Grumman vs Grumman Lite?

[sierracharlie338]

Does anyone have any experience with both of these jackets?

I’m heading to Alaska in October (unfortunately not to hunt) and looking to pick one of these up for the trip.

Does the extra $100 actually get you that much more warmth or is the Lite version warm enough for general wear? I will continue to use this for hunting trips later down the road which will mostly consist of still hunting in the southeast.

Fwiw I’m pretty warm in general and usually require less “layers” for southeastern winters than most people.

Thanks
SC

 

[Wapiti151]

Lite has ~87 grams of down, Grumman has ~150 so there is substantially more down in the original. I have the Grumman, I don't have the lite. However, I do have the FL Brooks Down Sweater which has ~100 grams of down. Fill power is 850 in the G-lite compared to 800 in the brooks...so call them ~equal-ish? With that being said, the SG Grumman is an oven compared to my brooks down sweater, and it's also noticeably warmer than the Sitka Down Lite jacket which has about 110g of 900 fill power insulation I think.

I would guess that you are definitely getting $100+ worth of extra warmth from the grumman than the lite...based on my experience with the Kelvin and the Brooks. And I will say that the Grumman is a hell of a jacket when it comes to warmth/weight. But, all comes down to your intended use in X temps...I personally like to have a jacket that is a bit warmer than I may "need", I rarely wish that I had LESS insulation while sitting still on a windy vantage during hunting season.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I have the regular and consider it my “lightest” puffy I’ll carry. They weigh the same, the light doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[Wapiti151]

I have the regular and consider it my “lightest” puffy I’ll carry. They weigh the same, the light doesn’t make sense to me.

lightest as in the least amount of warmth?

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

lightest as in the least amount of warmth?

Correct

 

[Wapiti151]

What temps, out of curiosity? Me personally, I use it for glassing sitting still down to freezing or a bit under. If I am expecting much lower than that I break out the WS hoody (sleeping bag with arms).

I look at the Grumman Lite as more of an early season piece here in the mountains, which is how I use my Brooks.

 

[bpurtz]

I only have the regular - for me, I rarely hike in the jacket because it is so warm and insulating I will start to sweat. I typically only use mine when glassing or sitting in camp and if it's really cold or blowing I sometimes will need another layer.

 

[ljalberta]

The Grumman lite is a piece that doesn’t really make sense to me from a backpacking or backpack hunting perspective. Same weight and less warmth. Maybe a nice piece for walking around town in though? But then again, I don’t live in the SE.

I would like to see a Grumman with 8.5+oz of down.

 

[Wapiti151]

The Grumman lite is a piece that doesn’t really make sense to me from a backpacking or backpack hunting perspective. Same weight and less warmth. Maybe a nice piece for walking around town in though? But then again, I don’t live in the SE.

I would like to see a Grumman with 8.5+oz of down.

Now you are talking. And keep that packability and the face fabric of the current version.

 

[sierracharlie338]

For those asking about temps I’m generally in upper 20s to 40s for “cold” hunts.

The Alaska trip will be in that same window with a possibility of colder temps but not below zero based on my research.

So I have the chillkoot 0 degree and it’s too hot for most of the outdoor stuff I do here in the southeast. But I plan to try using it more like a quilt this year to see if that mitigates the substantial heat. That’s a big reason I’m curious on differences between the two

 

[Fever Buck]

Like others have posted, I think the regular Grumman is light enough that I don’t think it would make sense to get the lite version. It works well as a small pack down puffy for early to mid season.

 

[Wapiti151]

for those temps, Oct in AK (we just moved down to L48 from there), and with humid winters in the SE...I'd go original Grumman for sure. I don't think you'd be happy at all with the lite based on my experience with the Brooks.

 

[sierracharlie338]

for those temps, Oct in AK (we just moved down to L48 from there), and with humid winters in the SE...I'd go original Grumman for sure. I don't think you'd be happy at all with the lite based on my experience with the Brooks.

Appreciate the objective information

 

[BROWNTROUTDAN]

Grumman all the way. Light is really the only thing from SG I have not been impressed with. Not only obviously the lighter insulation but also the number of baffles creates a lot of heat loss. And with extremely light nylon material do not see point of the product, ie hiking in any kind of brush the jacket would be toast. If I need something a little less warm, I would just go with the Grumman down vest, packs to nothing and pairing it with Grumman you have a virtual furnace at your disposal! All the best!

 

[sierracharlie338]

Grumman all the way. Light is really the only thing from SG I have not been impressed with. Not only obviously the lighter insulation but also the number of baffles creates a lot of heat loss. And with extremely light nylon material do not see point of the product, ie hiking in any kind of brush the jacket would be toast. If I need something a little less warm, I would just go with the Grumman down vest, packs to nothing and pairing it with Grumman you have a virtual furnace at your disposal! All the best!

Good info thanks!

 

[Bc45]

Regular Grumman for sure I have one and I wouldn’t want anything lesser especially where your gonna be using it

 

[Wrongside]

The Grumman lite is a piece that doesn’t really make sense to me from a backpacking or backpack hunting perspective. Same weight and less warmth. Maybe a nice piece for walking around town in though? But then again, I don’t live in the SE.

I would like to see a Grumman with 8.5+oz of down.

Agreed. I own and love the Grumman pants, but have only tried both jackets on in store. I’ll be getting the standard Grumman jacket. The Lite has very limited utility, IMO. But again, I live well north of the 49th.