Late-Season Puff Jacket Recommendations

I recently had a post about late-season gloves on here and received so much great help (thanks to all who posted) I thought I’d solicit a bit more information on insulation/puffy jackets. I’m the guy headed to northern Canada last week in November for moose so it’s going to be a cold hunt.

I’d like to get a new puff jacket and have been reading all the old posts. Recommendations I have reviewed are for the following:

Patagonia Nanopuff
LL Bean Ultralight Down
Marmot
Montbell
Barney’s
Mountain Hardware
First Lite Uncomphahgre
GoLite
KUIU, Kryptek, Stika.

I’m leaning towards at least 800 fill down but synthetic (primaloft) would be okay for me to. I just don’t want something too light for a late-season cold weather hunt. I’m not too concerned with having it as light weight and as packable as possible as I would be on a sheep hunt, but I’m more concerned with something that will keep me warm in 0 to below zero weather.

What do you guys with a lot more experience recommend? I have a lot of KUIU and First Lite gear and like their gear, but don’t know if their insulation options are the best for my needs right now.

Any feedback to consider would be greatly welcomed. Thank you!

Also: Here’s a silly question… for your puff layer jacket do you typically put it on over your outter shell when glassing for long periods or do you put it on under the shell so you remove your shell to put it on and take it off? Assume its dry conditions and not raining.

Thanks!!

I have over half of the ones listed above. For your needs the First Lite or Sitka Down Kelvin would work. I use my puffiness both ways. (Over and under)

I wear mine both over and under, depending on layering.

I have a black diamond stance belay jacket (primaloft). Its a pretty nice piece of gear if you go the synthetic route. You could also look at their parka if you're going down below 0 temps. It has a hood too. I got the brown color, of course there is no camo from BD.

Toss in the Columbia 800 series turbo down. Waterproof down plus their synthetic insulation. Price points is pretty decent

Thanks for the feedback guys. After some further research and considering cost, here's where I'm down to...

Patagonia Down Sweater
Patagonia Ultralight Down Jacket
KUIU Superdown
LL Bean Ultralight 850 Down Jacket
First Lite Uncomphahgre (not down)
Marmot Zeus Jacket

All of them are in that $200 range but I might be able to find the Patagoina, Marmot, or LL Bean discounted somewhere for under $200. I'm sure there are small differences between all of these but I own and like KUIU and First Lite gear, but will these be as warm as the down options from the more outdoor sport related brands Patagonia, Marmot, and LL Bean? Any reason to consider one over the others...? Thanks!

One thing to look at is how much down material is in each one. For example the Kuiu Superdown is 10 oz and has 2.5 oz of down in it or 70 grams. The GoLite Bitteroot is $200 and is 13 oz but has more than double (150 grams) of down in it. For a late season puffy jacket the more geese you got flying around ya the better IMO

I went through the same puffy search last year. I've had several. The GoLite Bitterroot is in my closet for the very reasons Luke mentions. 2x(+) the down for less money at the same weight. I use the puffy both under and over depending on what I'm doing. Once December hits my plan is to run the Bitterroot under the First Lite Uncozmpilursghre (or however it's spelled) jacket for long sits and calling bushy tails on the central plains.

Luke has it right, it's all about the fill wt, not the total wt. And when looking at synthetic, it's g/m. IMO the majority of the ones you listed are not going to keep you warm at 0F for very long if you stop moving. Most those old puffy recommendations you found are for backpack hunting, and it's safe to say you aren't backpack hunting for moose. No specific recommendations, but I look at winter clothing manufacturers for winter gear, and not at the hunting guys. Following on what Kotaman said, the possible exceptions would be the Sitka Kelvin Hoody which is specific for those kind of conditions, or the FL. Ultralight anything is very likely to get trashed in the moose woods, so consider "standard wt" stuff. Keeps you from having to wear a shell over it constantly if nothing else

My personal preference for winter moose hunting is a fairly heavy duty synthetic layer. Last couple of years it's been a cheap Cabelas puffy jacket for moose, but I've used a variety of others. That way I'm not concerned about getting it bloody and torn up. Can just throw it in the wash later. Bloody down is much more aggravating to deal with, and with a moose, stuff DOES get bloody. For serious cold, I have a oversize down parka I layer over it, or for moderate cold I can add a vest underneath. That's mostly hunting in open country though.

For late season hunting in thicker terrain, a heavy wool jacket with a puffy vest underneath is good system. Old school, but keeps the noise down, and moose are extremely sensitive to noise.

Yk

I agree with yellowknife, ultra light options just dont cut it. I own a Kuiu superdown jacket and there just isn't enough fill there to be comfortable at 0 degrees when stationary. Also not a very durable fabric, it's meant to be worn as a mid layer.

I have a Mountain Hardwear Ratio Jacket that the CS rep told me had 170 g of 650 down. Just purchased it so I have not had it in 0 degree temps, but I would say this jacket is probably the minimum you would need for those temps. I've heard good things about the Sitka Kelvin Down hoody (actually a mix of primaloft and down) but I have never worn one.

