Down hood for thru-hiker.com whitney jacket
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There have been more interest, so I'm posting the pattern here. It can be downloaded from http://gear.rezacovi.cz/whitney_hood.zip, the file contains both the original, editable SVG file and a PDF for easy printing. If I remember well, my jacket was size L and the pattern matches its collar circumference. I made it (both the jacket and the hood) baffled (1 – 1.5 cm), so the size may need some adjustments depending on your construction and loft.
I'm quite happy how it turned out, it sits well on the head, seals nicely around the face and does not limit the peripheral vision too much. An important feature in the design was also the possibility to cinch it to a small opening around the mouth and nose, so it will be comfortable for sleeping.
Here it is:
On friday evening I all but finished my parka in time for a quick trip to Minnesota's North Shore with my girlfriend over the weekend. I haven't added a waist or hood draw cord yet, but the coat was very warm without them. Thanks to Jan for the hood pattern (used it, turned out great). Total weight without the drawcords is 12.75 ounces with 6.4 ounces of down total. I used 1.5 ounces for the hood, which lofts to 2.5 inches per layer with sewn-through baffles.
Here are some photos:
As I mentioned above, this thing warm. Its sewn-through, but has about 3" of single layer loft in the body. I am normally a bit of a cold sleeper (skinny), but was able to sleep comfortably down to 15 degrees using my baselayers, golite reed rain pants, a homemade Vapor barrier top, this parka and my MYOG thru-hiker down quilt pictured above (20.5 oz) on a full length foam mat and 48" montbell self-inflater. Of course, it was wonderful for hanging around camp under the stars in the low 20s well after the sun set.
A few other details:
I used the "large" whitney kit in momentum fabric. I trimmed the pattern by 2" in the center of the back and 1" on each side of the zipper in the front to result in a coat that actually fits my trim 6'0" 155 pound frame with long arms and plenty of length in the torso. Couldn't be happier with the fit. I also ordered 0.5 oz down overstuff as I planned on adding a hood from the start. I used gutterman thread and marked baffles etc with sidewalk chalk.
Finally, for me this was a tough project. No specific step was terribly difficult, but it was a bit of a marathon and if you're not careful things can go wrong. I have previously finished a couple of bivy sacks, 2 "5 yards to SUL" article backpacks, three tarps, a sil-nylon vapor barrier hoody, a synthetic vest and a down quilt. I was ready to take this on, but wouldn't have been prior to doing the vest and down quilt. Of course, your mileage may vary.
Matt
p.s. I'll try to post a shot or two when I finish the hood draw cord, which i think will result in a cleaner look.
to assist anyone doing the same thing, the baffle heights are 2.5" with a total fill weight for the hood of about .7 oz.
I multiplied the length of the baffle by .14 (obtained by dividing desired volume of one inch length by down's fill power, then dividing by 28.3 grams/oz, then adding a little fudge factor for overfill) for an easy way to convert linear compartment length to desired down amount in grams. i.e. a 10" long baffle (2.5 inches high) would be 1.4 grams (10*.14).
I put a rear cinch channel in the hood like Jan's example, but it fits so well I wish I would have just saved the weight and gone without like Matt did. I also made it exit on one side instead of the back to facilitate sleeping.
And to avoid Jan's complex (though very good looking) tube system I just anchored a cordlock a little ways down from the edge and triple reinforced the end of the channel where the cord exits to guard against wear from repeated tightening/loosening.
Thanks again Jan and Matt!!!
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