Do I need both a fleece and a down jacket?

[WalkingOnTheWind]

I will be starting March 31, and I am unsure of if I should take both a fleece to hike in and keep a down for camp. I want to take both, but I don't know if this would be overkill for this time of year or not. I don't have any experience with long distance hiking so any input would be appreciated.

[ryanwflynn]

Just take a down jacket. It weighs less and compacts smaller. A good pillow in warmer months! I would carry a long sleeve additional base layer as well.

[illabelle]

Personally, I wouldn't go out on the trail in March/April without both my down and some fleece. There's a good chance you'll need both to stay warm. And if your down gets wet, the fleece may keep you alive.

[Ercoupe]

Does your raingear/outlayer add any warmth? Being in Alabama you will have a hard time fine tuning. I would take both and send one home, chances are you will be sending other things home. It is nice to pull on the warm puffy as your body cools off in the evening.

[peakbagger]

I would suggest both and make sure the fleece is wind block type. Folks tend to forget that the AT runs on the ridgeline at 4 to 6 thousand feet and wind is an issue. Down is pretty useless for hiking all day unless its bone dry out. Great for camp

[kayak karl]

i hike in Jan and Feb and don't even own a down jacket. i have a micro fleece for hiking. for me. get to camp, get water, start diner, setup hammock, eat, get it hammock.

[lemon b]

Maybe down and merino wool would be a better option. Long sleeve base and wool while hiking. Add the down in camp.

[clb]

Personally, I wouldn't go out on the trail in March/April without both my down and some fleece. There's a good chance you'll need both to stay warm. And if your down gets wet, the fleece may keep you alive.
+1.........

[moldy]

Confused by the variations in answers yet? Take the canoly leave the gun. Take the down jacket. Leave the fleece. You can't hike in the fleece, it will be soaked through in a 30 minutes. To get going on cold mornings, get everything ready, take off your down jacket, put on your rain jacket, put on your pack and get moving.

[bigcranky]

I bring both. A light 100-weight fleece pullover, and a down jacket. The fleece can be worn in very cold weather for hiking if needed, but I mostly use it as a mid layer in camp and on breaks, and sleep in it on very cold nights.

[louisb]

I use a windshirt over merino wool base layer for hiking and a down jacket in camp. Been fine with this down in the 20s.

--louis

[mountain squid]

You can't hike in the fleece, it will be soaked through in a 30 minutes.:confused:I've never had that problem. I hike very comfortably in my fleece. I would think that would be true if hiking in down though. Not too mention that the material for a down jacket is not something I would want under my backpack increasing the possibility of it tearing. Thereby making a down jacket mostly useful only in camp. If you get cold in camp, then get in your sleeping bag . . .

If I were starting in Jan/Feb (or if I ever seriously consider the PCT) I might consider a down jacket for the inevitable extremely cold situations . . . . they don't weigh much and pack down very nicely . . . but in late Mar/Apr on the AT, I'll be fine with my fleece.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

norovirus awareness (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?100363-2014-Norovirus-Awareness)

[Mags]

All the answer above are right. :)

Depends on your hiking style, how hot or cold you hike and so on.

You are on the cusp of the weather changing..so all depends on you.

If I was to hike in the southern Apps again a little earlier in the year , I'd be like Big Cranky and take the 100 wt fleece, but also a light windshirt.

100 wt fleece is ~9 oz for a men's medium and a windshirt is 3-4 oz. A versatile system for windy, drizzly and cold conditions often found at that time of the year (http://www.pmags.com/cold-and-wet-the-hardest-hiking). Unlike puffies, a light fleece breathes well, dries quicker and the fibers in fleece do not collapse like down or even synth puffies so it still stays warm. In other words, a light fleece is better to hike in than a puffy layer for the most part (very cold and dry conditions are the exception).

OTOH it is later in March so the windshirt may be just enough coupled with a base layer.

Keep the puffy layer for camp, sleeping and breaks.

[kayak karl]

i wear my packa at night and early morn just to hold in some heat and block wind.

[Nooga]

Just take a down jacket. It weighs less and compacts smaller. A good pillow in warmer months! I would carry a long sleeve additional base layer as well.

For an end of March start date, I agree. Just carry your down jacket. For cold days, just hike in your rain coat.

[winger]

Take both.

[Spirit Bear]

I have that new ghost whisper jacket from mountain hardware. It's 850 down I believe and weighs only 8oz. It dipped down to 7 degrees here in Atlanta this past week, I went outside that evening and just sat outback to see if I would get cold. I got chilly on my face and on my legs but was warm with the jacket. I don't know if you need a fleece with the down, but it never hurts to take both. The only time you're going to get cold is when you're at camp and that's when you're hanging out, making dinner, hanging food and tearing down camp in the morning. After an hour of hiking you will start to shed layers.

