No more cheap puffies?? :-(

:) your family:)

What sizes are your awesome mountain girls now?

Love, love, love your excitement! :^D

Not to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you just missed a huge Uniqlo sale on their UL puffies (I got one for $60; they're now $70). The stuff at Costco is now gone (it comes out at the very beginning of the season).

I would recommend that you check eBay — a lot of folks buy those Costco jackets in bulk, and re-sell them at a minimal profit. I think that, or posting a WTB on GearSwap (with sizes and budget) would be your best bet.

Well, last night I was reminded, they are "adult" size now. Their new adult men's sleeping bags fit them perfect with no empty space to deal with. Crazy! Frankie just turned 14!

Often a women's small will be a bit short at the waist or sleeves. Womens' medium is a safer bet.

I don't have any advice to contribute, but the Kelty Cosmic Down bag is great. I've used it down to -10*F (with adequate clothing) and I think it could go to -20.. Needless to say, I'm a big fan. Good choice!

Thank you Valerie! It's so much fun planning adventures with them. I guess I get a little giddy sometimes. :)

Hey $70 is not bad, I'll put that down as the best option at this point. You're right, ebay and the forums are great places to start. I'm anticipating hiking with them either in June or in August, depending on condtions, so I have time to figure this all out. Famous last words.

Wow, Jack, -10f. I would have never dreamed. And that's with their 20f bag? Laying it next to my 20f bag, the loft is very similar. So I would guess I could take it down to +10f, such as I've done with my bag by wearing a puffy.

“Where have all the cheap puffies gone?”

We have seen some good light down ones at TJ Maxx in the $40 range; in the store; not on their website. And these came with stuff bags. The coat had a nice soft pliable stuffable shell. Also Kohl’s had similar down jackets for low cost. The cut may be funny, but the price is great.

Walmart — I did notice some nice socks lately — some good wicking ones with a soft cushe to it. I forget the model name.
Great your daughters are backpacking. I took my 2 daughters a lot. Now they’re grown and married and they don’t go out with me as often. The daddy-daughter dates have dwindled.

-Barry
-The mountains were made for Tevas

I've been using my Costco Triple Star Down Jacket for a couple years now. It works great, weighs only 11.5 oz in kids XL (I'm normally a small/medium size), is significantly warmer than my Stoic Hadron, and was only $30. Search around on eBay – there's usually a couple floating around. My sister and brother-in-law each got one off eBay when I got them into backpacking.

Yes it was with the 20f bag. I was surprised it could go that low as well. That said I was pretty fairly insulated. 2 pads, Mountain Hardwear compressor jacket and montbell thermawrap pro jacket over base layer and I think I just wore fleece pants with long underwear on the bottom. You can definitely take it down to 10*. I've been able to use it between -10 to 20f multiple times without problems, as long as I was properly clothed.