Puffy Comparison: Tear It Up!

[Jaden Bales]

The SKRE ptarmigan has 5oz of treated 850 down its a great piece that will compare well with most of your list.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

Yeah now that I've checked it out, that's a great suggestion. Good and lightweight, too!

 

[Jaden Bales]

If you're really wanting to be an overachiever, you may want to add in more of the non-hunting technical options. From what I've been reading, lots of folks have moved to technical/mountaineering brands vs hunting brands (including myself). Lots of folks opting for the Gerry brand from Costco, Patagonia, Eddie Bauer, LL Bean. I used one from REI for a few years and found the one i use now at Backcountry.com.
I'd contend the "best" options out there are NOT made by the hunting brands.

Man, I totally agree that there are some stellar pieces made by non-hunting brands like those you mentioned. Having spent some serious time around top brands like Marmot, Patty, North Face, and others, I'm definitely omitting contenders.

I am going to keep it to just a handful, though, based on a few things.

1. Not many non-hunting brands build anything overly durable because their customer base doesn't thrash it as badly. Personally, I value durability very highly and weight and top-end warmth less-so since I run super hot, don't do many 5+ day backpack trips, and I destroy my gear.
2. I'd rather support folks who support hunting if they make comparable gear.
3. That list would be so long it would be hard to actually make a choice.

 

[MuleyFever]

I am in the market for a new puffy. Want something in the 6oz of fill range. I’ll be following.

 

[Jaden Bales]

Man, there's a ton here guys. Thanks for all your feedback.

Fill Weights... This one's been tough since I'm finding it's about 50/50 on people publishing the weights. That said, I'm going to use some context clues to get close on a guess using comparable stats on the jacket and with the material makeup.

All in all, the whole spreadsheet should tell a story of the jacket, it's intended purpose, and if it would work for you. I'll post an updated version here in a few hours just in case there are groundbreaking additions folks might add on here.

 

[lonedave]

Eddie Bauer Downlight Stormdown hooded jacket. 800 fill down, $167.40 on sale right now. They may be a little heavy as my size large weighs 16 oz I think, though I don't know what they have for fill weight. I was able to pick one up last year for $88 on a real steal of a sale. It's a pretty warm coat and stuffs quite small.

 

[ChrisAU]

Hahah. Why do you say that? Serious question because they're dang close on the specs and I've never held the Kuiu Super Down.

The Chamberlin has 11.8 oz of 800 fp down vs 5 oz of 850 fp in the Super Pro

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

I have both a FL Unprounouncable and the MH Ghost Whisperer, and I can tell you, the First Lite is MUCH MUCH warmer. The Ghost Whisperer is a great ultralight jacket, but I wouldn't want to wear it sitting around in the mid 30s.

I'm not sure why the Unprounouncable isn't on the list? It's far more substantial and way warmer.

Cheers!

 

[THBZN]

Another potential option is Feathered Friends: http://featheredfriends.com/feather...ralight-down-jacket.html?avad=52463_b158fac21

This jacket clocks in under 11oz, and uses 900 fill down. I look at these pieces of gear as where I want to get the warmest I can, consider the weight, but don't worship it. I'll take a few ounces when it improves warmth, wind resistance, etc.

 

[Jaden Bales]

I have both a FL Unprounouncable and the MH Ghost Whisperer, and I can tell you, the First Lite is MUCH MUCH warmer. The Ghost Whisperer is a great ultralight jacket, but I wouldn't want to wear it sitting around in the mid 30s.

I'm not sure why the Unprounouncable isn't on the list? It's far more substantial and way warmer.

Cheers!

I had a roommate in college who wore his everywhere and I always thought he was just a wimp, but I'm thinking that GW is probably is too light for consideration on this list. The Unpronounceable is not on this list because it's lighter weight. Same with the Brooks Down they just released.

I have worn an Arcteryx Atom L for 5 years and love it, which is super lightweight, so this list is supposed to take it to the next level beyond that.

Not so sure the GW does that anymore. Thanks for your input man!

