Patagoina Micro Puff, down or Polargard?

[Earl Grey]

Im looking to get a warm light jacket/vest to replace a fleece jacket for hiking. Everyone seems to like the micro puff but theres down and the polargard fill. Which one would be best for hiking and a possible thru hike?

[hopefulhiker]

I had a patagonia down sweater for most of my 2005 thru hike. It functioned and lasted well as pretty much strictly a camp and sleep wear jacket. Happy Holidays...

[TREE-HUGGER]

I started wearing patagonia puff jackets in 1994 and have not looked back since. I now have the micro. You will definitley do better with synthetic fill under the A.T. conditions. Synthetic is still warm when wet and dries fairly quickly. Down is a nightmare all the way around when it becomes wet.

[Earl Grey]

Ok that makes sense, but should I use a vest or jacket?

[soulrebel]

We have both the down sweater/jacket 10ozs and the micropuff vest 6.5oz. We started with both in march and carry 30d bags, so it's part of our layering for temps down to the teens. So think about the type of sleep system you have and whether puffy insulated sleeves will be necessary for you.
With that said. I sent my jacket home after hot springs and kept the puff vest. While my wife sent the vest home and preferred the down sweater.
The vest is easier to take on and off, and is lighter, less expensive, and you can wring it out if you decide to jump in a river with it.

However, I've seen my wife hike in her down jacket in 40d freezing rain, and while I was telling her to stuff it so it wouldn't get wet, she basically flipped me off and the jacket was still fine during the next few days of nasty weather.

I'd go with the vest and add the jacket if you're leaving before march 15th and have a lightweight sleeping bag.

not that you ask but consider a marshall's style nylon jacket for 10 bucks or drop $130 on a patagonia-in lieu of puffy insulation for the arms.

I prefer a wind jacket as my no 1 piece of gear and first thing i put on if my arms are getting cool. Thin non-wp-nylon-If it gets wet, body warmth will dry it.

btw jacket makes a great pillow in it's own stuff sack, but I found that my food bag or half of a waterwing are just as good. happy hiking

[map man]

Blackmath, I've owned both the micropuff vest and jacket, and I recently gave the vest away to charity because I get cold much easier in the vest than the jacket. I tried both out shoveling snow in about 30 degree temps (worn over a single wicking layer) and my arms and hands got really cold fast in the vest but I was fine in the jacket. I don't hike in the jacket -- I just use it in camp, and like a previous poster said, stuffed in a stuff sack it makes a nice pillow.

[Earl Grey]

I went ahead and got the vest. So heres my setup now.

Base: Patagonia Capilene 3 midweight layer top and silkweight bottom
Insulating: the micropuff vest and north face nylon pants with smartwool socks
Outer shell: Marmot Precip pants and jacket.

Couple with some sort of head insulation, how cold could I go with this?

[rswanson]

I went ahead and got the vest. So heres my setup now.

Base: Patagonia Capilene 3 midweight layer top and silkweight bottom
Insulating: the micropuff vest and north face nylon pants with smartwool socks
Outer shell: Marmot Precip pants and jacket.

Couple with some sort of head insulation, how cold could I go with this?
Hard to say Blackmath. First off, are you talking about clothing to hike in, or wear around camp? I'm assuming your talking about your 'at rest' gear, since most folks don't hike in insulating items like the Micropuff (not that you can't if you're cold).

I hate to pull out the old 'everyone has different cold weather tolerances' but it really does apply here. My best (conservative) guess would be down to around freezing, given that you add midweight fleece hat and gloves. Just to qualify that commment, some folks might be able to push that into the teens; others will be cold in the 40's. It's winter right now so you should have an opportunity to give this a test.

If this is your hiking clothing as well then you might want to reconsider the Pat Cap 3 top for warmer temps. Its certainly going to be too warm during the summer months in most areas. You also might find yourself shipping home the Precip Pants as a lot of hikers find rain pants unnecessary.

[dloome]

In a garment like a vest for a generally wet trail lke the AT I'd go with synthetic insulation. Even though down is lighter and more compressible for an equal insulating value, a vest is a small and compact garment as it is and the weight and packed size difference bwteen the two materials is negligible. A vest also covers a high exertion part of your body and it's easy to get it wet with sweat, so I think synthetic insulation is a more appropriate choice.

[highway]

Im looking to get a warm light jacket/vest to replace a fleece jacket for hiking. Everyone seems to like the micro puff but theres down and the polargard fill. Which one would be best for hiking and a possible thru hike?

If you hike in the fourth season of winter then I can see the need for the high loft warmth of an insulated garment, whether the insulation is down (my preference) or some synthetic. The weather then would be colder, the precipitation would fall as drier snow, and more effort would be expended at keeping the exerted body's heat IN rather than OUT as in three season use.

But in three season use, with temps of 30's F upwards, not as severe cold as winter and with the precipitation falling as wetter rain, then thinner, multiple layering would seem to be a wiser choice, because you would be concentrating more on keeping the body's exerted heat out rather than in. In this scenario choosing some highly breathable and uninsulated combo garment like a Driclime windshirt would - and does- work great. Besides, wearing multiple thin and uninsulated layers over one's trunk gives the wearer more options while being just as warm as one with the single thicker, loftier garment.

I tend to dump "camp" clothes into the same dirty pile as "town" clothes. They are nice to have but not really needed and seldom worth the expended energy carrying them every day, for a 'just in case' possibility!

[maxNcathy]

I just got a 9.5 oz patagonia long-sleeved down sweater/jacket hoping to use it around camp or in sleeping bag if temperature drops below 20F.

Sandalwood