synthetic puffy jacket relative warmth

[Dennis Park]

Is there a way to interpret the product specs on synthetic "puffy" jackets to get an idea of relative warmth among models? I'm trying to compare the Cocoon pullover vs. Mountain Hardware Compressor.

[Lynn Tramper]

Loft is the overall best measurement to compare, although the cut and coverage of a jacket will also affect it's warmth.

[Paul Tree]

Cocoon Pullover shows out of stock and not available for me. Maybe a diff size.. Anyway,

As far as the different insulations, Polarguard Delta in the Cocoons vs Primaloft1 in Compressor.

There is/was an update to the Primaloft product line, look for Primaloft "with Convexion Technology", about a 10% improvement in clo/oz.

From a post by Richard Nisley:

-The now discontinued Polarguard Delta is .68 clo/oz.
-Standard down (550 fill power) is .70 clo/oz.
-Cimashield XP is .82 clo/oz.
-Current Primaloft One is .84 clo/oz
-Primaloft One Convexion is .92 clo/oz but, it will not be generally available until late summer or early fall.
-800+ fill power down is 1.68 clo/oz at the density used in most UL manufactures products such as Mont-bell's (2.16 kg/m^3).

Although by these nums, Delta looks pretty bad, it supposedly does have the excellent quality of restoring >90% of loft after wringing out, whereas IIRC Primaloft did like 33%.
Some have said PL resists getting wet better in the first place. This is all alot of hearsay. One thing in Primaloft's favor is the much better packability vs Delta.
I have a real warm Patagonia DAS parka, but it takes up my whole pack!! and you are supposed to avoid crushing as much as possible, to maintain loft.

Other factors to consider, besides what Allison mentioned:

Also, type of construction, baffles vs sewn thru.
Also, density of outer shell to block wind. (Inner or liner jackets).
A snug fit on the neck.

Allison, did you ever get that Thermawrap? Like it?

[Woubeir (from Europe)]

Also look at the particulair weight of the insulation since one particular type of insulation is available in different weights per yd² or m² e.g. Primaloft is available in at least 40, 60, 100, 133, 200 g/m².

[Lynn Tramper]

>Allison, did you ever get that Thermawrap? Like it?

Must have been some other Allison. I'm a hard-core down person!

[Ross Bleakney]

Polarguard delta is fairly durable. That is the reputation, anyway, and it matches my own experience. So, if you get a garment (or a sleeping bag for that matter) made out of the stuff, you may not get the most efficient synthetic insulation, but it will hold its value a long time.

[Richard Nisley]

Dennis,

There is no easy way for you to interpret the published product specs. and make a decision regarding the relative warmth of the Cocoon Pullover versus the Mountain Hardwear Compressor. Mountain Hardwear published the insulation type spec. but, not the insulation amount spec. for the Compressor. You need both jacket's insulation type and amount specs. to calculate a rough estimate of their relative warmth.

The Mountain Hardwear Compressor jacket loft is ~.5" as is the Cocoon. Knowing the loft and the insulation type, for the Compressor, you can then determine that the missing Compressor insulation spec. amount is 110 g/m2. Using this missing value, you can then calculate that the Cocoon Hoody provides ~ 55% of the warmth provided by the Compressor.

[Dennis Park]

Richard,

Amazing response as usual. Is there a simple equation for these calculations and can I use it for most insulated products?

[Shane Shin]

I e-mailed Mountain Hardwear about the old (PL1) and new (PLeco) Compressor jackets. Here is their response:

The older Compressor PL Jacket (OM2734) was produced for the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 season. These jackets used 114.0 g/m2 of Primaloft insulation. The newest Compressor PL Jacket (OM3163) began production in the Fall of 2009 and contains 100.0 g/m2 of Primaloft Eco insulation.

I hope this information is helpful and we appreciate your interest in our products.

Regards,
Patrick
Customer Care

[Konrad .]

Well that kinda sucks. Interesting that they downgrade both the quantity and quality of the insulation as time progresses.

[Shane Shin]

Yeah I have been disappointed by Mountain Hardwear as a whole lately. I have started to see their stuff pop up at Dick's Sporting Goods and Cabelas, which doesn't necessarily mean it went down in quality, but could be an indicator of changing it's direction as a company.

Luckily I nabbed the old style Cloudveil Enclosure Hooded Jacket on steep and cheap for $95. It has 200g PL one in the body, 100g in the arms and hood. I believe it is still available at Department of Goods for $150.

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