off.track
Adventurer
and my NF softshell is a bit heavy, i feel, and it doesn't really compress all that well either. i hardly ever carry it when backpacking.
Advice on Insulating Layer...
- Thread starter Stan the Man
- Start date
and my NF softshell is a bit heavy, i feel, and it doesn't really compress all that well either. i hardly ever carry it when backpacking.
Stan the Man
Adventurer
I went ahead and picked up that Eddie Bauer/First Ascent "Downlight Sweater" I posted in the first post. I tried on all three of those choices over and over and over again, along with just about everything else in the story. Not a bad way to kill close to two hours after work tonight :sombrero:
The main reason I got the down was because of the price. It was on sale for $20 off the original price and I had a coupon for another 15% off; it was a pretty sweet deal. The "Ignitor Jacket" (Primaloft) was nice, warm, almost as light as the down, but was more than I wanted to spend. I just needed something WARM, I have my old EB parka/hard shell to put over this when it rains.
I really like the fit and finish of the down so far. Its designed to be more snug and form fitting than most, but dang does it keep the warmth in. Some other things, it compresses down to the size of a grapefruit and stores in its own left pocket; there wont be any issues putting this is my pack. The jacket weighs a whoppin' 13.5 ounces; my beanie weighs more than my jacket!
Last thing: it passes the 55*, 70 mph freeway test with flying colors. I can't wait to get this thing out on the trail and see how it really does.
The main reason I got the down was because of the price. It was on sale for $20 off the original price and I had a coupon for another 15% off; it was a pretty sweet deal. The "Ignitor Jacket" (Primaloft) was nice, warm, almost as light as the down, but was more than I wanted to spend. I just needed something WARM, I have my old EB parka/hard shell to put over this when it rains.
I really like the fit and finish of the down so far. Its designed to be more snug and form fitting than most, but dang does it keep the warmth in. Some other things, it compresses down to the size of a grapefruit and stores in its own left pocket; there wont be any issues putting this is my pack. The jacket weighs a whoppin' 13.5 ounces; my beanie weighs more than my jacket!
Last thing: it passes the 55*, 70 mph freeway test with flying colors. I can't wait to get this thing out on the trail and see how it really does.
Next time, give synthetics a try. I have both down and synthetic garments, and for most uses, I prefer synthetics such as Primaloft One.
With my Primaloft jacket and pants, I'm comfortable down to the uppers 30's if I'm just sitting around.
You'd need a 500+ fill with 0.5" of loft in a down jacket and pants to be as warm, but down garments tend to suffer more from sewn through cold spots.
With my Primaloft jacket and pants, I'm comfortable down to the uppers 30's if I'm just sitting around.
You'd need a 500+ fill with 0.5" of loft in a down jacket and pants to be as warm, but down garments tend to suffer more from sewn through cold spots.
Stan the Man
Adventurer
My jacket did great this weekend. I was in Indiana and temps on Saturday night dropped below 40* and I stayed plenty warm with a t-shirt, this First Ascent downlight and my new beanie. On friday night, I got caught in a downpour on my way to the bars, and my rain parka (the hard shell I'm using) wasn't in the car we took downtown.
I spent about 10 minutes in the rain and there were no noticeable wet/cold spots. I wouldn't want to be in the rain longer than 30 minutes with this thing, but for short burst it did good. Eddie Bauer claims that this layer can handle about 1" of rain an hour.
So far, I'm very pleased with my purchase.
I spent about 10 minutes in the rain and there were no noticeable wet/cold spots. I wouldn't want to be in the rain longer than 30 minutes with this thing, but for short burst it did good. Eddie Bauer claims that this layer can handle about 1" of rain an hour.
So far, I'm very pleased with my purchase.