Winter down jacket for 3 season use?

I don't think you'll find it unbearably warm, because you can subtract other layers accordingly. Like, leave the sleeping bag behind and sleep in your pack. A fluffy vs a not so fluffy light down jacket is mostly fabric, anyway, so going for less filling has a smaller effect on the overall weight, but a big effect on the overall warmth. I have a Sierra Designs Gnar hoody, which was the minimum fluff factor I found to be useful in a down garment. If it's too warm for that, it's probably wet, so I wear a synthetic puffy at those temps instead of a lighter down thing.

Sorry, I didn't answer your question! No, the warmer parka is too warm for the summer unless you will be leaving your sleeping bag behind. I would get the lighter one.

Thanks Will. Do you find the synthetic puffy that much better in the wet? Even synthetics I find lose loft and warmth in very high humidity/wet conditions. Synthetic puffies are quicker drying though. WE used to use Patagonia DAS Parkas for winter, when it was made with better insulation than the current version, but have sold them.

I generally never wear a puffy when moving, only at rest stops if necessary, or in camp, and if cold I don't hang out long outside sleeping bag/shelter. And if I'm cold heading out in the AM, I just pick up the pace or run a bit to warm up.

BTW, we'd like both a warmer winter down hooded jacket for winter, and a lighter 3 season one, but if we only pick up one right now, was wondering if we could get away with only the warmer winter one for use all year. If it's not practical I guess we could stick with the lighter one now.

In my wife's case, she gets cold easily and loves to be very warm in camp, so thought perhaps she'd be best off with the warmer jacket for all year.

I think the Frost Line will be much too warm for 3 season use, but it depends on the conditions you'll be in. Where, when, what altitude? Above or below tree line? Even so, though, the Frost Line is a winter jacket, and I think you'd get too toasty in mid spring or fall.

Maybe a Frost Line for winter and the shoulder seasons, and something like a Uniqlo down jacket for warmer months without breaking the bank. They are on sale now; $70 with a hood.

I own a Mont Bell UL parka, which has less down than the Alpine Light, and it has kept me plenty warm even in winter in Georgia and late Spring in the Rockies. Heck, along with a fleece and a shell, it was warm enough for February in New Hampshire, but I was not backpacking then.

I got a great price on a winter hooded puffy and have ended up using it in the summer in the
Sierra. My reasoning is, there's nothing warmer for less weight than down. So I leave at least one polyester layer that I would normally take behind. Since I'd normally take a light down jacket or vest anyway, leaving a layer behind balances out the weight of the heavier jacket. And now I have a plush pillow; plus I'm always warm morning or evening. So one big puffy and no layers=more warmth overall for about the same weight.

In general I'm trying to shape our kit/quiver to cover:

-W Coast coastal and mountain winter (Yosemite/Tahoe/Bear Valley & PNW, not as cold as Northeast/NH Presidential alpine)
-3 season W Coast, E Coast and Europe
-Desert all seasons

Thanks Jim, I'm amazed you could be warm enough in the Montbell UL jacket in NH in Feb. I don't think you mean NH alpine, like the Presidentials. Unless you run hot as a furnace.

What's the name of the Uniqlo hooded model and do you know how much fill and what kind of fill power? Do you have a link to it? Is it available in women's as well? Haven't ever tried their stuff.

I have the MontBell Alpine Jacket, no hood. Super warm, puffy–but not too puffy. Slimmer fit than most. Detailed. Well made. Impressed by the quality.

Oh yeah, don’t read too much into my comments about NH. This was not a camping or backpacking trip. We did some snowshoeing, but the trip was for work-ish purposes and we never got into the mountains. Sorry, I probably confused matters mentioning that.

Uniqlo ultra light down jacket for women..

You’ll find men’s jackets on there, too. They also have a hydrophobic jacket. They claim to use 640 fp down, though I’ve heard it said (on BPL) that this may be conservative compared to US rate, so maybe equivalent to 700 or 750; search around and you’ll find threads on BPL and elsewhere.

