Bushwalk Australia

I'm looking at down jackets and wondering about sizing, once under-layers are taken into consideration (eg thermal/light fleece/maybe something else?).

I'm technically a (S)mall (95cm chest vs 97 (S) and 102 (M)), but 6'1"/185cm tall.

So trying to work out if I should go (M)edium, or whether small is likely to have enough room - the fit is described as "Trim".

Any thoughts welcome.

How much down is in the jacket?

If it's one of the light weight ones then a slimmer fit is probably fine. If it's a heavy weight then you would want a bit of extra room to ensure the down can loft fully.

I find the the biggest concern is my outer jacket. I often wear a wind shirt over my down when around the campfire (to protect it from embers). So I have to make sure the wind jacket is large enough so it fits over the down jacket.

If your buying online my suggestion is to find out the exact measurements of the jacket and ensure its going to fit around the arms, chest, shoulders etc.. I've been burnt before with different manufacturers having wildly different interpretations of medium..

Most sellers have good return policies these days??? If not, you need to ask why.

Any fit described as “trim”, “slim”, or “athletic “, - if your build is not slim and athletic, you need to go up a size.

If the seller is an Asian entity then sizes can be quite small (eg Aldi)

Highly prejudiced personal opinion but any high loft garment described as Athletic or Slim fitting isn't suitable for cold weather clothing static wear.
I second Eremophila but would say go up two sizes.
In order to have a 10mm airspace between the high loft garment and the inner layers the static layer needs to be at least 100mm bigger in girth than the inner layers

Thanks for the feedback - I don't generally buy clothing online, hence the slightly uninformed question!

wildwanderer wrote:How much down is in the jacket?

102g of 850 loft

wildwanderer wrote:If your buying online my suggestion is to find out the exact measurements of the jacket and ensure its going to fit around the arms, chest, shoulders etc.. I've been burnt before with different manufacturers having wildly different interpretations of medium.

The manufacturer's sizing suggests the small - without underlayers.

Eremophila wrote:Most sellers have good return policies these days??? If not, you need to ask why.

Fair enough - I should probably just order the small, and then return it for the medium if it doesn't fit with the layering

Eremophila wrote:Any fit described as “trim”, “slim”, or “athletic “, - if your build is not slim and athletic, you need to go up a size.

At 71kg/185cm, I would say slim (some might say scrawny!)

Moondog55 wrote:Highly prejudiced personal opinion but any high loft garment described as Athletic or Slim fitting isn't suitable for cold weather clothing static wear.
I second Eremophila but would say go up two sizes.
In order to have a 10mm airspace between the high loft garment and the inner layers the static layer needs to be at least 100mm bigger in girth than the inner layers

Hmm, I've only been a small or medium in recent clothing sizes. I suspect a large would be ... voluminous!

What's the 10mm of airspace for? (And doesn't 10mm airspace = 31.4mm of girth? (High school maths!))

Dead air space between layers is "Free" insulation, and that 100mm is assuming an allowance for one extra layer, but I got that from a post over at BPL. If your clothes are not loose enough to give that extra dead air space you're wasting carried weight, you alleviate pumping with drawcords etc
Yes, cold weather clothing is voluminous. I'm an XXL and my big static parka is HUGE

Is it from Europe?

It's the Arc'teryx Cerium LT Hoody Mens (305gm) - primarily for bushwalking in NSW in winter, so mostly down to about 0 degrees. I currently have a 600+gm unrated down jacket (Kathmandu) which I try to avoid taking because of its size and weight.

Happy to take other recommendations in that general range.

I measured my chest again with thermal+fleece and got to 97cm.

tom_brennan wrote:It's the Arc'teryx Cerium LT Hoody Mens (305gm) - primarily for bushwalking in NSW in winter, so mostly down to about 0 degrees. I currently have a 600+gm unrated down jacket (Kathmandu) which I try to avoid taking because of its size and weight.

Happy to take other recommendations in that general range.

I measured my chest again with thermal+fleece and got to 97cm.

Tom, Just as a thought, if you are in town it might be worth having a look at the Macpac Uber Light, currently $110-00, 310 g (650 fill vs 850 though).
I've had the hoodless version for several years and used it for a variety of purposes, travel, camping etc.
I've used it camping overnight at Acacia Flat in some cooler weather, probably above zero degrees, maybe around 5, and was comfortable (with thermals).
I'm usually M these days with chest around 102 cm (can sometimes hover between M and S depending on brand).
I find the Uber Light reasonably close fitting in medium but a bit long in the sleeves. But I'm a shortarse around at 165cm'ish.
Based on what you are saying you may get away with S in that brand, or "relaxed fit" in M.

tom_brennan wrote:It's the Arc'teryx Cerium LT Hoody Mens (305gm) - primarily for bushwalking in NSW in winter, so mostly down to about 0 degrees. I currently have a 600+gm unrated down jacket (Kathmandu) which I try to avoid taking because of its size and weight.

Happy to take other recommendations in that general range.

I measured my chest again with thermal+fleece and got to 97cm.

Hi Tom,

I'm 185cm and 73kg, 99cm chest, so I think we probably have a similar build. I ordered the Arc'teryx Cerium LT Hoody in medium recently and found it pretty snug on me, even a little restrictive with a base layer and 100wt fleece underneath. I ended up returning it, replacing it with the Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody in medium, which fits great (but is, alas, a little heavier).

Hope that helps.

Might also pay to check out the cheap Uniqlo on sale
Not the highest quality but reasonable down and very light weight
https://www.uniqlo.com/au/en/products/E ... Code=COL02
I actually prefer my UL Uniqlo to the Macpac, just be aware that they run in Asian sizes, I need an XXXL in it and it fits close over base layers but it's for summer not white season so that's OK
For reference I'm 184cm tall, 110 kilos and a 117cm chest and wide shoulders

I have the Macpac Uber Light and I've found it to be not particularly warm.

Eremophila wrote:I have the Macpac Uber Light and I've found it to be not particularly warm.

Definitely a summer only layer for camp wear. I have used the UL Uniqlo as a sleeping layer a few times