 

[Jaden Bales]

Another potential option is Feathered Friends: http://featheredfriends.com/feather...ralight-down-jacket.html?avad=52463_b158fac21

This jacket clocks in under 11oz, and uses 900 fill down. I look at these pieces of gear as where I want to get the warmest I can, consider the weight, but don't worship it. I'll take a few ounces when it improves warmth, wind resistance, etc.

Nice suggestion! looks like an awesome piece for this list. I'll replace the Ghost Whisperer with it.
Thanks!

 

[Jaden Bales]

Okay, so here's where I have landed on my spreadsheet. Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on this.


I want to caveat this comparison by saying I originally wanted the spreadsheet to tell me what jacket I needed for severe cold, so I don't have to double up on jackets next time it's -15 degree windchill. Right now it does that and more thanks to you guys.

This spreadsheet has morphed more into describing the puffy jacket landscape and kind of what's out there on the market. A guy could have compared all three FL jackets in this or multiple Sitka jackets, but I omitted them in exchange for looking at more company's offerings and price points.

If you were to tell me to go out and pick a jacket full MSRP right now, I would probably go for the Sitka Kelvin WS Hoody for it's durability and warmth combo. Warmth to weight to price, I like the Chamberlin.

Keep adding input on what I missed or your experience with stuff if you'd like. My boss is gonna kill me if he finds out how much time I spent on this though. Lol.

 

[Trial153]

On the filson the cotton mole skin is only on the high wear area, the shoulders and face. Its tag states the over lay is 50/50, nylon to cotton. The remainder of the shell is all nylon.

 

[ozyclint]

how about more than one that has synthetic insulation?

i'm looking for a puffy in synthetic for cold wet conditions.

the nunatak skaha appeals to me but it's damn expensive!

 

[cornfedkiller]

I may have missed it, but how are you coming up with the Durability Score?

 

[5MilesBack]

I'll tell you this.........from experience, hunting anything later than archery season I want a full on winter coat available........especially if I'm stationary. At that point, weight doesn't matter to me......just staying warm is the objective. The KUIU Super Down is fine for archery season, but anything below 30 degrees and I'm freezing in that thing. So much so, that for the price I sold mine and use a cheap Costco 800-fill $15 special.

 

[prm]

How about a Rab Neutrino? Or maybe a Zero G. A waterproof Rab Valiance looks appealing to me. How warm do you really want?

 

[Jaden Bales]

How about a Rab Neutrino? Or maybe a Zero G. A waterproof Rab Valiance looks appealing to me. How warm do you really want?

I want warm enough that I don't have to double up my puffy layers like I did this winter when it was 5 degrees with -15 wind chill. Lol.

 

[Jaden Bales]

I'll tell you this.........from experience, hunting anything later than archery season I want a full on winter coat available........especially if I'm stationary. At that point, weight doesn't matter to me......just staying warm is the objective. The KUIU Super Down is fine for archery season, but anything below 30 degrees and I'm freezing in that thing. So much so, that for the price I sold mine and use a cheap Costco 800-fill $15 special.

You aren't the first person to allude to the underwhelming performance of that jacket. Lol.

 

[Jaden Bales]

I may have missed it, but how are you coming up with the Durability Score?

So I created one based on face fabric and I ranked it from 1-5, though I was missing face fabric info, so then some dude hopped on here to suggest a formula of (Garment Weight - Fill Weight)*1.15 and it mapped out perfectly with my existing rankings that I had full info for. He had good reasonings back on like the first page of this thread. Go figure.

 

[Jaden Bales]

how about more than one that has synthetic insulation?

i'm looking for a puffy in synthetic for cold wet conditions.

the nunatak skaha appeals to me but it's damn expensive!

So the Kifaru is still on that list primarily because I still really like it for the 500D Cordura, not because it's the warmest jacket. It's just hard to get super good warmth to weight with synthetics.

Luckily, cold wet conditions means you aren't talking single and negative digits because if it's that cold you're not getting wet unless the snow melts...which can happen inside your jacket but not really outside with a good DWR coating.

Pretty much all these same companies make something for that category, though. Arcteryx Atom LT is what I run and I got it for winter in the Cascades of Oregon. And I love it.

The Kelvin Active by Sitka and Uncompahgre Puffy by First Lite also fit into this category and are great options.