Some questions that have been on my mind

> Are the denier ratings for face fabrics like the SPF factor for sunscreen in that > anything above 15 is marketing and anything about 80 D is just overkill? One could say that anything near 70D is probably headed for overkill. > Are these good boots? Nope. All are much too heavy, too expensive, and unnecessary. The boot mfrs may disagree, but this is Backpacking LIGHT. And yes, we do wear what we preach. > How is one supposed to cut through the fluff so to speak and get to the meat and > potatoes of the best? First, understand that the vendors are in business to sell you very expensive gear for their profit. They are not there to look after you. Most of those jackets are great street/tourist stuff, but they are usually a bit of an overkill. Unless you are expecting to go on an expedition to the Antarctic for a month or two. Cheers

What is all this "expedition" gear for? It might help more if you mentioned where and when you are using them. For regular old 3 season alpine walking, everything you mentioned seems way too heavy. I would try non-goretex trail runners. I would use a lighter puffy jacket for camp use3 only. If your conditions are different that I am assuming, then your needs may vary.

PHD and Valandre probably make the best expedition parkas but they are Uber expensive. I am very impressed with the Eddie Bauer Peak XV which I got on sale for 250ish that I got for Michigan around town and work use, I would happily use it on a trip but try to keep clean/camp fire smell free so I can wear it work.

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The Salmon 4d quest boots restrict ankle movement way too much.

If you have both pairs of boots then I would think you can best answer your own question… which work for you? I have used the Asolos and currently use the Quests. For my very wide, boxy feet the Quests are a great fit and proper lacing will determine ankle mobility. They are a softer and somewhat clunkier boot that the Asolos, but are very light for what you get. I mainly use them when in snow and/or carrying loads over 40lbs. For me, a boot is much preferred in this circumstances. As others have asked, what kind of trips are you planning? The parkas you mention are seriously warm, and if conditions demanded them I would personally need a much warmer footer solution than the mentioned boots.

"Are the denier ratings for face fabrics like the SPF factor for sunscreen in that anything above 15 is marketing and anything about 80 D is just overkill?" In my experience: absolutely, and nope… Certainly marketing plays a part in everything, especially when it comes to attracting those of "us" (who analyze every spec on a piece of gear) to their product. And naturally, we will resonate with products that are the lightest and strongest and best-est without costing any more than the one next to it. But in general, the heavier the denier, the more one might make the "assumption" that it is more durable. A lot of the hybrid jackets out there use a heavier denier fabric in areas which will usually take on more abrasion: namely the shoulders and waste region. If the entire jacket is made of the heavier fabric, then might it be more "durable"? Perhaps. But then the type of material affects durability as well. Some materials are simply more durable by what they are intrinsically, and don't need to have the same denier. And then there's rip-stop fabrics, and so on. I know ther are more learned folks on this list that can go much deeper into this, but looking just at denier might be limiting. And most important: the fabric's denier is pretty much moot if the jacket is poorly sewn together by folks struggling to make a living who don't give a cr@p about the jacket they are assembling, since it likely will retail for more $$ than they see in a year. When shelling out this kind of $$ for a garment, perhaps know more about who actually made it. Good luck on your quest for the holy grail, friend. Let us know when you've found it! :) Matt

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bigger denier has bigger threads, so there are bigger gaps between the threads, so it can be less water proof and wind proof. Probably doesn't matter of there's a GTX membrane inside?

where are your adventures taking you that your collection of expidition parkas includes an absolute zero parka? Do you also have the matching down pants?