Best 3 in 1 Jacket?

[TheYoungOne]

"Hi I'm Theyoungone and I'm a Jacket whore."

"Hi Youngone"

Anyway my wife wanted me to go thru my closet and get rid of any extra jackets, coats, and sweaters I had so we can donate them for a Hurricane Sandy coat and clothing drive. I gave away a bunch of old fleeces and nylon & PVC raincoats, and I still have 8 coats and jackets I refuse to give up. I have rain coats, soft shells, fleece, a patagonia puffer knockoff for hiking and a cheap Zero Exposure winter jacket which is ok for bumming around town but not for serious outdoor use. I realized I really need a good jacket that can do it all. One jacket that came up was a 3 in 1 system. Here is what I need;


I need a 3 in 1 jacket that is $200 or less.

That has a waterproof shell but that is somewhat breathable

I don't care if the middle layer is fleece or a primaloft liner, as long as the the middle layer is removable and can be used as a light jacket

I need it to be somewhat lightweight yet durable. I don't need it to be ultra-light hiking lightweight, but I would like it to be somewhat lightweight so that in a pinch I can hike with all or part of the jacket and not cry too much about weight. Its also need to be a bit durable because this will be my everyday Fall, Winter, Spring jacket, not something I will only use occasionaly for hiking.

So far I was looking at some Columbia and LL Bean jackets. Is there any that WB would recommend?

[swjohnsey]

How 'bout somethin' do-it-yourself? Start with a waterproof/breathable shell like the Marmot Precip then add a series of fleece layers. You can get a 100, 200 and 300 wt fleece jackets to go under it depending on the conditions. You can wear the Precip by itself or in combination with one of the fleece jackets are just wear the fleece jacket.

You can get fleece pretty cheap from Lands End. They have a 1/2 zip 100 wt for 20 bucks now.

[RJ Lewis]

For the really chilly stuff I would layer with my rain jacket, my down puffy, and a thermal layer such as capilenes or merino wool (my preference to keep the hiker funk to a minimum). Again, just add layers and remove them as needed while hiking. That goes for the top and bottom.