Hi gents and ladies, I’m back after a long time hunting for my UN and PW. (long story)
Last winter I bought an LL Bean Wind Challenger down parka, mainly for alpine skiing and winter camping. After looking ALL around the internet, including scouring YouTube channels on the topic I feel I’ve found a very good parka with all the features I wanted and more. This parka is rated to -20 WHEN active and that is accurate for me, an 82 year old geezer with a basic metabolism likely near 10. I think it’s the lack of baffle sewn thru seams that does most of it, plus that over-the-helmet insulated hood helps immensely on chair lifts and high speed runs. (Yeah, my demise well may be a tree jumping out in front of me as I cruise a groomer at 50 mph.)
I posted a few years ago that I wanted to buy a down parka with WOVEN baffles. They are now all the rage and used with synthetic insulations as well as down. My Wind Challenger has those in a staggered pattern (also THE rage). So OK, it has “only” a 750 fill rate but I’ll likely seldom stuff it so I like that the 750 fill means less compressibility as I lean back on an interminably long lift chair ride at -15 F. and run a GS track downhill at high speed with the wind compressing the front. I’ve got my druthers with down fill rates as you can see.
This parka’s great insulated, over-the-helmet hood with good drawstring adjustments and routings had been a godsend on bitter days. A two-way front zipper good if belaying is needed, 4 exterior pockets including an “RFID ski pass’ pocket on the left forearm, 2 inside pockets including a large lower mesh “drying” pocket for gloves, etc. I like the ample arm length and over the hip length. THE DOWN IS DWR TREATESD WITH DOWNTEK and down DWR was a must for me.
In fact I have treated my original Eddie Bauer First Ascent light down jacket and Western Mountaineering. overstuffed 15 F.Megalite mummy with NikWax down DWR wash-in treatment. My LL Bean -20 winter mummy came with DOWNTEK so now I’m all DWR’d up. ;o)
Myy final winter wear update: While on a Norway cruise last October at a long layover in Tromso, above the Arctic Circle, I got a heavy Norwegian wool sweater of Norwegian wool. The cashier said it was made by the came company, Norlender, that made the LL Bean (natch ;o) sweater I was wearing. She said she could tell B/C Norwegian sweaters have their patterns copyrighted!
(If you’ve read this far my apologies for the digressions on my digressions.)
