Denali)