Patagonia Fitz Roy hooded down jacket

Jeff,

Where did you find the information that this jacket (size M) has 6.46 oz of fill? Based on the materials in the Patagonia specifications, my calculation indicates that it should only have about 5.3 oz of fill.

I own the Patagonia Fitz Roy Hooded Down Jacket. It is a very nice piece … warm, comfortable and well-made. I've been told it has a tiny bit over 6 oz of down fill.

I love the hood. It actually fits and is very comfortable. The drawn hem is nice and seals out wind, and the cuffs seal nicely without leaving marks on your wrists. I haven't had it in truly cold weather yet. I've been out in temps in the high 20s with only a baselayer and was thoroughly toasty. I got it for lounging around camp when temps are in the teens and single digits.

It blocks wind very well and light precip beads up and rolls right off. It is extremely pleasant to wear and if left unzipped can provide a relatively wide temperature/comfort range. I can wear it when it's 50 degrees out and fully expect it to be useful down to 0 degrees.

Only two cons I can come up with so far. One, and this isn't really a con but more of an observation, but the outer material is thin and seems as if it could snag easily. That being said, I haven't snagged it and Patagonia products I've owned in the past (and present) have lasted decades. Two, the amount of down fill seems somewhat inconsistent, as there are areas in the upper arms that seem to be filled less than the rest of the garment. Granted, these areas of lesser fill are in exactly the same spots on both arms (think: armpits), so it could indeed be a design parameter from Patagonia (something desingned for comfort, like pitzips, perhaps).

Other than that, the jacket fits nice, is longer in back than the Down Sweater or the older Fitz Roy Jacket and is overall a very impressive jacket good for outdoor endeavors or wearing around town. For me, it is money well-spent.

Mark,

Both the thread dealing with your objectives for a new winter jacket (10/20/09) and today’s post-purchase review were both well written and detailed… thank you.

Patagonia’s Fitz Roy hooded jacket (size M) specification as of 10/28/09 @ 8:30 AM listed the 800 fill amount as 5.255 oz. Patagonia’s Fitz Roy hooded jacket specification (size M) as of 11/17/09 @ 8:30 AM lists the 800 fill as 6.385 oz. Jeff’s source lists the fill weight as 6.46 oz and your source listed it as a “tiny bit over 6 oz”.

Further compounding the Fitz Roy confusion, Patagonia only sells the 700 fill unhooded version of the Fitz Roy in their catalog. This jacket’s spec, as of today, is 6.773 oz of fill. Only non-Patagonia retailers sell the 800 fill Fitz Roy hooded version and Patagonia intended it this way.

Your combination of the 3oz fill Patagonia Down Sweater and the 5.225 – 6.46 oz (5.843 oz avg) provides ~8.843 oz of 800 fill. This modular combination should test ~3.77 Iclo and be optimal for camp chores in the 27F to 6F range.

The Golite Hooded Inferno is the closest single-garment-equivalent to the Patagonia Down Sweater and Fitz Roy Hoody modular system. It was reviewed by Will R. for BPL on 3/3/09. It has the same light recycled polyester shell material as the Patagonia jackets, and a 800 fill down weight of 8.853 oz. This is approximately equal to the Patagonia modular total.

Regarding the Golite Hooded Inferno, Will said, “It's the right class of warmth for those of us who love to get out in winter cold, and even (gasp!) snow camp in mid-winter, but it's simply too heavy and too warm for three-season backpacking.” Will also used the more versatile modular-two-jacket-combination for some of his reported winter camping endeavors.

Obviously there is a weight penalty that comes from two individual jackets to provide the same equivalent warmth as one jacket. The Patagonia modular combination totals 33.3 oz and the dedicated winter only Golite Inferno is 25 oz. 8.3 oz is a trade-off for thermal flexibility that will make sense to many.

Hi Richard,

I got the info from the bottom of this page:

http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorgear/Patagonia-Fitz-Roy-Hooded-Down-Jacket-Mens/PAT1582M.html

I believe Ty is a rep working with Patagonia and Backcountry and he states the fill at 181 grams.
Richard can you give me the CLO's on the
Patagonia DAS Parka and the Feathered Friends Hyperion Jacket? Thanks a million for you expertise…

Jeff

Jeff,

The following Iclo ratings are based on the insulation specification for the DAS and an extrapolation for similar down jackets thermal tested by me last year. The current version of the Patagonia DAS parka is insulated with PL1 (short staple). In prior years they used Polarguard (continuous staple). The current version provides both much improved drape and warmth over last year’s version. DAS insulation is 170-g PrimaLoft® One in the body and 133-g PrimaLoft One in the hood and sleeves. If the whole jacket was comprised of 170 g PL1, then the Iclo value would have been 4.20. If the whole jacket was comprised of 133 g PL1, then the Iclo value would have been 3.28. The composite DAS insulation value adjusted for the BSA % is Iclo 3.72. Another way of gauging the warmth of the DAS is that it is equivalent to the MB Alpine jacket with 6 oz of down and 2” box baffles. This type of insulation will be reduced with stuffing and/or washing. The Iclo value can be as much as -30% after two years use. Offsetting this negative, it will only loose about 10% of its insulation value if saturated.

The FF Hyperion has 5.15 oz of 800 down fill with stitch-through construction. It has ~12% less Iclo than the DAS with an Iclo 3.27. If you are comparing a jacket to a hoody, the jacket needs to have a hat of comparable warmth for the above equivalences to hold. Accelerated compression tests on this type of garment indicate that it would loose less than 10% of its warmth after 10 years of hard use.

A parka I was MOST impressed with during my research was the Mammut Ambler Hooded Down Jacket. This thing is super-puffy and warm, but it doesn't quite pack down as well as a Fitz Roy Hoody and that was the difference.

If you're looking for a really warm parka and lightness/compressibility aren't at the forefront of your decision criteria, the Ambler might be worth a look. It is awfully stylish and would seem an excellent value, as well.

Patagonia Fitz Roy hooded parka $199 w/ free shipping @ Back Country Gear with coupon. These are normally $350.00.

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/appareldetail.cfm?PRODUCTS__ProductID=PAT9002

Jeff