I have a cabelas passage primaloft (100 g of fill) jacket that I wear in temps in the 20s when I know wet conditions will be persistant and hard to get away from.

I also agree that when it's that cold and you're looking to keep warm when stationary and still be as light as possible, you will have to get away from hunting brands. I would also go with a higher denier in the fabric. 30 denier minimum would be my opinion. I believe the Sitka Down Kelvin hoody is a 20 denier but you may have to call and ask because I'm not 100 percent sure. I do know their primaloft kelvin and kelvin lite are 20 denier and the kelvin jacket has like 80 g of primaloft or somewhere very close to that number.

I would think about what you will wear over top and underneath of this puffy jacket and go from there. Maybe even a Sitka kelvin vest underneath a down jacket with a shell over the top.

Never tried Yellowknifes idea of wool overtop a vest, but I could see that working very well and def quiet as well.

Just back from a cold moose hunt. Used my SD puffys as underlayers and it worked well. Wore old school wool as an outer layer and combinations of Umcomp, Golite and Kuiu, the SD vest worked nice when moving as it was no too warm causing sweat.





Even slept in puffys.

I have the Patagonia Ultralight Down Jacket. It is warm and has a fairly durable shell, but I haven't used it enough to give a detailed review. I have used my Nanopuff a lot and at 60 grams of primaloft one it is not adequate for late season insulation. Something with 100 grams (Micropuff, Cabela's passage, etc) would be a better option, but I still want more insulation than that in cold temps when stationary. Luke gave some good advice on comparing fill weights of jackets. I would also compare the fill power when looking at down garments.

I have a WM Flight Jacket 4.5oz of 850 Down Fill- It's warm but sitting temps close to 0 it is not enough. I will layer it with a cabelas synthetic vest to get me into the colder ranges then an outer layer Wool or Gortex depending on conditions.

I wish I had the WM Vapor jacket a little more fill .5oz but has its own widstopper layer. Also like the Bitterroot but it's always sold out.... Actually they have Blue in L, XL,XXL now.

You would be doing yourself a disservice if you did not look at Feathered Friends and Western Mountaineering as well. I bought a Feathered Friends Volant in 1990. It's still in my closet albeit a little rough after these years but I haven't replaced it yet. And as some have already mentioned, some of your choices are not 0 to below 0 degree garments.

i just recommended this company on the pants thread, but brooks range might be worth a look for you. there stuff has good fill to total weight ratios. their alpini is 7-8oz of 800 downtek at 13-15oz (no hood vs hood). the mohave is similar but uses 20d instead of 15d. the cirro belay looks good also with 120g primaloft gold at 20oz. they also have a discontinued cirro extreme jacket (dont know the specs) which has been recommended a time or two on the forum. i dont have any experience with their stuff but have an alpini and cirro anorak on the way to check out. you might want to consider one lighter weight and one heavier weight (talking warmth here) jackets. 1) in case one gets wet (redundancy is good especially when weight isn't a primary concern) and 2) if its real cold you could wear the lighter one while on the move and throw on the heavier one when idle.

Just like gloves, I primarily stick to mountaineering based companies with my puffy jackets. I have the following, explaining my use for each:

Patagonia Down parka (non waterproof 800 down): Don't know model, but it was their heaviest, warmest jacket a few years back. I have never been cold in this jacket, even while in the deer stand, ice fishing, winter camping, backcountry skiing, and ice climbing belaying at -30 Celsius. I use it alone and under a rain shell.

Ary Teryx Fission SL: This is the ultimate lightweight cold weather waterproof, windproof, puffy. Gore tex outer with thermatek insulation. I primarily use this skiing in extreme cold, but it would work for any outdoor pursuit. I don't know of a better jacket, period....but full retail is absurd! This is a stand alone piece as it's your shell and puffy combined.

Arc Teryx Atom SV: (primaloft) This is a very robust and versatile jacket. Unlike most puffies it has some weather resistance while still being weight efficient. This is my go to insulating jacket for late season backpack hunts. I sometime use it alone, or under a rain shell (Kuiu chugach) It's warmer than the Kuiu SD jacket. It also comes in multi cam.

Outdoor Research Transcendent down jacket: Nice light weight down jacket, lighter than the Kuiu SD. I used this mostly around town and not hunting.

Arc Teryx Atom LT: The lightest of my jackets. Nice mid layer, or sole insulating layer when not too cold (down to -5 Celsius maybe).

Kuiu SD jacket: Warmer than the OR, but not as much as the Atom SV, Fission SL, or Patagonia parka. This is my early/mid season "don't leave home without it" puffy. Great lightweight insulator, but not very durable. I wear it standalone around camp, or under a rain shell hunting.

My 2 cents.

Seems like in Temps like that, a minimum of 9 oz of fill is needed. 11 is probably better. All depends on what you're doing for layerin and what fill power is used.