Another which down jacket thread

Get the Mirage, its amazing.

Just to throw something else out there…

I love my Montbell stuff (6 various jackets/windshirts, 2 pants, Dynamo wind and downtec), but Eddie Bauer has the First Ascent Downlight jacket with Downtek treatment of 800 fill which is now on sale for $200 and free shipping with code BAKER thru Oct 28

Mine is scheduled to arrive Friday and I will have some first impressions then.

However, I have no doubts that you will be very happy with Montbell

As someone who has owned both the WM Flash XR and now a Montbell Alpine Light I would definitely go with the Montbell. The Flash fit too small and the hood is too tall. The Alpine Light has a much nicer fit, especially the hood. Even though it is a bit heavier it feels much warmer and not as fragile as the Flash. In addition it is almost $150 dollars cheaper! Alpine Light all the way.

I absolutely love my custom Goosefeet puffy. I took a leap of faith getting a custom piece made and it came out exactly what I wanted.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=93485

Cost was slightly more expensive than the MB Alpine Lite and uses about the same amount of down.

For $20 more I would go with the Frost Line Parka rather than the Alpine Light Parka

I just ordered a Feathered Friends Daybreak Hoody, waiting for it in the mail. It has 3.1oz of 900 fill power goose down IIRC. I am very excited about this jacket, it weighs 9.5oz!

Whatever jacket you get I'd recommend one with a down DWR like Down Tech or Dri Down.

I'm pretty sure Sierra Designs and LL Bean sells down jackets with DWR treated down.

Read up on it, and in particular Backpacker's test, to see why I'm "all-a-twitter" about it, to quote Dirty harry.

Keep an eye on the First Ascent stuff if you're on a budget and not in a hurry. They have some good clearance deals a couple times a year, and decent sales frequently. I picked up (both of) my First Ascent Downlight's at something like $89 each. The lowest I've seen recently is $129, and they've got the Dri Down now.

Eric, I've seen your recommendation on this before which is why I decided to try the EB version with Downtek. (Along with the price.) VERY interested to try it out!