What’s Yer WARMEST coat/parka?

Not that it’s super warm, but the Mont-Bell Mirage Parka.

I nabbed a GoLite Bitterroot on clearance just before that company name went bankrupt. It feels like wearing warm air, but it’s an odd piece. It’s sewn-thru, but stuffed enough to mostly mitigate the heat loss at the many, many seams. The hood is helmet-compatible with no adjustment, so I have to wear thick hats underneath to keep it on, which I guess forces you into warmer head-wear. It’s roomy enough to wear a mid-layer, but form-fitting enough through the torso and arms for my wind layer to fit over.

I do alot of winter backpacking and require a warm down parka of course for in camp usage.  I settled on a FF Icefall parka years ago and while not perfect it has kept me alive on many cold trips.  The magic number for a down parka is how much down it actually contains.  The Icefall has 15.3 ozs of high quality down.  Compare that number to other jackets.

I just pulled a 9 day trip in January and before the trip I used an old Exped downmat and filled my parka up with extra down by cutting slits in 4 baffles and adding the down.  Really helped in warmth.  Now it contains about 20 ozs of down—perfect number for a “sleeping bag with arms.”

These days it’s a Patagonia Micro Puff which isn’t that warm.  When static gives me around +25F comfort.  Typically combined with AD hoody and/or  a light down vest.  Plenty warm for my current crop of trips.

When doing snow trips warmest was the long discontinued New Balance Fugu which Richard measured a iclo 6.18.  It was too warm for me except when static in the dead of winter.

I think mine is a Nunutak Skaha (slightly oversize) with a Ghost Whisperer vest underneath which is ~9oz of down and close to 2″ loft in the torso for 20oz total (14.7 + 5oz)

Never actually used the 2 pieces together like that, but I’d like to sometime

Normally the skaha is plenty with layers and/or shell.

Interesting choices, and some good layering choices.

Both my warmest parkas have helmet compatible hoods that are fully adjustable. This is good so that when I don’t need a helmet I can cinch them down from the rear and the perimeter of the face and be snug so blowing snow can’t enter. Of course under the hood I’m wearing a fleece lined Peruvian wool hat for times when I need to remove the hood.

I’ve had a few times riding ski lifts when high winds forced me to cover my helmet with the hood and cinch the hood down. Very nice to have a hood at times like that. With ski goggles and the hood up only the tip of my nose showed.

Walter, that was a very smart mod that cost only a few strips of Tenacious Tape. Modding gear makes it better. (Well, 99.9% of the time anyway.)

Yes, Eric.  And I also did this earlier with an Underfed vest—’80s model North Face which I filled with old Exped down.  Here’s the cut up Exped downmat—

One good technique is to do this upgrade inside a zipped up tent to contain all the geese.

My warmest parka is a new one from Duluth Trading Post, acquired and recently tested at minus 40C/F. Ruffer Puffer Long Down coat. It is ok, with a thick fleece underneath plus my insulated bib overalls. I will add a fur ruff to the hood. Hard to find those these days, but essential for extreme cold and wind. Here’s a photo from our recent cold snap with my old parka, which had a nice ruff which traps all the frost from my breath, instead of laying it on my hat, neck gaiter and eyelashes. Minus 25F for this 2 hour hike.

My warmest is the Mountain equipment K7.
It doesn’t look absurdly warm on the spec sheet, but it’s very well made. There’s obviously more to warmth than the fill weight and fill power alone.
It’s sized to allow a thick mid layer without compressing the down.

Runner up is a Mountain Hardwear Phantom Parka. It feels like it has more fill than the K7, but the construction isn’t as good, so it tend to get cold spots.
It is generously oversized (bought it back before I realized US sizes were lager than European sizing) so I could easily fit two thick mid layers inside..

Both jackets have a very narrow use case, so it doesn’t really feel like money well spent. But on the few occasions they’re needed, they’re very nice to have, and surly feels worth every penny. At least for a while.
Great for winter backpacking with a sled, where weight and bulk isn’t so much an issue. Also use them late season hunts, where I often stay static for long duration in cold weather.

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I got an old golite bitterroot when they were closing out too! Mine literally still has the tags on it; Not sure what I’m saving it for. A few years after that purchase I bought a Sierra Designs Elite Dridown Parka and it’s been wonderful as cold as I’ve gone. Despite living in Alaska, I don’t really get out for overnighters much when it’s below 20f. I figure the parka could keep my upper body in good shape a bit below that, as it’s pretty darn puffy, though not quite in the rarified air of what the cottage industry produces.

Outside of backpacking, my dad gave me a north-slope refrigiwear type of parka 20+ years ago that weighs several pounds (I have to consciously stand up straighter when I wear it), has a fur ruff, and is awesome when it’s really cold here in Anchorage, but it’s almost too much for any kind of exertion when it’s less than 4-profanities cold out, so I usually only wear it a couple times a year, if even that.

