Medium weight down jacket

Hey folks,
I am looking for recommendations for a mid weight down jacket that would be more substantial than my down sweater. Most use would be for low activity levels or for a layer on really cold days. I have been looking at some sales on Marmots Ama Dablam but that's about as far as I got. Any help would be welcome

Thanks jimmyb

I really love my Western Mountaineering down jacket. It is 10oz and very very warm.

I am pretty happy with my montbell alpine light down parka, I got it on sale (which is rare) but I think they run 200$.

I guess it is difficult to say what might work for you, how cold will it be when you are using it? Is it just for around camp (low activity), or while doing something more? How warm is your current down sweater (fill power and amount)?

I couldn't actually find the amount of fill in the ama dablam jacket so I can't really compare anything to it.

Thank you both for the replies. Either jacket would fit my purpose but the Montbell is at a great price point and the fill weight seems very good for the price if the down is good quality. Passed up a used WM flight jacket but hard to tell what shape its in by a few pictures.

Still deciding on hood or no hood. Generally I find a hood somewhat annoying but I guess you cant beat the added warmth they offer.

again, jimmyb

I went hood less and like it. I'm a beanie kind of person. I have montbell down pants, they are very warm for the weight.

GoLite Bitterroot has been a great down parka for me. Very warm, 850 fill and less than a pound.

Cheers,

I have the LL Bean 850 down jacket where the fluffs have been treated for water repellency. So far, so good. It's a nice weight jacket and very light. I believe the current price is about $180.00 and with their guarantee you really can't go wrong. One thing to note though, if you're looking for a hood, skip this jacket. As for myself, I always get too hot with a hood so prefer to use a hat as needed.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...Be well.

snapper

If you're on a low budget, try Costco.

If you want a separate down hood, check out Goose Feet. They actually design their hoods for those who sleep in quilts. Like others here, I'd rather have a separate hat rather than a hood, for more flexible temperature regulation. YMMV, of course.

"I am pretty happy with my montbell alpine light down parka"

I too have one of these and it's excellent, very happy with it in terms of warmth-to-weight ratio.

If I were considering any sort of down item (coat or sleeping bag/quilt), I would wait months or even a year if I could hold out at this point. The new "waterproof down" (DriDown or DownTek as it's variously marketed as) is out and fairly new. With a little more time to get more and more solid reviews these might turn out to be something I would find worth the money, at least in the wetter PNW where I live.
I've seen some positive reviews, but some doubts too, and it's not trivial to do a truly fair test comparing the new product to traditional down.

Also, close on the horizon are down/synthetic blends, e.g.,
http://www.gearinstitute.com/gear-news/industry-news/item/primaloft-performance-down-blends

Some more skeptical folk suggest that the latter is coming about due to a shortage of down --- which argues exactly against waiting I guess! But it might really be a good approach too. It would certainly be nice to have the weight, compressibility, and durability of down coupled with better wet/humid performance.

Problem with the down-synthetic mix, as I see it, is that the useful life of the item will be that of the synthetic insulation, which is much shorter than that of down because synthetic gets crushed by repeated compression. This doesn't justify the high price of the down portion of the insulation, IMHO.

I have the goose feet hood, it is very nice. Almost too warm!

Yes OM and Rock, I think the idea of a separate down head covering would be much more to my liking. Use when needed. I usually wear a combo of thin full face covering and a beanie under my shell hood when the wind is stinging. When the wind is not an issue I would much rather go with out a hood altogether. Just my personal preference.

Brian, I'm on the fence about the drydown issue. I think its a good idea but I hope inexperienced folks don't think this is going to be a reason to overlook keeping their insulation protected in packs and dry when wearing it. As I mentioned once before on this sight WM has been testing with it and in speaking with them they were not yet convinced although that could change quickly. They sounded cautiously optimistic but not yet willing to put their reputation on the line. Clothing seems to be the first to go to the drydowns because of their likeliness to be exposed more. I overlooked this issue in buying our new WM bags last fall but it wouldn't hurt to give clothing a second consideration. I don't think It would be a deal breaker for me however.

Thanks again to all for the good advise. I will often ask an opinion earlier on in my shopping process simply because I don't like making mistakes that can be avoided by getting help from those who have more experiences.

jimmyb