A Trailspace review listed the men’s XL at about 10 ounces, but I haven’t seen a break down of how much is down and fabric.

I did stop in a Uniqlo store in Philly (not aware they even existed before then), and they seem well made and more fashionable than my Mont Bell, for whatever that is worth. They’re probably about as warm as my UL down parka, so less warm than the Alpine Light and much less warm than the Frost Line.

As a low-BMI female, I'd recommend the jacket with >6 oz fill. I use an older Rab Infinity down jacket that is spec'd pretty similar to the Frost Line and it comes on most every trip Oct – Apr/May. Maybe it's overkill sometimes, but it beats sitting around camp being cold. Plus, it's a better ratio of insulation:overall weight (as someone touches on above).

In the summer, I take either a lightweight synth puffy or a microfleece + thin down vest.

Lived in the northeast for decades and in the Bay Area for the last 3 years… also used to use a DAS Parka for winter in New York and New Hampshire.

I primarily use a WM Meltdown jacket (similar to the Frostline but stitched through). For the Sierras. It is perfect for 3 season use and not too warm in summer. I honestly do not know how people get by with ultralight jackets in 30-40 degree temperatures.

I used the Meltdown in the southern Sierras a few days ago when the nights were in the 20s and it is JUST warm enough… when it gets colder I layer it over an old ultralight synthetic.

In short, I'd get the Frostline. Might be too warm for northeast summers, but not for the Sierras.

For shoulder season trips I often pack a MB Mirage (about 5oz down)
If I know the weather will be nasty I pack a Dead Bird Nuclei with a UL down
piece for underneath (ex light or similar)

I will offer my opinion and echo some of the thoughts already posted before me. I had the Montbell Frostline Parka and ended up selling it and getting the MB Alpine Light Parka instead.

The Frostline was amazingly warm; so much so that I could not imagine using it for anything outside of winter honestly. With the Alpine light I am able to properly layer under it to achieve a similar insulation and still have it usable during other seasons and situations with less layers. I had the Frostline out with low digits and a base layer with a good amount of wind chill and was still warm.

However for a woman that runs cool or cold the Frost Line might be better fit especially if it will be used to add to a sleeping system.

I would recommend you get an Alpine Light and your wife a Frost Line

make sure it fits under yr rain jacket …

this is pretty essential for non-winter poofays

other than that its totally up to you

;)

I agree. It's hard to imagine having a jacket that's too warm. Too heavy is a possibility.

I'm a fan of box baffled construction. I was at the Montbell store, and they have a cool chart that shows warmth vs weight for their jackets, as well as the ones that have box baffle construction. Sorry about the extremely blurry image. It would be nice if they put this on their website (maybe it is, but I didn't see it).

In case you can't read it, the Mirage, Frost Line, and Permafrost are the three with box construction. The vertical scale is weight, so the Mirage and Alpine Light are warmest for the weight.

I just picked up a Sierra Designs baffled down parka on sale, and it's comparable in weight and warmth to the Frost Line or Permafrost. I can wear it sitting inside in 68 degree weather without sweating, so it certainly won't be too warm sitting in 30-40 degree weather at camp at night. It's relatively heavy, but if you spend a bit more to get the Mirage it's not that much more weight than a lighter jacket.

The really thin down puffy jackets that are fashionable these days don't do anything for me. I bought one this winter, and I was cold wearing it around the house at about 65 degrees. I returned it.

my wife and I have Alpine Lights that get broken out for shoulder season and milder winter trips (we use lighter down jackets (MH Ghost) for "summer") we could get by w/o the lighter down jackets easily enough for summer use if need be

I think the Alpine Light is more suitable for what your describing, the Frostline would definitely be too warm for me outside of the dead of winter

Good find with that Chart Matt.

I'm with Matt; hard to imagine being too warm sitting around camp. I use a giant Brooks Range with a hood–14 ounces, I think–which most people will laugh at for summer use. OH, soo toasty! Leave the layers at home…

Todd: didn't you used to play drums for a group that started out in Liverpool?