Wool sweater vs. expensive "puff" jackets

[Transient Being]

OK, so I went to the outfitters the other day and found a very nice synthetic arc'tryx Atom jacket. Very Nice! Loved the way it fit and felt. Price--$179, WoW! About a week ago, I was at the flea market and picked up a military issue wool sweater for $1, it was so cheap, I actually got two of them. Question, would this wool sweater do as good of a job keeping me warm as the $179 plus tax jacket. Kinda hard to answer I know, but I also have a lighter weight wool sweater that I could wear under it plus a capiline 2 long sleeve shirt. I'm looking at 25 deg. nights, give or take. I have a Pinnacle sleeping bag, balaclava, thermals. Any opinions?

[Feral Bill]

You're all set. Might be a bit heavier.

[Snowleopard]

The sweaters will be heavier. My guess is that the two wool sweaters would be a lot warmer than the expensive jacket. You might need a breathable windbreaker over the sweaters if there's any wind at all; the windbreaker will also increase the warmth by trapping air. The wool sweaters will probably be warmer in wet conditions but will take a lot longer to dry out. A rough way to judge warmth, if the sweaters total thickness is greater than the puffy jacket, they'll be warmer

[skinewmexico]

That is about the most expensive label you were looking at. You can find several quality down jackets that will save you a ton of money over the dead bird. You might get kicked out of the Range Rover Club though. And wool sweaters worked for hundreds of years, just bulkier and a little heavier.

[bamboo bob]

I used a nice rag wool sweater way back when. it was warm and best even if wet it was warm. but it is heavier and takes up a lot of room. my montbel puffy down weighs a few ounces and packs down to a small amount. But dont get that puffy jacket wet because it wont dry out very easily.

[Smooth & Wasabi]

Wool works fine. Puffies are significantly lighter. Just look for deals, I got a first ascent igniter primaloft for 40 bucks and several years earlier an EMS primaloft sweater for 30. Not super ultralight but light, warm and super ultra cheap.

[daddytwosticks]

Like everyone says, it will work. But it will be heavy and very bulky. :)

[Mags]

Check this out:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?41034-Field-Jacket-Liner-Modification

Inexpensive, functional, light and easy to make.

The liner jacket is roughly equivalent to a 200wt fleece. Throw a shell over it and it is quite effective.

[Sailor (The other one)]

I've got all of it; a New balance Fugu puffy jacket that's an oven, a military surplus wool sweater and an M-65 jacket liner. Actually, I have two M-65 jacket liners. One is as it came and the other has been turned into a sweater vest. The MSRP for the Fugu was supposedly like $300 or $400 and I got it for about $100. (watch for sales). The wool sweater came from here http://www.armygear.net/ag/store/0071.html and was $9.98 and the M-65 liners from here http://www.armygear.net/ag/store/0544.html and were $6.98 each. Now, two years ago we camped on the AT in GA for Thanksgiving. Went down to 23 F. Brought all of it with me plus a Campmor rain jacket and a 0 degree Campmor down sleeping bag. I'm a cold sleeper. Never used the Fugu. Had a Cocona T-shirt as a base layer (great stuff. Wore it for 7 days with no stink). With the sweater, M-65 sweater vest and rain jacket I had lots of flexibility.
If it was to get colder or if I was sweating weight, I'd depend on the Fugu. I wore it one winter in Chile, covered with the rain jacket when needed, and it was great. Very light, very compressible. But on that tanksgiving trip, the sweater and M-65 sweater vest did very well.
Have a great time.

[Transient Being]

Sailor, that's the exact sweater that I bought at the flea market, except mine is green. Got two of them in mint condition for $1 each. Guess you could say I got a deal! That was exactly what I needed to know. Thanks alot!

[Mags]

I have one of those, it is my favorite sweater. Wear it around town, camping and even skiing once in a while if I need an extra layer.

[Sailor (The other one)]

Sailor, that's the exact sweater that I bought at the flea market, except mine is green. Got two of them in mint condition for $1 each. Guess you could say I got a deal! That was exactly what I needed to know. Thanks alot!

A great deal!

[Transient Being]

Providence is amazing. I should have known those sweaters were what I was meant to use, being I "found" them just a week or two before my trip. shouldn't waste time looking for something you've already got! I'm gonna weigh that sweater when I get home to see how it stacks up against puff jacket.

[Transient Being]

17.46 oz. Not too bad. Maybe a little heavier than the jacket, but i'll be glad to carry 3 or 4 ounces for $180+ dollars, this trip anyway. Maybe I'll find a jacket on sale for next trip.

[JAK]

Wool is awesome. The military wool sweaters are pretty good for their weight in wet and dry conditions. British wool sweaters, meaning the sheep, have a crisp feel to them that makes them great for medium weight wool sweaters for wet conditions. Merino wool and british lambs wool are good for light weight sweaters and t-shirts, in wet or dry conditions because they are thin enough that they still dry out ok. Heavy sweaters can be british type wool, but tend to be heavy, so something a bit fluffier can be good for dry winter conditions, like alpaca or scandanavian lopi type yarns, but you are probably just as well off sticking to light and medium weight sweaters and mixing them with synthetic over layers and under layers, and wind and rain shells of course. I like using wool for the layers I will leave on, so they will stay dry or dry out, and synthetic for the layers that I peel off and on, because you dont have to worry so much about getting them wet. I avoid down and batt type insulation, because they adds redundant wind shells, and are less flexible in wet conditions, but in dry artic or alpine conditions I would be into some down for sure.