Lightweight down hooded jacket? Lightweight fleece vest?

Hello down in New Zealand!! I just spent two months down in the South Island and it is one of my favorite places in the world! I love my r2 vest but I agree I could do without the pockets. A great option for a simple vest is the Patagonia r1 vest with one chest pocket and a half zip. It is not a heavy weight fleece but great over a baselayer if you are on the move. You should be able to find one somewhere although I don't think they are offered in the patagonia line anymore. Mont-bell makes a Chameece vest at about 6 or 7 ounces. You could always find a deal on a fleece pullover like an old R2 pullover on Ebay, cut the sleeves off, and recycle the sleeves at a Patagonia store. PHD makes the Minimus down pullover at 11 oz and you can add an optional hood but I think it snaps on. That's about all I can come up with.

Actually this thread covers the fleece vest question well.

There is a number of companies that make ultralight / ultrawarm jackets that weight in around 16oz (480g) such as the WM meltdown, PhD makes one, and a few other.

The other option is to do a light weight jacket and a down or synthetic baklava… that's what I do.

As to vests… I like using a fleece vest around town… but something high loft (synthetic or down) is much more compressible and have more than 2 times the warmth / weight. For around two I like the Montbell Chameece Vest which I found falls between Patagonia R1 and R2 in terms of warmth and is very soft. Only has a chest pocket.

Patagonia's new pullover has a lot of the traits of the Skaha. I love Patagonia gear but would not trade in my Epic shelled Skaha Plus for the world.

Hi Ryan – I've only managed a single one week trip hiking down in the S. Island, but I agree it's amazing.

Mark, I agree for warmth-weight high-loft is far superior to fleece, but this is to wear for hiking on a wet winter's day. I own a Thermawrap Vest, but I'm not sure I want to crush the life out of it hiking day in & day out with it under my pack, plus walking all day in the rain means it will get soaked through. Plus it might actually be too warm for this use!

The Chameece vest sounds ideal though, thanks for the pointer guys.

Regarding down jackets: the WM Meltdown is a bit heavy for what I need – I really don't need anything warmer than something like the Montbell Down Inner ($140) – just with a hood! The Minimus with the hood option sounds nice, but phew it's not cheap (150 pounds).

I guess the Skaha is exactly what I'm after, but I was hoping for something more in the price range of the Montbell jacket :)

Just to add one last option although it may not be what you are looking for. I have a Marmot driclime vest which come in at about seven ounces. It has a fleece lining in front behind the nylon shell to add a little warmth and wicking but is plain nylon in the back where your pack traps warmth anyway. I find it great for core warmth without a shell because it blocks the wind when you dont quite need the full coverage of a wind shirt. As a bonus it is also quite cheap at REI for $45 last week when I was there.

Maybe the Rab Vapor Rise Trail Smock is worth considering.
Check it out at http://www.rab.co.uk

It's a micro fleece lined hooded shell PO, a bit similar like the Marmot DriClime but more advanced. I use it all the time except in summer as it is too warm for summer hiking. Couple it with a water resistant wind jacket and you are good to go in all but the wetest weather (think NZ West Coast). When it's getting colder just add a synthetic insulative jacket (also Rab has a few good ones with a hood, down and synthetic) and you will be ready to combat everything.

By the way the Shaka Plus is very expensive but it's worth it, extremly light and way warmer than most synthetic (winter) jackets. And the hood is soooo good…

Hi Adrian,

You may wish to check the Montbell America website. They have both a hooded down jacket for men and women (they aren't terribly light).

However, you may wish to look into the Feathered Friends (FF)Hyperion Jacket. At least they used to permit a buyer to order the jacket and then have a Volant Hood made (relatively heavier down hood to the jacket) that could be made to attach via snaps. FF would add a flange and snaps so that the hood be attached and removed as well as using the hood alone. You could have a selection of down (used to but may all be 850+) along with a selection of materials and color. Here is the link to the FF Hyperion Jacket: http://tinyurl.com/7epog

Here is the link to the Volant Hood: http://tinyurl.com/bo8f8

I had mine made with eVENT back in 2004. My jacket came in heavier than listed due to materials and my size L (their weight is based on M). On the other hand my Hood in eVENT came in at 3.2 oz (posted weight of 4 oz). The Hyperion is cut like a fleece sweater for sizing. I can fit 2-3 thin to medium layers underneath. It is considerably warmer than any of my synthetic Patagoia Micro Puff pieces.

The other possibility is the new FF Hyperion Hooded Jacket. No picture is available. It is based on their Hyperion Jacket with a Hood. It weighs 16 oz. The problem is it has 9oz of down. The Nunatak Skaha Plus Hooded Down Sweater only has 5 oz of down. Here is the link for the FF Helios Hooded Jacket: http://tinyurl.com/2sdyvr

Rich

Hi Rich – have you got a link for the Montbell hooded down jacket? I can't find it on their website.

Ok thanks for all the reponses, here's a summary of some of the down jackets mentioned (all hooded down):

Nunatak Skaha Plus $320 298g/10.5oz in L, Pertex Quantum
Feathered Friends Hooded Helios Jacket $270 454g/16oz, Epic
PhD Minimus pullover with hood $300 320g/11.5oz + hood weight
Patagonia Down Hoody $250 369g/13oz
Western Mountaineering Meltdown Jacket $300 482g/17oz
Rab Neutrino Quantum Down Jacket 19.45oz/550g $???

