Vest for underneath arcteryx atom lt hoody

I don't use a down vest (yet) but I really like Patagonia's down sweater vest. It's got small, narrow baffles to layer well under clothing instead of big pillows. As for the Arcteryx jacket, it's impossible for anyone to tell you what size to get since we can't see how it fits you, but I find with a puffy jacket, I'm always glad to size up. I'm right between a medium and a large and my Atom SV is a large, and I have plenty of room for a fleece and a down vest in there.

Since this is for camping, a little extra jacket won't be a big deal. Plus, with the draw-cords at the hem and the ingenious cuffs, I bet the extra material from the XL won't even be noticed.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. That's kinda what I was thinking. The more I look at various vests, the more I'm convinced on getting the xl. Other than vests like the atom lt or the mb thermawrap, I haven't found many thin insulated vests that would fit under the jacket. And I don't feel either of those would suit me well for my needs. So as far as vests, I'm leaning towards the golite demaree – $79 can't beat that. Or the marmot Ajax or Patagonia sweater vest as you mentioned.

Hi Steve,

I have an Xl Atom lt for sale on the cheap if you want one.

Cheers,

Stephen

Steve,

You mentioned you're new here, so I'll give Stephen a +1, he's one of the best people to buy used gear from on Gear Swap. It's a really good idea picking up the jacket from him.

Glad I could help. You will probably want a size "large" for the down vest. GoLite stuff is decent, but don't be fooled by their sale prices. They're always on sale….

I have the golite Selkirk, at $100 and 5oz, it is pretty nice and sounds like what you might be after, I have one and fits under my MH Phantom jacket and my MB thermawrap. It is a nice piece for layering when you need a little more warmth in your core area.

Hey lance, just checked that vest out on GL site. That does sound like something I'd be looking for. Especially at 5 oz. my only concern is if it would be warm enough while I was at camp. I'm somewhat new to backpacking (or at least in colder temps) so I just don't have the knowledge of what would work for me. I live in NE Ohio and backpack in PA so the weather isn't ever too bad. I suppose I could just hop in my bag if I started getting too cold. Fortunately, the park systems near me opened up five new backpacking sites this year. So I have plenty of places to try stuff out before heading ten miles into the woods in the winter hoping I stay warm.
At any rate, I'm planning on a LW LS base layer, wind shirt, vest, atom hoody, and rain shell. Of course a hat and gloves and possibly LW bottoms. I'd like to think it'd all be warm enough down to the low 30s during the day and maybe high 20s at night. I have 20 down bag so don't want to go much colder than that. Thanks for the heads up about the vest.

the atom lt is desinged to be used as an active layer with an athletic cut and the power strech side panels. the nanopuff has a much better cut for layering under, doesn't have the power stretch side panels and has primaloft one. the list price is more than the atom, but you can find it on sale.

as a suggestion for possible layering in your situation how about the following; long sleeve base layer (synthetic), power stretch/r1 style hoodie, wind shirt, nanopuff and hard shell. i've substituted the hoodie for the vest.

Hey Steve,

I am in central OH (Dublin) I do a lot here in OH and WV (my home state), so I am familiar with temps around here. It all depends on how warm/cold you are, but for me, I have Patagonia, 2's, 3's, and 4's. I use mostly the 3's, I will then add either the vest (50ish), a little cooler I have just the thermawrap (45ish), a little colder the vest and thermawrap(just above freezing), if it gets down in the low 20's teens, I pull out the MH phantom. I can use a combo of any to all of that and go from 60 down to 0, with the addition of MB thermawrap pants, and like you said there is always your sleepeing bag! That is for after hiking and in campo for me, I don't have on much when I am hiking, I put off a lot of heat! I am usually just in the base layer top and maybe the thermawrap if it is 35-45. Lastly remember you can really regulate a lot with a hat also. I have several, the MH Dome Perignon, Golite beanie, and just got the black rock down hat for hammock camping. A vest for your core and hat can really add warmth when needed.

> the atom lt is desinged to be used as an active layer with an athletic cut and the power strech side panels. the nanopuff has a much better cut for layering under, doesn't have the power stretch side panels and has primaloft one. the list price is more than the atom, but you can find it on sale.

I'm going to have to agree with Richard here. While the Atom LT is an excellent piece it truly is meant as an active layer for cool conditions. If you wear it as a passive layer you will most likely quickly find the fleece sides to be annoying. The Nano Puff, especially the Pullover since it's lighter, is a better choice in this case.

Thanks for all the replies. I'd have a wind shirt on under the atom LT so unless it was some crazy gusts, I think it'd work out. But your comments got me checking out other jackets as well. I'm kinda considering the atom SV as it's almost twice the insulation, no mesh, better hood, 3 oz more, and not much more $$. On sale at least. I haven't tried one on yet but it sounds like the fit is a little roomier to allow layering underneath. But with te 100g of insulation, I don't think I would need an addition layer while at camp or while stopped. Maybe just a thinker base layer which I'd have with me to sleep in anyhow. The additional cost and weight would be actually less since I wouldn't have to spend another 100 on a vest that is going to weight at least 5 oz anyhow. And if I did find I needed another layer, I already own a LW down puffy jacket that was just to snug under the atom LT. So what do you guys think of that idea instead?

