Ryan, thank you for putting together this podcast! And thank you Max for the hard work writing up all these reviews.
Ryan, you mention that you don’t know why people compress their synthetic insulated jacket into their backpack because you always keep yours on top, ready to throw on when you stop. In cooler weather I can see that this makes sense. But in warmer weather, even in the mountains, I usually don’t need an insulated jacket, even when stopped, during the daytime. I only bring an insulated layer to wear at night and in the morning around camp. So, because I don’t need it during the day, I stuff it into my clothes bag along with rain wear, etc.
But after learning from this podcast and Max’s articles just how much damage compressing synthetic insulation can do, I think I will treat it like my sleeping bag and only compress it enough to fit everything into my pack, like you describe as the UL backpacking method. Basically, I think now it is good practice to only compress any piece of gear as much as needed to fit it in your pack.
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