Obviously the fill weights vary, but it still looks like the Skaha is the lightweight champ.

Adrian, I think BPL did a spotlight (or things to come) write up of the MB Alpine Light Hooded Down jacket.

If I remember right the hood was suppose to add 2 oz to their existing jacket. The MB Alpine Light Hoodless Down jacket has a listed weight of 11.3 oz but really weights 12.5 oz w/o stuff sack. So the hooded version should come in around 14.5 oz.

Don't remember the price (if any) but it should be under $200. Their non-hooded version is $150 at full retail price.

I'm a Cantabrian and I own both a PhD minimus pullover (without hood), and a Skaha with hood. They are both great jackets! The Minimus I take on "summer" or 3-season hikes, and the Skaha for really cold trips. I can honestly say they are both too warm for wearing while walking MOST of the time, I really only carry them for rest stops and end of day wear. I wear an ultralight fleece pullover (Mont) for walking, and this is plenty warm enough for the mountainous South Island (with or without wool thermals, windbreaker or rain jacket as required). YMMV. Oh, by the way, I used to use the Minimus with the Nunatak down balaclava for winter trips, and this worked well too…nice to have the option of not wearing the hood if you don't need it.

Fleece is easy to live with and less expensive, but it doesn't compress well and offers less wind protection than a shelled garment. You can get a Cocoon vest right here at BPL that is nearly half the weight of a fleece vest. The Patagonia Micropuff is a little heavier, but I like the full zipper. Even with the Micropuff you get the same weight as some 100 weight fleece, wind protection from the shell, twice if not more loft, and it compresses well.

As to hooded insulation, again, you can get a hooded Cocoon garment that is 10oz and you don't have the hassles of down.

The loftiest fleece garments I have are great for day hikes and bumming around, but lack the high performance required for UL multi-day trips and through hikes. None are worth a hoot in the wind without a shell.

What I would like to see is a polyester insulating garment with a normal lining and the gauziest outer shell imaginable so that it doesn't duplicate my windshirt.

Hi Dale – see my response to Mark above about why I'm after fleece: it's for 'active insulation', eg some extra warmth while hiking on wet cold days where a shell+base layer+hat/balaclava isn't enough.

I use synthetic fill for stops & evenings, but it's too hot to hike in, and it can absorb *several times* it's weight in water – and if I'm getting cold it almost certainly means it's wet. If you walk all day in the rain, or have to wade streams everything you wear is gonna get soaked through. Plus the pack & it's straps crush the insulation (synthetic loft isn't that durable). Finally some of the shell materials are too fragile to expose while moving, and although under a shell that's no problem, it does reduce flexibility.

Re hooded insulation, yep the Cocoon Hoody is nice but if I'm confident I can keep things dry, I figure a warmer-for-the-weight down jacket works well too, and down is more durable in terms of constant stuffing & compression while sleeping.

Steve, you’re right the MB Alpine Light Hooded Down Jacket was mentioned in MontBell Upgrades and Extends Their Down-Inner and Alpine-Light Clothing Lines back in January. The hooded down UL Inner sounds like what I want: inexpensive, light & not overkill in terms of warmth. Apparently meant to have appeared in Fall 2007, but I haven’t seen them online anywhere ? Or maybe I’m turning a blind eye to justify the Skaha…

Ahhh, for warmth underway, the Mountain Hardwear Powerstretch Zip Long Sleeve (http://www.backcountry.com/store/MHW0254/c11/s100000036/Mountain-Hardwear-Power-Stretch-Zip-Tee-Long-Sleeve-Mens.html)is the perfect garment. I wear one with a Montane windshirt and layer it with a silkweight polyester base layer if I need more warmth. The stuff is buttery soft and great for sleeping in too. When I'm working hard, it is more than warm enough and wicks well. There are other Power Stretch shirts out there. I haven't had a chance to look hard at the heavier Capilene 3 shirts– I'll bet they are comparable.

Other than that, I use just good ol' Polarfleece 100 or 200 garments. I find the stuff in thrift stores for pennies. I have an LL Bean pullover that is the fluffiest stuff I've found. REI has had some 100 weight-ish vests with stretch side panels that are good. New Balance makes some good ones too; in fact, runner's tops in general are good candidates for warmth while walking hard. I have a couple button down fleece shirts that are totally inefficient in regards to weight but very comfortable and warm. I like walking in them as they are easy to open up and ventilate– more jacket than shirt and very warm under a rain shell.

Hey the Driclime vest sounds like an excellent idea: fleece only on the front plus a bit of wind coverage. Pity it suffers a bit from pocket-itis though (3). Any idea how the fleece thickness compares to the fleece-only vests mentioned (Chameece, R1, R2)?

If I was into making gear maybe I'd try sewing some 100 weight fleece onto the front of a 2oz MB Wind Vest, but suspect I'd make a mess of it, albeit a lighweight one.

It may not be as warm as what you are looking for, and it is not down, but you might also look at the Bozeman Mountain Works Cocoon UL 60 Hoody. It is a pullover with a Pertex Quantum shell and Polarguard Delta Insulation.

The driclime vest has a thin fleece like lining in the front. The best I can describe it would be a brushed midweight baselayer type fabric. It is not as thick as chameece or R1 but definitely one of the best wicking fabrics I have come across.