Eddie Bauer 1st Ascent Jackets

The downlight was reduced to $69-$89 today. Not sure what sizes were still available, but The medium tall and large tall were still available in blue and cardinal red. I ordered both a medium tall and large tall….I will return the one that doesn't fit to the store or sell it on gear swap for what I paid. Great deal, and the 15% off coupon still works. BAUER618

In regular length, the downlights are sold out in medium & large. I was able to get a medium tall in blue (cardinal was also available). We'll see if this works.

The Fedex man showed up at the door today. He clutched a shredded plastic bag in his arm, the dark brown of a down vest protruding. Of course I wanted to see the damage, so I tried to pull at the bag to reveal the exposed tear, but he wrestled it away from me. Darn signature. I refused the package.

Called up Eddie Bauer and told the nice southern lady what happened. She offered to send a new one out, and we had a laugh (tempered by the fact she was being recorded) about how she had to up-sell two additional items before hanging up.

I can't understand why they send clothing in those plastic bags and not Tyvek.

Got mine today (a First Ascent in XL regular.)

I do not have a scale, but can confirm that these things are "gutsy." Were I to gain another 50 pounds of stomach girth, This vest will keep fitting just fine.

If I had purchased the jacket, I might have gotten this item in the "tall" version for that extra 2" in arm length, but instead of a size XL, tried a large.

Thanks again for linking to this deal!

The medium tall down jacket arrived today, and I think I like it. It fits snugly enough in the torso, the sleeves are just slightly too long (usually, on me, medium sleeves are a bit short), but interestingly, the torso goes down past my butt–which means the kidneys, which can lose a lot of heat, are totally insulated. I think this is going to be a great jacket for around camp, and for sleeping in–no danger of the jacket riding up during the night.

I measure the weight at 12.4 oz, which is less than spec for the regular medium, so it may be short a bit of down.

James,

I believe they've all come in under speced weight, even in Will's review. Maybe they weigh the largest size or something.

-chris

1. Whatever you do, don't pull the hem cord tight at all. Leave it loose. Or you will do what I had to do twice, return the jacket because the material down there is thin and the cord ripped through it.

2. If you're looking at synthetic insulation (and since this IS a UL forum) you don't want to buy the Igniter jacket. Yeah the price is right and it is one hell of a warm jacket, but it's really heavy. As soon as I got my hooded NanoPuff, I compared the two. The Igniter is much heavier and more bulky and slightly overbuilt. But you have to keep in mind, Eddie Bauer did make this stuff to go to the top of the world.

I've thought about getting rid of my Igniter jacket, but it did keep me warm this past winter being the only jacket I wore.

Went to the site this morning, and everything is listed as "Pre-Order" with higher prices…must have cleared out last year's gear to make room for the new launch…bummer.

If anybody bought a medium downlight in any color that they decided they don't want, let me know, and I'll take it off your hands for what you paid plus shipping.

You've got to go into the Clearance section, and even then it's easy to click the wrong thing and end up in the full price section. I just ordered a vest for myself and a sweater for my wife.

Found it thanks!!

Has anyone tried the Igniter pants? I'm thinking of getting some, but wanted some thoughts on quality, and fit.

James, could you help me out? I'm 6ft tall, 175lb, 42in chest and am on the fence between the available Medium Tall and Large Tall – are you near those measurements? I'm tempted to order one of each and just return the one that doesn't fit but it would be nice not to spend the extra $6 in return shipping.

Thanks,
Jared

Jared, I am 6'2" and 175, I purchased the Large Tall and it fits great. Just right around the chest/waist. I was glad I went with the tall- it fits my arms and covers my butt.

Hi Jared–I'm 5'9, but have a long torso, 34 1/2" arms. I wear either a 40 or a 42 jacket–I think the chest would fit you fine, or be slightly tight if you're a large 42. Jacket length, measured along an edge from shoulder seam/arm junction to bottom, is 28". Along middle of back, from collar seam to bottom, is 28.5". Hope this helps, and hasn't come too late. Just saw your post.

They keep dropping the prices. I was tempted into getting a vest too– $39 ($51 with shipping, handling and taxes). The remaining jackets are going for $59. Small, XL, and XXL left at this writing. Woow woow!

http://www.eddiebauer.com/EB/Mens-Outerwear/Winter-Outerwear-Clearance/index.cat

Dang, I should have ordered that Medium-Long! Sounds like it would have fit.

Ended up getting only the Large-Long and had to return it to the local Eddie Bauer store because the sleeves looked like accordions on my arms and the bottom hem of the jacket fell way over my back pockets, almost past my inseam.

The jacket looked really good and the red was true to the photos. Oh well, I'll keep an eye out for Mont-bell stuff now and start the Fall season with my down vest instead.

Edit: James, those measurements are spot-on for me – thanks! I just reordered the jacket in Slate Med-Long and saved $40 over last week's purchase!

Just got myself a down sweater for $70 shipped. I hope the small is not too small, I am 5'7"/145 lbs and I wear small with North Face but medium with Mtn Hardwear. Any input?

Does Eddie Bauer have the same return policy as REI? Lifetime satisfaction?

http://www.eddiebauer.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?sectionId=296

I'm 5'8"/155 and went with a medium. It's not "too big", but there's definitely room underneath for a few layers even. I could probably zip into a small but not be very comfortable or have an easy range of motion. If I had to guess I'd say the SM will work for you, but maybe only light layers will fit underneath.

And their return policy is good.

I was at an Eddie Bauer store here in Seattle looking at a jacket and the sales woman told me you can bring anything back….regardless…..just like REI she said.

Noel,
I wear the small downlight sweater and i'm 5'6" 135 lbs. There's plenty of room underneath for additional layers. I think the small would fit you great.

Also, mine came in at 11.1 oz on my scale, a little under the spec'd weight. Thanks for heads up again Dale.

EB has a dropdown sizing chart (in kinda fine print) by each pop-up item.

Looks like 'Tall' adds 2 inches to a shirt ( & jacket I assume) + 1 inch or so to the sleeves. FWIW I always go Tall when a mfr offers a choice.

Thanks guys,
I wonder how it compares to Patagonia or MontBell's down sweater in terms of warmth and compressibility.

From what I've seen in stores, Patagonia's down gear tends to cut toward the 'generous' big-boy waistline. I have not seen a Patagonia down product that was anything but Regular, IE no 'Tall', 'Long' etc.

EB's size chart for the First Ascents says they are cut to be trim and snug. A lot of us are about to find out, including me.

> Thanks guys,
> I wonder how it compares to Patagonia or MontBell's down sweater in terms of warmth and >compressibility.

BPL's State of the Market Report for lightweight down jackets (just recently published) reviews this jacket. It's a great article worth the $8 or whatever they charge for a single article, or $25/year (IIRC) subscription if you're looking for a down jacket.

One of my favorite features of this jacket is that it stuffs into its own pocket. So many manufacturers don't do this, sometimes giving you a stuff sac (extra weight) and other times not at all.

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