Jacket which combines synthetic insulation and down

My guess is the only perk to a combo would be to save a little money. Otherwise, i like down for certain conditions (drier) and synthetic for others (wetter). I have mixed natural and synthetic in other things though.

I have a baby alpaca sweater (for the outside) and a very light weight but quite warm sweater made from a combo of lambswool, angora rabbit, nylon, and cashmere (for the inside) and i sandwiched some left over Climashield Apex material in most parts except for the small of the back and sewed the sweaters together. Then i treated it with Nikwax wash in treatment. It's a bit weird, but i'm keeping it for if i ever go to a really cold climate, but want really good breath-ability. (it wouldn't be the only thing i would wear though). Problem with down jackets in really cold weather is that water vapor buildup can freeze within the down jackets, collapses the insulation and since they use such tight weaved poly or nylon with these kinds of jackets they aren't very breathable to begin with.

I have seen a few other companies (mainly in Europe) do this, allegedly they put Synthetic in the shoulders and areas where a pack could compress down and then down in the body.

My main problem with it is the down will still function properly after the synthetic has collapsed in a pancake.

Like Stephen, I actually dont like the idea that they use primaloft in the shoulders. Unlike down, Primaloft, along with many synthetics, isn't known to withstand hard compression. Shoulder straps would permanently flatten that area within its first couple of uses. Some of my synthetic jackets are extremely thin in the shoulders and back area because of me using them under a pack. If it were up to me, I would do down fill on the back/shoulders and, if I had to, I would put primaloft on the front core area. Arms could be either down or synth. I think this makes sense….at least my core would be somewhat warm if that area ever got wet because of rain/perspiration.

This mixing and matching seemed to be a popular thing earlier in the fall. Patagonia introduced their "mixed" or "hybrid" items in motley colors, mixing weather-resistant areas and more breathable areas. EB has a ski jacket with their MicroTherm down lining, but swapped for PrimaLoft One in the hood, underarms, and lower body.

They just want to make sure all us gearheads keep throwing our money at them. They probably realized that many of us already have a slew of down jackets and synthetic jackets for varying conditions, so we didn't need to spend any more money on another jacket unless we wear one out.

But what about a hybrid? We don't have them in our arsenal of jackets, so were not quite sure about its application or practicality. Why not go ahead and buy one to see if it will fit into our line up? What's another $100 in the grand scheme of backpacking?

I agree with Stephen about the longevity of down vs. synthetics. The jacket will become pretty worthless after the synthetic material degrades, yet the down itself would have many more years of practical use.

I would rather try to find 2 separate jackets(at a reasonable price) to fit the varying conditions.