Down Jacket Recommendations

605troutbum

605troutbum

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Aug 16, 2014
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Does anyone have any recommendations for a down jacket around the $200 range? I am looking for one with a hood for backpacking and also to use when fly fishing. I have been looking at the Montbell frost smoke and alpine light jackets but was wondering if anyone had any other recommendations or experience with either of these two jackets. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
the frost smoke is going to be my next down jacket, but it hasn't been in stock in my size for almost a year. I talked to montbell at the OR show and they said they would be getting more in stock soon.
 
I was looking at those a while back. They looked like great jackets. Costco FTW!

Side note - my dog wears a nice down vest that I got from Costco a few years ago. She wears it to bed every night and it keeps her so warm that her usual blanket on top is overkill.
 
I think this is another case where there are a lot of variables to consider. Part of the layering? Need wind stop? Warmth when wet? How small does it pack? And how extreme is the anticipated use? I bought my wife the Patagonia nano-puff last summer for backpacking and it has worked out very well. And just about everyone now has treated down that doesn't perform like a wet sheet when wet. However, you're probably not going to find that stuff at Costco.

And we were embarrassed that we threw a fleece blanket over the dogs when it's cold------- Pampered pets?
 
I've been looking at down jackets for awhile but didn't want to commit a large amount $ until I knew if I liked this system. If it works out well, I'll hand this "down" to my teen and spend the extra $ to get a nicer one from North Face, Pantagonia, etc
 
If I recall correctly, and if it's anything like the down vest I bought for my dog from Costco, it packs down just as good as any of my North Face or Patagonia jackets. I doubt it has any fancy coatings, but neither do any of my current lineup of fancy brands. Great bang for the buck there.
 
I'll second the nano-puff from Patagonia (though I don't believe it is down). It's a great jacket.
 
I have a friend who always says "if you can't keep your down insulating layer dry, you deserve to be cold." :D
 
steve said:
I have a friend who always says "if you can't keep your down insulating layer dry, you deserve to be cold." :D
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I'm curious why does your friend say that? On multi day trips, I have trouble keeping down dry. More often than not, it has to do with my body giving off moisture than it does outside rain/snow. And it takes place while inside my tent (usually for long hours) All I use is down, but I've had so much trouble with it this year, I'm determined to research the whole subject. I typically keep all my down in dry sacks now, but even then, they become slightly damp on cold nights.
 
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Get the Costco one. Its plenty good and leaves about $150 in your pocket. It will get wet and lose its loft as well as the Patagonia ones.
 
Joey said:
I'm curious why does your friend say that? On multi day trips, I have trouble keeping down dry. More often than not, it has to do with my body giving off moisture than it does outside rain/snow. And it takes place while inside my tent (usually for long hours) All I use is down, but I've had so much trouble with it this year, I'm determined to research the whole subject. I typically keep all my down in dry sacks now, but even then, they become slightly damp on cold nights.
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Great point. I should have given more context. He was teaching a class for people new to camping. i.e. people who were worried about dropping their bags in the river, or getting them wet from rain. Condensation in the winter is a different beast.

I've got bags with hydrophobic down and I've got regular down bags as well. Hydrophobic is cool, but I wonder how effective it is with condensation. I'd prefer hydrophobic down if I dropped my bag in the river, but so far that hasn't happened. :)

What part of the country are you located in Joey? It may be the arid air in Utah, but I haven't had any issues keeping my down gear dry. What issues are you running into?
 
scatman said:
I'll second the nano-puff from Patagonia (though I don't believe it is down). It's a great jacket.
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Synthetic, but the first one I encountered that matches down for warmth, weight, and compressibility. And it's still warm when wet. I've run into the same problems as Joey. When it's both cold and moist, it's hard to really keep down dry. Just the humidity in the tent gets it damp and that assumes you don't bump up against the tent in the night, at which point it just becomes wet.
 
I only use synthetic and the Patagonia Nano Puff is PrimaLoft which is the best synthetic out there right now. PrimaLoft is just as warm, light, and compressible as down but unlike down it retains it's warming qualities when wet. So @Joey I would look at Primaloft if you are having trouble with your down getting wet. I have two PrimaLoft jackets and love them. LL Bean has a very lightweight PrimaLoft jacket that packs down really tiny into it's own pocket, is super light and is rated at -15 degrees and is only $110. It's called the packaway I believe. It's my favorite jacket. The -15 degree rating is a bit of BS though and it's not nearly as warm as my thicker Primaloft. LL Bean's warmth ratings are to be taken with a grain of salt though because they perform their own testing and rating (there's a video on their site - or there used to be) rather than use the EN (European Norm) rating methodology which is more universal. UnderArmour also makes PrimaLoft jackets.
 
steve said:
Great point. I should have given more context. He was teaching a class for people new to camping. i.e. people who were worried about dropping their bags in the river, or getting them wet from rain. Condensation in the winter is a different beast.

I've got bags with hydrophobic down and I've got regular down bags as well. Hydrophobic is cool, but I wonder how effective it is with condensation. I'd prefer hydrophobic down if I dropped my bag in the river, but so far that hasn't happened. :)

What part of the country are you located in Joey? It may be the arid air in Utah, but I haven't had any issues keeping my down gear dry. What issues are you running into?
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Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. I don't really recall ever having issues in Utah. Seems to be northern Rockies. And only in cold weather. Basically everything inside the tent collects moisture, and over a few days, it adds up. I have this problem in both single wall and double wall tents.

I don't know much about Hydrophobic Down, so I will have to check it out. And I agree, keeping down dry from precipitation is easier than condensation.
 
Vegan.Hiker said:
I only use synthetic and the Patagonia Nano Puff is PrimaLoft which is the best synthetic out there right now. PrimaLoft is just as warm, light, and compressible as down but unlike down it retains it's warming qualities when wet. So @Joey I would look at Primaloft if you are having trouble with your down getting wet. I have two PrimaLoft jackets and love them. LL Bean has a very lightweight PrimaLoft jacket that packs down really tiny into it's own pocket, is super light and is rated at -15 degrees and is only $110. It's called the packaway I believe. It's my favorite jacket. The -15 degree rating is a bit of BS though and it's not nearly as warm as my thicker Primaloft. LL Bean's warmth ratings are to be taken with a grain of salt though because they perform their own testing and rating (there's a video on their site - or there used to be) rather than use the EN (European Norm) rating methodology which is more universal. UnderArmour also makes PrimaLoft jackets.
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I will check out Primaloft this winter, and see how it does. I've never used it before. I've always read good things about it.
 
Columbia at the outlets in park city are selling down omni heat down jackets for 39.99 right now, originally 89.99. I just picked up my first down jacket tonight.
 
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