Top 15 Warmest Synthetic Insulation of 2020

[Weekend Gear Guide]

Happy New Year all!

Just registered to backpackinglight.com and see a lot of good information posted and would also like to help contribute my list of the Top 15 warmest thermally efficient insulation of 2020, based on research I have done.

Please check out my video below.

https://youtu.be/2F7oKrRCstk

Note that I am only able to list clo/oz/yd2 values as per video, but there are some insulation products that I could not find the clo/oz/yd2 values for unfortunately like Patagonia PlumaFill, Patagonia FullRange, The North Face Ventrix, Thermolite, etc.. and although it can be assumed that FullRange and Ventrix insulation may not crack that Top 15 list due to being designed for high activity in cold weather like Polartec Alpha, it would be interesting to know what these values are.

Also, I know that I left off PrimaLoft Gold Insulation Hi-Loft Ultra with Cross Core technology, which is published to be 0.93 clo/oz/yd2 vs PrimaLoft Silver Insulation Hi-Loft Ultra 0.81 clo/oz/yd2, and the reason it did not make the top 15 list is because I could not find any products that are available today that use this insulation. Does anyone know of any products that will be using this insulation?

If Aerogel mixed with Primaloft Gold is durable enough to widthstand repeated compression/decrompression and laundering cycles, and still maintain it’s hi-loft, then I see insulation being good for belay types of alpine parkas.

Thanks!

[John Mc]

That was informative and educational.  Thanks for listing products that use the insulation.

Interesting that LL Bean offers an affordable jacket with your #1 voted insulation product.  I know Eric B. will like that.

[Stephen Seeber]

Nicely done.  I enjoyed your two jacket reviews as well.

[Weekend Gear Guide]

Thank you John. Glad you found it informative. I’m hoping to check out both L.L. Bean jackets at my local store, especially the Packaway jacket using the #1 ranked insulation.

Thank you Stephen. Glad you enjoyed it as well as the other 2 reviews. Will be reviewing some hi-loft belay jackets in the next few weeks.

[Mark Verber]

Aerogel has long promised amazing insulation abilities based on performance in the lab and in space… but every outdoor product I have read about (and several I have tried) were a disappointment. It would be great if this material actually provided real world performance.

[Daryl and Daryl]

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/119860?page=mens-primaloft-packaway-jacket-mens-regular

[Weekend Gear Guide]

Hi Mark. For the Aerogel products you have tried, were any of them using either PrimaLoft Gold Aerogel Insulation Aerogel (as used in many Outdoor Research gloves) or PrimaLoft Gold Insulation with Cross Core Technology (as used in the L.L. Bean Packaway jacket)?

Hi Daryl. Thanks for the link for the non-waterproof version of the L.L. Bean Packaway jacket. It’s still on sale! Too bad there is a lot of quilting and therefore potential cold spots in the areas of the seam.

[Mark Verber]

The Aerogel I tried pre-dated Primaloft Gold.  One was a sleep pad from Pacific Outdoors.  Another was shoe inserts from ???, I am pretty sure there was a third..maybe gloves.  I am not saying that Primaloft Gold Aerogel isn’t any good…. just that I will be skeptical and would wait for multiple long term reviews before I would pull the trigger.

[Christoph Blank]

Interesting Video, thank you!

Are there any alternatives to the Packaway jacket? Or are there any reviews that compare the Packaway to other popular synthetic jackets?

[Weekend Gear Guide]

Hi Christoph,

The Dynafit FT Jacket uses 100G (I believe they mean 100 g/m2) of PrimaLoft Gold Insulation with Cross Core Technology, along with PrimaLoft Silver Insulation ThermoPlume with Cross Core Technology.

https://www.dynafit.com/ft-insulation-men-jacket-08-0000071228

In terms of comparisons with the L.L. Bean Packaway, here’s a comparison with the closest rival, the Patagonia Nano Puff.

https://gearpatrol.com/2018/11/12/ll-bean-packaway-jacket-deal/

[Christoph Blank]

Thanks a lot! I might give it a try

[Christoph Blank]

Does anyone maybe know the weight of the Packaway Jacket?

[Sam Farrington]

With all the insulations available these days, the OP’s focus on Primaloft  troubles me.  However, if you rely on the video, the Primaloft Gold Crosscore with Aerogel “technology” is far warmer than Primaloft Gold.  Daryl’s link above is to a current LL Bean jacket that uses the Crosscore – just under $200.

An alternative might be the Montbell with Exceloft insulation, also less than $200.
https://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=3205&p_id=2301300

The Patagonia and Black Diamond synthetic fill jackets I could find use the Primaloft Gold “Eco”, not the Crosscore with Aerogel “technology,” – around $200 – 260:
https://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-nano-puff-jacket/84212.html

Most of these light jackets have many sewn through seams, in checkerboard or other patterns. So the insulative value of the raw batts tested by the OP is provided in these jackets primarily by the technology related to thin insulations, not by loft.  The OP’s Gear Patrol link is to an older Bean’s jacket not using Crosscore insulation and is out of stock at Bean’s.  The weights run around 8-10 oz, and are shown on the websites.

Wearing a nylon hooded shell over a beanie and a zip-neck wicking fleece top is what I use for cold winter hiking/snowshoeing, with a fleece sweater in the daypack in case the temp plummets.  If I wore one of these jackets under the shell, WBP or not, I’d expect to be sweat soaked, and I perspire less than average.  But each to their own.

[Weekend Gear Guide]

Hi Sam,

Thanks for your comments.

The reason PrimaLoft dominated the Top 15 list, was only due to the available info I could find on the clo/oz/yd2 values that was publicly available, as mentioned in the 3rd point in the review around the 0:56s mark. I do also list some Climashield Insulation products that made the Top 15, as Climashield info is also publicly available, though as shown in the video, had lower clo/oz/yd2 values in general in comparison to PrimaLoft.

Would you happen to know any spec sheets publicly available for other insulation? If so, I will post a “revised” version of the list, assuming the info provided for other insulation bumps the ones posted off the Top 15 list.

Regarding the Gear Patrol link I posted, I believe it is using the PrimaLoft Gold Insulation with Cross Core Technology, as the Gear Patrol Reviewer states:

“And while love and loyalty keep me true to the Nano Puff, I will admit that the addition of Cross Core insulation does give the Packaway one-up over Patagonia’s jacket.”

 

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