Bushwalk Australia

Good morning all,

I am looking at getting a new down jacket for the (mostly Australian) alpine backcountry. I will be laying under a MacPac Prophet XPD eVent hardshell and thus prefer a light DWR outer fabric, but not something like eVent.

I already have a lighter weight HH Odin Isolator jacket for the not-so-cold trips, and am currently looking at the following options:

MONTBELL FROST LINE (A$250)
800 goose down (190 gm fill)
Polkatek DWR
Box construction
Detachable hood
Total 660 gm weight

MONT ICICLE (A$400)
700 goose down (260 gm fill)
Hydronaute XT DWR
Box construction
Detachable hood
Total 759 gm weight

MACPAC EQUINOX (A$265)
650 goose down (280 gm fill)
Reflex Loft Pro DWR, with eVent shoulders, arms and hood
Box construction on body, sewn through on arms
Detachable hood
Total 946 gm weight

I am leaning towards the MontBell, then the Mont. That said, if anyone has any thoughts, tips, critiques, or other suggestions, I certainly welcome them.

I have also looked at the MOUNTAIN HARDWARE NILAS DOWN JACKET, but I feel this is overkill.

I looked at the Rab jackets (MICROLIGHT ALPINE and INFINITY), but I'm not keen on stitched through construction. Any opinions otherwise are welcome.

Thanks.

Of those - definately the Montbell provided it fits ok - higher loft down and cheaper.

They are all pretty heavy / warm jackets. What are you intending to use it for (e.g. winter alpine?, around camp?, sleeping?). I used to have a heavy 800 gram down jacket (using 650 loft down). More than warm enough. But i since got a stoic pullover with 850 loft down. Total weight is 260g and only cost me $60 (about $120 normally i think) though ugly as sin!. Not quite as warm as the previous jacket but still more than warm enough for most conditions (including snow).

A few other brands make very good down jackets - Marmot and Western Mountaineering for example.

Personally - i would not bother with anything other than a DWR finish on a light down proof material (least weight and maximum breathability).

Hi Oyster,

Whilst I don't know the specific jackets you are after, I suggest you be careful not to get anything too light.

I have a Montbell ex-light down jkt (about 150 g total weight), and in my mind it is equivalent to a200-300 wt polar fleece jacket. I also have a Bozeman Mtn Work cocoon parka, which is about 300g, and considerably warmer, esp as it has a hood. I more recently bought a RAB xenon jkt, which is about 300 g as well. I find that it under the cocoon (or visa versa) is perfect for ski touring in winter in Victoria, and the combination allows more permutations in use. I tend to use the Montbell gems around 10-12C.

Andrew Allan

And I have gone the other way, leaving the down parka behind and buying a Patagonia DAS belay parka.
Which fits over my heavy goretex

if you put something like the high loft mont bell under a heavy prophet jacket, the high loft down is more likely to be crushed by anything put on over the top of it anywhere the fabric rests on or pushed into the down jacket... advantage of low loft jackets is they resist compression better...
if you're going to excercise in it, under a heavy jacket like the prophet i'd expect moisture buildup problems, down jackets are only good for exercising in in low humidity environs or where sweat won't be a problem, otherwise it will saturate and loose it's loft.
unless you go the path of teh new water resistant down coming out that is being put into new jackets.
berghaus, rab, sierra designs are some brands using the new down

Waynos thoughts are pretty much mine. Camp wear and sleeping are different. For active wear under a prophet almost any combination of pile and fleece should work, wicking polyester base layer, midlayer and a pile vest should work down well below freezing. The compression of high lofting down is why I am prepared to pay the weight and bulk penalty on the DAS parka because I am not in a position to replace my heavy weight goretex storm parka yet

Agreed. I also have a Montane Air.

I stay pretty warm, so a down jacket under a shell while mobile is nearly always out of the question.

I think I have decided upon the Rab Infinity. It has more fill of higher grade, and is lighter. I know this means the outer fabric is thinner, but I gan handle that....

850 fill. high loft,, will compress easily under a heavy hard shell....

Agreed. The Montain Air will certainly be a more suitable shell.

Does anyone know why the Rab Infinity Endurance is 5 grams lighter than the Infinity? It has a DWR coating on the same fabric, and has the same fill weight. In my mind it should be heavier, right?

more compartments stitched into one of them, could add up.. one lests gl10d fabric the other just says gl
if the photos of them on the rab site are anything to go by, the infinity hood might have better coverage of the face allowing you to close it down more over the face
but more compartments if they are stitched through can make for a colder jacket.

http://rab.uk.com/products/mens-clothing/down_1.html

Ah, yes, I feel blind after missing that.
Infinity Endurance it is.

well when you're sifting through all the tech specs , hard to know where to look sometimes...
i read a review of a jacket and there was endless agonising and outrage over how the 200g jacket ended up 60g heavier than advertised.. 60g is serious weight gain for ultralighters....

are you able to try the jacket on? i found rab on the close fitting side around the chest and upper arms... personally i'd need to go a size up. but for my height i've got a long upper body...

I have a Mont Icicle jacket and frankly I would say it's far too serious for what you're looking at.
For an altitude climb overseas with temps in the -20 to -25 range I would say perfect.

have to day ive never exercised in down jackets, even when my outershell iced up... i never needed one while i was moving, fleece has always been enough of an underlayer
then you've got the synthetic jackets to choose from as well