More down jacket talk

If you fit a size XL, this is hard to beat.

http://www.campsaver.com/alpine-light-down-jacket-2012-men-s

Edit: fixed link

I just bought a backcountry.com anorak. 7.5 oz in medium and roughly 130 bucks. Used it on a cold night and am really liking forward to using it more.

That still has 4 oz of fill and weighs more than twice what the Selkirk weighs. Just not sure if I need that much extra insulation

I just dropped by Uniqlo last night to check out how their ultralight down jackets are.

They are, in a word, nice and befitting of the ultralight title. I don't know exactly how heavy the men's hooded are but they are definitely well under 1 lb, perhaps even 10oz. Uniqlo quotes the women's large hooded parka as being 206g.

They're also only $70 for the hooded version, which has just enough hood volume to (barely) fit a climbing helmet or a warm hat. Sizing is similar to Patagonia "regular fit". I wear a medium in most brands and with a heavy 300wt fleece on I was still able to comfortably wear a medium Uniqlo parka.

If you are a 3-season backpacker looking to add a little extra warmth to your clothing system this is probably a good one to look into.

As a winter backpacker I think it wouldn't do enough to justify the weight as I'd much rather snuggle into my (albeit much heavier at 21oz) Patagonia Fitzroy. Even then I'm considering the Uniqlo hooded down parka as a belay jacket for rock climbing into the late fall and early spring since it is small and light and would carry easily on my harness.

Do you happen to know what kind of fill they use? It just says 90% down and 10% feathers.

Yes, they claim minimum of 640 fill or higher. However, there's a lot of speculation that they are probably not using the American standard of fill power calculation since the down appears such high quality that it's more like 750 by the American standard.

That said, it is a pretty skinny jacket so they aren't using that much fill either. Competitors in this space like the Patagonia Ultralight Down Jacket (much more expensive, btw), appear to have similar loft but a noticeable amount of overfill.

Apparently they are using nice fabric, from Toray.

Some more information can be found on BPL…
http://www.bing.com/search?q=site%3Abackpackinglight.com+uniqlo

Stephen,

My Uniqlo hooded down jacket weighs 10.5oz in an XL size IIRC. It's a terrific jacket for $70.

Ryan

Hey Ryan, do you feel your jacket would be warm enough in say 30* with a midweight base layer and a windshirt on? Possibly another lightweight base and a rain shell. That's basically what I need this for. Like my OP, I don't want too heavy a jacket and I'm thinking the 4oz fill is overkill. So this sounds nice but not sure about the warmth.

I have the Uniqlo jacket. it's nice and warm for an outing, but I found it not warm enough for 30º at rest with a baselayer.

For the weight and price, it's great. I use it as a travel jacket and casual jacket, but I wouldn't call it a serious jacket for camping in winter unless it's to supplement something else.

However, if I had to, Baselayer + Fleece + Uniqlo + Shell could probably do for mild winters. I haven't had it that long (about a week) but it's been used down to 22º out here.

You may plan on backpacking/camping down to 30, but you are in NE Ohio, I would be prepared for worse than advertised weather here. Better safe than sorry, you know what the weather is like here, 65 one afternoon and 25 that night, I have backpacked in southern OH in shorts and 60 degree weather in the Fall only to get snow and temps in the low 20's at night. I would think about it and consider your experiences here assuming you are from here. I have had temps swing 20 or more degrees from what the forecast called for and had rain when none was expected and been hot when it was supposed to be called and dry when it called for horrible storms.

I would go for one of each, I have about 4 of each…good luck!

I thought it would get below 0f lot in Ohio as I have seen -13f in Michigan on trips and many nights of -5f in a row.

Steve-

At rest in 30 deg weather, it would be close with the other clothes you mentioned and the Uniqlo jacket. Maybe. It's a great jacket for the money, but it's noticeably less warm than my Montbell UL down jacket. Probably ~5 deg less warm or more.

Ryan

You're absolutely right Lance. I've been here my whole life and they forecast is only right half the time. Actually to the point that I've jus stopped checking it for some time now. So you've helped me make my mind up on the golite demaree parka. It's affordable, warm, and only weighs 1.3 oz more than the MB alpine light. And believe me, I wish I could get one of each jacket. But I have a one year old baby, bills, and limited funds. So I gotta find gear that I can get the most use out of. Unfortunately, it appears that I'll have to sacrifice a bit of weight savings to do that. But no biggie. As long as I get out. That's all that really matters.

And yes it can get pretty cold up here. Doesn't drop below zero very often but that's pretty much January and February. I'd only plan on late November and possibly a nice weekend in December.
Thanks everyone

I do not think you will be sorry you went warmer. Golite makes some nice, light and affordable gear. I almost bought that same jacket, but just figured I have enough. I have packed my MH phantom on more than one trip I thought I would not need it and did here in OH, and remember, standing around in it for hours is a lot different than going from the car to the store and back. Ohio has some crazy weather, enjoy it.

del

del

the Ex Light Down Jacket is also on sale in all sizes,if you don’t mind the color choices. Here is Sticks first impression of his new Ex Light with video so you can see the fit.