Down Jackets, sooo many options…

I have owned both the Montbell Ultralight Jacket and the Patagonia Ultralight down jacket and I much prefer the fit of Patagonia as do many of my climbing partners. However my mid layer piece is the First Ascent Downlight– but this is a bit heavier than your parameters, however it can be found for a nice price with their 20-40% off deals.

I guess the question is, what temps do you expect to be using the down jacket in the SE?

I have a Stoic Hadron anorak that I love. 7.4 oz with 2.3 oz of 850 fill down. Stoic also sellls a jacket and vest. All can be had for 40% off right now using the cleansnipe.com trick. That's $107 for the anorak, less for the other styles. Makes for an amazing value.

just like insurance, they are all the same-just try to pick least expensive one, because after all is said and done it's just plastic and feathers…

and secondly you're gonna wreck it anyway when you take it into the bush…

check out this down jacket by White Sierra for $89… I have one, it's just as warm as the upper-end brands and when you get holes from flying campfire embers, you won't be out $300.

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/SubCategory___40000000226_200368534?ip_navtype=AdvancedSearch&catFilter=&searchKeywords=200368534&ip_sortBy=&filters=Manufacturer%20Name~White%20Sierra~White%20Sierra%20%281%29%7CStyle~Down~Down%20%2822%29&ip_constrain=&pageSize=24&catType=&searchCategory=browsefilter&manNameFilter=&sizeFilter=&ip_state=&priceFilter=&currentPage=&colorFilter=

Is the stoic really worth it at that price?

For me, step one would be to decide on the denier of nylon that I want. You can get 7D or 15D nylon down jackets, but if you want to use it as an outer layer sometimes you're probably best off looking at 30D, and/or maybe even with a bit higher nylon reinforcements in the high wear areas.

Step two is then to decide how much down you want. Look around at down jackets and try to decide how much warmth you're after.

Once you've figured out those two things then it's pretty simple. It's just a matter of price, fit and features (usually the fewer the better) at this point.

I will say that Montbell often has really good prices on their stuff, so check them out. Also, they have a new 'Frost Smoke' parka out that looks really nice. It's a longer cut than montbell normally does, which is good because most of their stuff is kinda short in the torso. The Frost smoke is 15D but it has tougher 40D nylon in the high wear areas. You do pay a weight penalty for this though, so it depends on your priorities. Since it uses the reinforcements, the Frost Smoke is 12.6oz with 3.5oz of down and it's $199 MSRP.

I sold my Patagonia and Montbell insulation layers and bought a Western Mountaineering Hooded Flash jacket. It's expensive, but I love it. Well designed, with a great hood, handwarmer pockets, a full zipper, and no other features…