down jackets

[ihavea4]

I've been looking at a lot of down jackets lately, and I'm having a hard time picking which one would be best for backpacking/thru-hiking. What jacket do you use for normal 3 season backpacking? How did you like it?

[Drybones]

I have a $21 down jacket I got at Walmart, was using a $200 Marmot but I like this one better.

[Bags4266]

Here's my 2 cents on down jackets. I own a vest and Patagonia down sweater. While they are warm, light, packable they are only good for when at camp. They are not good to hike in. I prefer items that I could get double duty out of. This reduces pack weight and provides me with other options. For example a nice fleece is comfy at camp use it for a pillow, hike in it. Dries quick.etc.

[Tharwood]

I got luck and found a Montbell on Ebay for $50.. It is the 800fill Ballistic..... Very , very , warm. almost too warm. and very light weight.... Best $50 Ive spent in a while... JMTC

[4shot]

got a land's end 800fp down jacket on sale for $50 the winter before my hike ('10). May be the best value piece of gear I ever bought. great jacket for in camp plus I wad it up and stuff into a small cotton stuffsack at night for my pillow. it's extremely warm...I can't imagine ever needing to wear it on the AT with a pack. I'd burn up. I think down has gone up (no pun intended) so I don't know what they would cost on sale these days but it ranks among my favorite gear purchases ever. It has over 3,000 trail miles on it plus plenty of use around home and it still looks brand new.

[Coffee]

I have been pleased with my Montbell UL Down Parka. It is an expensive piece of gear but very warm for the weight. Occasionally you can get one on sale. I think that I paid $140 for mine. I wear it only in camp and often in my sleeping bag on colder nights. I recommend the parka over the jacket since the added weight for the hood seems worthwhile to me.

[Miner]

I've been using a Montbell Ext. UL down jacket for several years and was happy with it on the PCT and AT. I bought it fore most for the low weight. Its too hot to hike in for very long (never lasted more than 15 minutes after leaving camp before I take it off). Trying to wear it on the first climb you hit will cause you to generate too much heat and sweat which just gets it wet which is a mistake I've noticed some other hikers making with down jackets. You need surprisingly little insulation once your body has warmed up as you hike. I use it as a comfty pillow at night in a stuff sack with other clothing and for wearing around camp in the evening or morning where I found it more then warm enough. Though in camp, other then breaking or setting up camp, my bottom half is always in my sleeping bag which helps with warmth in below freezing temperatures.

Even using a quilt which doesn't have a mummy hood like a sleeping bag does, I've never felt the need for a down hood when doing 3 season backpacking where temperatures can range from ~20F and above. My lightweight MH Powerstretch balaclava works well across a wide range of temperatures as there are a lot of ways you can wear it that changes how warm it feels even if it can look dorky at times.

[Coffee]

The only time I ever wore my Montbell UL Down Parka while hiking was descending from Mt. Whitney. I didn't wear it on the ascent but it went on immediately once I got to the summit where I froze my butt off for a couple of hours waiting for sunrise. I didn't want to take it off on the descent but I did layer my rain jacket on top of it to protect the parka from abrasion against my pack. I wasn't really sweating much going downhill. I did remove the down parka at trail crest. I would never normally wear it while hiking even on a descent if I wasn't ending the hike that day and heading into town. Too important to guarantee that down stays dry.

[SunnyWalker]

I've gpot a real expensive one from Lands End and my Wal-mart Royal Falcon lightweight down jacket. On the CDT this June 2014 I am taking the Royal Falcon. I treated with Nikwax it so it will repel water. I am not planning on using it as a rain jacket but wanted to protect it a little.

[drew_a_blank]

I run very warm when I exercise, so I personally don't need insulation while hiking. I have a Patagonia down sweater and am happy with it. I used to have a synthetic style puffy, but after a year, year 1/2 it was suffering some serious insulation collapse. I needed something more durable and went with down, and am glad I sprung for it.

[ihavea4]

Thanks for all the responses guys! I haven't looked into fleeces much, but maybe I should... It also seems I don't really understand the typical layering systems, so hopefully you can help enlighten me. I have a Patagonia Cap 4 top, but I always planned to use that as more of a base layer, either at camp or in the morning while it's cold for hiking. I figured I should have a separate item for camp, which would always stay dry, which is why I am looking for a down jacket. Am I way off here, or is that about right? Are there any other pieces of clothing I'm missing here? I do have a rain jacket, I'm mostly asking about insulation stuff now.

[Bags4266]

Find a layering system that works for you. Go on short hikes in different climate situations. Eventually you will find your favorites and go to's. Then try to improve in quality and weight.

[Tron-Life]

Here's my 2 cents on down jackets. I own a vest and Patagonia down sweater. While they are warm, light, packable they are only good for when at camp. They are not good to hike in. I prefer items that I could get double duty out of. This reduces pack weight and provides me with other options. For example a nice fleece is comfy at camp use it for a pillow, hike in it. Dries quick.etc.

Ditto. Most down jackets come in at just under a pound but for a few extra ounces you could get a fleece that you could hike in during the cold rain, wear if you sleep cold, use as a pillow, or whatever. After bringing my Marmot Zeus down jacket on a few trips and not using it, I decided to only bring it during the winter
season. Also, down does nothing when it gets wet so that limits it's effectiveness when you need it most during a cold rain. The only use for down that I can see would be to wear it after a really cold day after getting wet hiking, but by the time you get to that point you might as well get into your sleeping bag instead. I used my down as a pillow most of the time but that tends to wear the garment down quicker from twerking and twisting the down at night. I tried using a insulated synthetic jacket from Patagonia (the Nano-Puff jacket) but it weight only 3oz less then the fleece and doesn't keep you nearly as warm; however, it does pack down smaller but that's not much of a trade-off in my opinion.

[bigcranky]

Montbell UL Down Inner, or Alpine Light. The Down Inner is lighter and thus less warm. The choice depends on whether you want to push the 3-season boundary a little. In either case I would definitely get the parka for the hood. These are often on sale at the end of the season.

If you have the cash, the Western Mountaineering Hooded Flash Jacket is pretty awesome. I saved my pennies for a couple of years, and sold several puffy jackets to get one.

[WILLIAM HAYES]

look for one at wally world i got one for about 20 bucks dwr treated works great light weight packs in its own pocket

[ihavea4]

I do like the Montbell jackets, and the Western mountaineering Flash... Any recommendations for fleece jackets? It seem the Patagonia R series are pretty popular.

[Drybones]

look for one at wally world i got one for about 20 bucks dwr treated works great light weight packs in its own pocket

You'll have to wait until next year, at year end they were going for $9.