Montbell Alpine Parka for me. Haven’t gotten a chance to really push its limits while stationary in camp. I think the coldest its been is about 14F. I’ve used it walking the dog down to -15f though with a Synchilla fleece + long sleeve t shirt underneath and have been plenty warm. I got a Japanese XL which is about a half size big on me so I could easily layer a 2-3 season light puffy under if I needed to.

I’d really like to get my hands on a Simund Makalu parka from Decathlon but they don’t seem to distribute it anywhere in the US, and I can’t justify the price of something similar from some of the more expensive companies.

UPDATE: I sold my Eddie Bauer Peak XIV expedition parka this week.

Now my warmest parka is a new LL Bean Wind Challenger parka. While “only” good to around -20 F. it can accommodate a fairly thick mid layer like a pile vest over a heavy Norwegian ski sweater. (I define “fleece” as lighter weight and “pile” as the thickest weight)

This parka is loaded with features: ->woven baffles (not stitched thru) ->650 fill DWR treated down  ->five pockets (2 inside)   ->pit zips. ->fully adjustable helmet compatible hood. ->double layer on hood, shoulders and elbow to wrist  ->stretch fabric  ->belay type 2 way front zipper ->hem drawcord

At $370. it ain’t cheap. The “mere” 650 fill goose down for a ski parka is good because it will not compress as much as 800 fill down when leaning on the back rest of a chair lift or wearing a light day pack. Any comparable down parka with the same quality and features will likely cost more.  The North Face, as an example, makes good stuff but this parka has, IMHO, a bit better build quality, equal to Patagucci.

The “mere” 650 fill goose down for a ski parka is good because it will not compress as much as 800 fill down when leaning on the back rest of a chair lift or wearing a light day pack.

Absolutely agree. No need to obsess over fill power if it’s not meant to be very compressible and lightweight.
On something more abrasion resistant and feature rich aimed at everyday use, ski resorts etc. where weight is less of a concern, the heavier and more burly fabrics alone would compress the down to a point where you don’t really benefit much from using premium fill power down.

It’s just how I think about it, as I don’t really own much in that category. The closest I come to an everyday down product is the Fjällräven Greenland No.1 down jacket. But it’s not a great example as it’s actually 800 CUIN. Though I don’t think it’s necessary. I’m never concerned about weight when I use it, it has never been packed down and wouldn’t pack down very small anyways.

“HAKKON”.  That is about the most Norwegian first name a man could have. Me, I’m a bit Danish as my Paternal grandfather was born in Odense, Danmark.

I was in Norway on a cruise up to Tromso. We were supposed to go to Alta but a huge storm came up so the ship stayed in Tromso. Nevertheless the wind was so powerful that it broke BOTH bow mooring lines! as the ship drifted astern it broke the stern lines as well. And those mooring lines had KEVLAR/SPECTRA cores! Finally the officer of the watch got power on and eased the ship back against the pier. A big tug had to hold the stern against the pier as the ship’s bow  thrusters kept the bow into the pier. New lines were then put in place. The incident showed how that big cruise ship’s superstructure acted as a sail, usually something only the ship’s officers think about.

My 25-y-o LLBean Baxter State (Park in Maine) parka was rated to -40 and that seems right (as part of a clothing system). Its worked for me, plenty well enough at -25F vans -30F. I’ve been in -40 twice but screw work!, one does the bare minimum outside and gets back to a vehicle or building.

It’s got all the features, doodahs and fill weight. And a thick, down-insulated tunnel hood with a fake fur ruff, etc. I’ve been going through my winter gear and replacing the fake fur with real fox or wolverine on the ruff.  It’s impressive how much better it slows the wind.  Like it had evolved to do so over 50 million years!  The current model, by price and specs is clearly much less insulating.

I’ve also got the Patagonia “Belay Parka”. $700 I think it was, with crazy high loft, low weight, and lifetime cleaning included. I’ve only used it as emergency equipment heading to Prudhoe Bay or similar in winter.  The outer fabric is so light, I don’t want to risk it around a drill rig or bashing through the spruce.

I have one of the New Balance Fugu jackets that Mark mentioned earlier. It’s probably been worn 3 times in the past 15 years.

I’ve always lived in the southern states in the winter. But I had to attend a winter wedding in Maine (1994). The local backpacking store in Tulsa had their winter gear on clearance. I found a Mountain Hardware Sub Zero parka on sale. A true Michelin Man look. But man was that thing warm! It was so warm that it had to be 20°F to be comfortable. It was great in Maine at -10°F!

“HAKKON”.  That is about the most Norwegian first name a man could have. Me, I’m a bit Danish as my Paternal grandfather was born in Odense, Danmark.

Eric, or Erik (sometimes Eirik) as we write it here, is also a very traditional Norwegian name. And one of the “kings names”, i,e. one of the names commonly given to kings. Or rather a prince, due to become king.
Not quite as common in Denmark I believe, but maybe your name has some ties back to your Scandinavian lineage as well?