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Topic Date User

synthetic vs down puffy jackets 14-Jun-2007 At 8:36:00 PM Take!

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A lot of people rag on Kathmandu gear but...
I bought a down jacket for the G/F, who feels the cold more than me. As stated it was stupidly cheap compared to other brands She's had it for a few seasons now and wears it EVERY day during the colder months.
It recently got rained on walking home in Sydney's storms but didn't wet through, the DWT did its thing.
I don't know about all Kathmandu gear but I took a punt on the jacket and it turned out ok, it was $200 cheaper than others at the time.
I have a an old Mont vest with a dryloft shell. It's warm and packs small etc, it fits under a shell jacket if required. A full down jacket might be a better idea but this was a gift so i'm not complaining.
If you want ultralite down jackets look at MontBell and WesternMountianeering in the states. You might pick up a bargain this time of the year.
If you are wearing it on the cliff for long days or overnight then I could see where synthetic might be better for rain insurance. If you want to hike or carry the jacket in a pack then down is better.
BTW if it looked like rain you could always take a shell jacket - and a plastic bag to put the down jacket in...
The other alternative is lots of chicken Mc Nuggets and benchpresses, so you fill out the jacket you have :-) Or just take it in up the side seams...