As far as the pat NP, I didn't really like the fit and it seamed kinda fragile. Plus I like the look of arcteryx stuff way more than anything else.
Thanks

Get the atom SV or something similar

For your non active use, the LT is a bit of a waste as the breathable side panels take away from the insulation

Also for active use, using it with a windshirt negates the breathability as well

I use a light down jacket/vest under synth all the time and it not only protects the down from outside moisture … It also reduce moisture from your body collecting in the down as it transfers to the outer synth layer

I can dry light down jackets under my synth with a hawt nalgene inside to raise the inside temps

A 100g+ synth with any decent down sweater will be toasty down to about 20F if you metabolism is anything like mine

;)

"I'm going to have to agree with Richard here. While the Atom LT is an excellent piece it truly is meant as an active layer for cool conditions. If you wear it as a passive layer you will most likely quickly find the fleece sides to be annoying."

Precisely.

there's a company on ebay right now blowing-out the wild things 4oz primaloft (sport?) hooded sweater for $90. if you find a color/size combination you like that's a hard price to beat. to some it may not be the best looking around-town jacket, but it will keep you warm.

Man, I'm gonna have to get a second job. This hobby was much cheaper when I was ignorant lol.

They don't have those on their website. Always makes me skeptical when someone sells something in eBay that the company doesn't offer.

They were a special (old school) offer from wt last year. the style goes back to before the private equity company came in and doesn't really fit with their new product direction. they were the same price as when wt was selling them. it wouldn't surprise me if wt just bulked them out to a distributor to get rig of excess inventory. i have no doubt that they are real. nobdy would counterfit a wt sweater.

del

I guess I don't want the hassle of worrying about if it gets wet. I went backpacking in early September in PA and it was a beautiful weekend. At night however, a cloud basically landed on top of the whole area. I got up to pee and had my headlamp on. I could see the tiny water droplets flying around. I didn't feel it like rain or anything but my down sleeping bag was damp and I was cold all night. Now I just have the Kelty cosmic down 20 so it's not an expensive water resistant one but none the less. I was cold. I have a one year old baby, bills, and limited money. So while something like the atom sv is a little on the pricier side, it seems like a piece of gear that I could use in multiple situations. As opposed to a down jacket when I know it'll stay dry, a lighter synthetic jacket for possible wetter, warmer conditions, and a heavy jacket for another situation. I try researching as much as possible but there are just so many options and not really a straight answer on any of the descriptions. I'm sure it's to confuse the consumer so it's hard to tell the similarities between the companies competitors. But I try piecing together as much info as I can from reviews and videos and general descriptions. That's how I landed on the arcteryx lt hoody in the first place. And now have moved on to the sv hoody far as I can tell. But I'm open to suggestions. I'd rather not spend $185 on a jacket if something similar was cheaper.

I guess my specific concern with down is what do I do when it's lightly raining? Every time I need to put it on I have to make sure it doesn't get wet while I get my rain she'll over it? Every time I leave the shelter of my tent, even for a few minutes, I gotta keep it covered? It seems like a pain. But maybe I'm just uneducated about down jackets. Idk

del

I don't plan on doing any trips longer than 2 nights. Especially not in the cold – warmer weather possibly. And twenty degrees would be the absolute coldest I would want to be in but most likely it would be more towards 30. So it seems you have a pretty good idea of what my plans are. What suggestions would you, or anyone else, have then for an affordable down jacket for this kind of weather? Having it narrowed down to a handful of choices would be a great place for me to start researching. Thanks

del

Generally down will work for 1-2 days and will repel light precipitation for short periods IF the DWR is on good condition

That said there are some caveats

– if you sweat in down in the winter all bets are off … Theres always people who hike in their down for whatever reason and sweat it out … Synth still has issues with this but not as much … Dont sweat in winter

– constantly packing and repacking down in wet sticky snow tends to get the sleees and hem wet … Especially when you put it yr pack where it warms up the snow … Of course you shake it off as best as possible, but in the PNW our snow can be very sticky … Synth has issues too but it handles the moisture better

– in humid wet environments that 900+ fill untreated down is likely around 700 fill or so … Real world humidity takes away from the "perfect" down rating … Up here on 90%+ humidity days my high fill down is no warmer than a good fleece

– if you wear ur down jacket constantly your dwr is likely wearing out from use … You need to constantly refresh it … My EB downlights dwr dies a LONG time ago … I wear it 200+ days a year for the past few years … The nylon will no longer hold DWR even with a refresh … In any kind of rain itll get soaked

– some people say down last 20+ years … For stuff you use occasionally or those old beefy down winter jackets that you use for 3 months a year, sure … For something you wear or use daily in the city and outside , not a chance …. Even if the down doesnt die, and theres been a few threads on this from people who use their bags every day for a few years … The thin nylon shell on most UL puffies these day will … Id you use it everyday and wear it inside as well, down jackets become a disposable item

It all depends what you use it for, what you can afford, what your climate is like, and how "stupid proof" do you want it

I own and use both down and synth

Consider that if you already have a down jacket as you indicated then you might not already need anymore gear

;)

It's not that bad.

Most down jackets have enough water resistance to last a minute or two of heavy rain before getting soaked. Down isn't like tissue paper; ducks and geese are designed to get wet, and a little moisture doesn't kill it immediately. You'd have to stand in rain for several minutes to get a real deleterious effect.

Do your best to keep it dry and don't put it away when it's wet- let it dry out. Othrwise, treat it like you'd treat anything else, like a fleece. You wouldn't want to soak your fleece!

P.S. If you get your down wet and then dry it out, taking care to break up the clumps, it's good as new. it won't "wear out" from getting wet.