heavy fleece vs. ?

Most down jackets have a decent DWR these days so it isn't too tricky to keep them dry.

Having said that, if you really want to go synthetic then a good option are the Montbell thermawrap jacket and parka. Note that the parka is heavier, thicker and warmer than the jacket.

Cheers, A

Your caption of HEAVY fleece is correct. For its warmth 300 wt. Polarguard fleece is heavy – and bulky.

I like my Thermolite Extreme insulated jacket & pants. They are made from very light ripstop and are meant only as a middle, insulating layer.
I'm not a fan of PrimaLoft, unless they've improved it, due to its great loss of loft after just one season of using a PrimaLoft insulated sleeping bag & packing in its stuffsack every morning for 4 weeks.

My best recommendation is to buy the British made Softie Snugpack insulated clothing. It meets Brit military specs for durability and it stuffs very small. (Brigade Quartermaster sells it.)

Eric

You could check out a synthetic insulated vest kit from thru-hiker.com and make your own… or BPL sells similar that weigh around 6 ounces.

The Golite salsa is kinda heavy (16oz) compare the montbell and cocoon products but campsaver has it on sell for $60 bucks. Just bought one so I don't have any real world test on it yet.

well if the golite is 1-lb. i dont guess my jacket is all that heavy at 1-lb 3-oz. it just always seems to be one of bulkier items in the pack. i was just wondering what the options were. ill check out some that you have mentioned.

This chart is one of my favorite things ever on BPL, and it’s helped me make great jacket decisions.

I have no idea what weight your fleece is but at 19oz it must be 300wt. So the Thermawrap would only be half as warm. However, if you can get over your down vs moistures concerns, you could save 10 oz and lots of space in your pack (the UL Down inner is really compressible) with a MB Down Inner Parks for the same warmth.

How much rain to you hike in? When you you be wearing the down but not a rain jacket? Do you cross a lot of rivers? Couldn’t you just get a small drysack to keep the jacket in when not worn? I have in fact used a quart sized ziplock bag on mine before.

the chart is helpful, thanks.

i do most hiking in the winter. i jsut find the low temps more comfortable. i have been rained on several times and yea one of the loop trails i enjoy is jsut shy of 30 miles and there must be like 13 water crossings, about 5 are sometimes thigh deep. often the moisture is just foggy, damp air.