Not os overwhelmed by the Golite Bitterroot

That and the hood is just monstrous. I wore two thin hats and I still couldn't keep it on my head in a wind.

I tried one I.Golites Boulder store a while back and was not too impressed with it

I'm in the same boat. Just got mine yesterday… I'lll be returning it.

Seems the sewn thru squares inhibit the warmth a little more than it should, taking away from how warm a 5 ounce fill should be.

I have the Roan Plateau and love it.
Hood on it is still a little to big but doable.
It feels very light for it's warmth vs $$$.

I received mine two days ago and no way would I return it–I love the jacket! So light (13 oz) and warm, $160, not too concerned about getting it wet, and hugs my body better than other puffies I've owned. A lot of down, but doesn't feel in the way. It's a "cooker" for me, but, I live in the southland. Might not be so warm in the polar regions as it is here.

Thats good to know Delmar :-)

I received my bitterroot about an hour a go and ditto on being disappointed with the loft and hood. The size large at 14.7 oz. is nothing special either. So does anyone know if there is a better option for under $200 that is in this weight range? If not then I guess I got what I paid for at $170 but not the real value I thought I was going to receive.

That stinks. The Bitterroot looked like a awesome jacket for the money. I almost pulled the trigger about 10x.

Ryan

For the money, sounds like a rab infinity is a better deal when you can get one on sale. For under $200 though it's hard to find that much high quality down in any jacket from any brand. The MB Alpine light comes close or a Brooks Range on clearance from REI. Still not that much luck to be had. For the price it sounds like the Bitterroot is a decent jacket but yeah it's not as luxurious of a value as GoLite marketing implies.

I have tried loads of stitch though jackets in 5-7oz down fill range and I am always disappointed by them, obviously stitch though is cheaper and weighs an ounce or so less, but paying the premium for box wall is well worth it.

For me stitch through is perfect in the 2-4oz down fill range.

But then again I could be talking total Horse Manure.

I am surprised that more people don't contact Ben Smith over at Goosefeet Gear for custom orders. His down socks constantly garner rave reviews and he sews the hoods offered by Zpacks.

Last year, he charged me 230$ for a size large jacket weighing 10 ounces with 4.5 ounces of 850 down fill. The jacket has a hood, zipper, and hem cord at the waist. He used a black 10d outer fabric and a tan 10d inner fabric. I opted for no pockets. I think it's a perfect minimalist 3-season jacket, maybe 4 season depending on your layering system. It's actually too warm for most the hiking I do and I usually end up taking my Stoic Hadron Anorak.

For the price range, I have not yet seen a better deal.

If you end up returning the Golite jacket, I highly recommend contacting Ben and outlining the exact specs and construction techniques you want.

Cheers.

For the price the bitter root is definitely a nice jacket with a good fill to weight ratio. I didn't like the fit when I tried it on, and it wasn't quite warm enough for some of the winter stuff I wanted to do, so i decided to hold out until I got a great deal on a rab infinity. I liked the fit (still a little weird) and construction , and it felt warmer. I ended up paying $240 on sale (2 years ago), and for how much use that jacket has seen, I don't regret it for a second. I did the same thing when picking out a light puffy, the rab xenon–figured out exactly what I wanted and then waited for a good deal–$125 on steep and cheap. I wouldn't be surprised if it saw 200 days of use (sadly its about dead)

While I definitely don't think anyone (certainly not me) NEEDS to have the techiest stuff (cue eric c.) or 'exactly what you want,' IF its something that I know I'll get a lot of use out of, I often find its worth shelling out the extra $. Then, rather then having the lurking feeling that the jacket is not quite warm enough every time you put it on, you can get that feeling of comfort from the warmth and satisfaction of liking the gear you have. Mind you, this is coming from a gear nerd who buys gear beyond his means and penny pinches in every other respect.

I've noticed a l lot of people on these forums seem to have plenty of puffy jackets (and redundancy in gear in general). If I buy stuff because its a bargain, I end up with a lot of overlapping gear that I don't like that much, that doesn't get used that often. I spent more on those two jackets above then I would on some comparable bargains, but until recently they were my only two insulated jackets and between them they've covered me for 4 season backpacking rock and ice climbing, ski mountaineering, packrafting, long mountain runs etc. without a hitch. Regardless of how much of a bargain I got, if its sitting in my closet too much, then it wasn't a good deal.

U dun NEED it =P

If youre going to use it alot, then by all means buy it …

If youre not, itll end up on gear swap anyways

I think this thread and other threads like it in general show the importance of trying things on first, or at leaSt having free returns and shipping

The bitteroot is one of those BPL "buy buy buy" items that got alot of publicity and purchase "pressure"

Often such items become a group think mentality … Everyone buys, some end up happy, some dont

BPL always goes through those "must have" product cycles

;)

"I've noticed a lot of people on these forums seem to have plenty of puffy jackets (and redundancy in gear in general). If I buy stuff because its a bargain, I end up with a lot of overlapping gear that I don't like that much, that doesn't get used that often. "

Exactly my impression. Only of a few things, I have two. Of one thing I have three and I bought those new ones for a specific purpose and little by little I noticed it that they were also perfect for other things. Mostly one and everything has its place and gets used. Even if it's on sale, if I don't need it, I don't buy it.

I've found that putting a windjacket over a stitched through down jacket helps noticeably. One of the reasons why i like over sized windjackets.

That does help to a certain level Justin, but when its 0F like it outside my house this morning I am going Box Wall all the way :-)

Yah Stephen, at those more seriously cold temps, i'm sure it's quite nice to have the box wall stuff. Since my wife runs cold, i bought her a used New Balance Fugu jacket, talk about warm! (would be really nice if it had a hood)

That's too bad the Bitterroot didn't work for you. I love my Brooks Range anorak. I really used the heck out of it under my hunting coat this year when temps got sub zero, and when it warmed up to 25 degrees or so, it was actually too hot. And the hood although large for me was really nice over my turtle fur hat when the wind picked up.

not to hijack, but i'm selling a brooks range alipini for less than the bitterroot for those who were underimpressed. i would say a size medium bitterroot is comparable to the large brooks range alpini. i've had both jackets and the alpini is much warmer and loftier (and lighter).

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=85522