Down, I love it!

Well last year I was in love with wool, this year it's down. My jacket is western mountaineering flight. Pants are montbell ul underpants. Now I want some booties and a hood. So far I've narrowed it down to feathered friend or goose feet. As far as a hood I like z packs. Any other good options out there? Or personal favorites? Thanks!

I've got the WM Flash jacket, pants, vest and booties. I like the booties a lot. They don't have a stiff sole, so they're not the best for walking around a campsite, but they're great for sleeping in.

I've also tried Sierra Designs down booties and down mittens. The mittens work great (again mostly for sitting around camp), and the booties come with or without a closed cell foam sole (fairly stiff.) They also work well.

I've never seen one of these but supposedly they work pretty well-
Finnbar hood

JacksRbetter, the quilt company makes something similar, plus I have read that the CF (Canadian Forces) has one for their bag system.

I have a pair of SD booties. They keep slipping off my feet while walking, so aren't all that useful. For mitts, I bought a pair of big mitts made by Grandhoe that have a fleece liner and are big enough to wear with fleece gloves. I got them from STP on sale.

No experience with a separate down hood; I like a down hood that's part of a parka --- having these all one integral piece makes for a pretty warm experience. Or rather, it seems to me that at one point I read some analysis about how much additional warmth a down hood added vs. a hoodless parka and it was quite favorable.

Anyway, for booties, I'm a fan of Feathered Friends brand insofar as they come as separable inners and outers. On trips where I might have to walk about in camp, the outers are great, and on trips where I just want the warmest "sleeping socks" I can get, I can carry just the inners. I've done both, and been quite happy.

I cut up part of an old blue foam ccf pad to add a layer of ccf that way to the (inside) soles of the outers to make the "walking around camp" experience warmer. Of course, that too I can add or subtract on a given trip depending on anticipated conditions.

I think an insulated hood adds a lot. As you can see, my big parka has one and it's pretty warm, plus it really blocks any wind, which also helps. My hood can be almost completely closed up if the weather is really bad.

I would get lost in that hood. I bet it has more down in it than my whole set up!

Seriously thanks for all the replys. I normally don't like hoods unless it's raining/ sleeting otherwise I'm usually a beenie guy. I'm thinking of the seperate hood for quilt sleeping.

you can freeze just as easily in too little down as in too little wool. If you intend to go up into the sierras this winter - get a real coat with an attached hood and some warm insulated pants to go over your "underwear".
Jim

It is pretty big. I also have a Nuptse, which just has a fabric hood; no comparison. My parka weighs as much as some bags (about 40+ oz.) and takes up about as much space. The newer version of it has 800 down. Mine has 700.

Jim has seen it in person.

TomD
wouldn't you agree that the Nuptse would be too light as your major coat in Yosemite in the winter? I know thats why you have the big coat. Many people think a UL summer down jacket is gonna make a difference in cold weather - it will not unless its part of a heavy layering system
Jim

The Nuptse might work if you were heavily layered and the temps were moderate, but on the other hand, I wore it for a short walk to the beach tonight and it's 60, but that's just me. You would also need a fleece under it, a heavy base layer, and of course mitts or gloves (not just liner-style gloves), a balaclava and insulated or fleece pants, too. For just sitting around, if the temps are below freezing, even with the fleece and all the rest, I think the Nuptse or anything like it would be inadequate unless you have the body type of a polar bear.

The Nuptse is nowhere near the parka my Baltoro (predecessor of the Himalayan) is, so using one as your primary winter insulation would be a big mistake if the weather turns for the worst. One more thing I thought of-the Nuptse is ripstop nylon, the Baltoro is Goretex Dryloft and the new Himalayan is Windstopper, big difference there as well. Big difference in price, too. The Himalayan retails for $600. I paid nowhere near that for mine on eBay, so if you are contemplating getting something like it, look around first.

Here's a photo of me wearing it in Yosemite on my trip with Jim and Steve-

Great picture! I grew up in Gunnison Co. And currently reside in the sierras, the value of proper insulation according to condition is of utmost importance. I layer properly, just looking to gain a bit of camp comfort!

I just got my feathered friends booties in, very nice. Not that I'm looking foward to it but can't wait for the trial cold night run.