Also consider your sleeping insulation. I sleep in a hammock and my down top quilt and underquilt are much warmer than any fire will provide. If you're a ground dweller then you can always bundle up in your sleeping bag once you're at the shelter.

[hikerboy57]

you hike in fleece, you rest in down.good to have both, dont really need the down.

[WalkingOnTheWind]

Thanks ya'll. I think I will end up taking both, and send one home if necessary.

[scope]

A lot of other options open up with experience. Since you don't have that, I'd take the down because you'll want it in camp, and take the fleece, too. You'll want to have it on while hiking from time to time, and yes, you'll sweat in it, but you can do that in a fleece. Sometimes the sun won't be out, and it will be warm enough that you don't need it, but cool enough that you're not really sweating in it - and then BAM!, go around a ridge and all of a sudden you're on the cold side of that ridge and you'll be glad you had it. You definite can't hike in down, but its the only thing that will keep you warm when you're idle in camp.

Once you get a little experience, you can vary what you take based on your preferences. Lots of folks here don't take a down jacket because they will just crawl into their down sleeping bag at camp and, therefore, drop the weight of the jacket. Many here said just use your rain jacket, but many don't take a rain jacket, but rather a poncho or even a garbage bag that doesn't function the same way a jacket does. Many don't take a fleece because they get so warm while hiking they don't need it. Hiked with a guy recently that hiked in a tyvek hazmat suit. To all their own.

[A.T.Lt]

Both. My luxury item is a pillow, my down stuffs into itself and creates the perfect pillow, so it pulls double duty.

[Slo-go'en]

I'm too cheap to buy a down jacket, but there are times when I'm very envious of those who have one. If your jacket is reasonably light and packs small, you will be happy to have to brought it along. But this should be in addition to a fleece shirt/jacket and wind shell which you will need on those cold, damp days of early spring.

You could get away with out the down jacket, many like myself do. But then you need a heavier weight fleece so it ends up about the same weight wise.

[MDSection12]

I'm too cheap to buy a down jacket, but there are times when I'm very envious of those who have one. If your jacket is reasonably light and packs small, you will be happy to have to brought it along. But this should be in addition to a fleece shirt/jacket and wind shell which you will need on those cold, damp days of early spring.

You could get away with out the down jacket, many like myself do. But then you need a heavier weight fleece so it ends up about the same weight wise.
Keep am eye out at Goodwill. I go down hunting there fairly often. Scored a sweet down vest for $10 last month. :)

[mak1277]

I'd definitely take the down jacket for camp.

As for the fleece, it depends on what other clothes you're planning to take for hiking (and how hot/cold you hike). Personally, a L/S baselayer top plus my rain jacket (or a windshirt) would do me just fine down to about 25* while I'm hiking. So a fleece is fairly redundant for me unless it's going colder than that during the day.

[JansportD2]

I use the LLBean version of the Patagonia Nano Puff and an 100 weight hooded fleece on my late fall/winter/early spring hikes here in PA. This with a long-sleeve polyester t-shirt underneath and a shell on the outside keeps me warm in camp down into the low twenties/high teens. You could easily see these conditions in the southern mountains in early April.

When it's that cold I hike in the fleece hoodie. My back gets damp against the pack, but it usually dries out as I do camp chores after stopping for the day. Always dries out if I have a fire - I think more from the heat generated in gathering firewood than the fire itself.

[mankind117]

I would definitely take light fleece and light down jacket for the spring in the appalachians. The two together are much more versatile. You can't really hike in down and if you are out in rain for an extended period the fleece will still function when damp. Plus down is too compressible to make a pillow, the fleece works better for that. A light down jacket is great for camp or in your tent though when you really need to get warm so don't leave that home. When it gets to be summer ditch the down jacket and keep the fleece. I also find a very lightweight wind jacket I have one of the most versatile pieces of clothing I have for fall winter and spring. In fact a lot of times I find a baselayer, my fleece, and my wind jacket is enough.

[Son Driven]

Always hike up to comfort. Took me a bit of time to figure it out. Every morning after about 30 minutes of hiking, I would stop take my pack off, take a layer off, pack it away, and continue on with my day. Then one day it hit me, why not just start out under dressed and hike up to where I am comfortable?

[pawlinghiker]

I do the same. I hike real cold at first, keeps sweat down, then when Im climbing im not overheating. usually a capiline base with a 100 wt fleece 1/4 zip in the winter months in NY

[ULterEgo]

Just take a down jacket. It weighs less and compacts smaller. A good pillow in warmer months! I would carry a long sleeve additional base layer as well.

+1
only wear the down jacket when you are not hiking; bring a fleece or other extra non-down layers only if you find that you need them when hiking - bet you won't