Warmest down jacket for around £200

mark Ravensdale

22/11/2002 at 01:01

Can anyone out there recommend one of the warmest down filled jackets for around 200 - 250 UK pounds ?

P.S.
It must have either no hood at all, Or a hood that can be removed easily (zip, press-studs, velcro)

THANKS!!!

neil rich

22/11/2002 at 08:26

try magic mountain's web site for some mountain equipment bargains. It's where I got mine with about £100 off if I remember rightly

joan collins

22/11/2002 at 10:25

As with a sleeping bag, what determines the warmth of a down jacket is the weight and quality of the down, and the construction. The warmest are pure or high % down and have a fill power of at least 600. Box construction is warmer than stitch-through, which potentially leaves colder patches.

I have a Rab Summit, which is fine sitting around at below zero, but really too warm for all but the slowest of movement even at those temperatures. Should be able to get one for around £150-200. PH Designs make even warmer jackets. They are fantastic quality and well-featured, and designs and sizes can be tweaked to order. Their website also explains more about choosing a jacket.

richard bradley

22/11/2002 at 15:54

One of the mags (Trail I think) is reviewing down jackets this month. Get down to Smiths and sneak a peak.

A Rab jacket comes out on top. As usual I can't remember which one. Could be joan's Summit. It was aboat £180 with a high fill value (750?).

Lloyd Bower

22/11/2002 at 22:28

May seem silly but wouldn't necessarily go for the warmest as it's likely to be overspecced for over here, we don't get too many cold dry days - plenty of cold wet ones though ;-)

Steve Dent 2

24/11/2002 at 18:18

I use a Rab down jacket...best that I can think of..Costa bout £180 or so..Works well here in the deep south!!

Steve Dent

mark Ravensdale

24/11/2002 at 23:08

Many thanks to all !!!

Paul Bedwell 2

26/11/2002 at 16:36

The Rab jacket featured in Trail that Richard refers to is the Endurance, which was £185 and got the top vote from the testers. I tried one on to indulge myself in my local store and thought first impressions were excellent - I'll be going back to this one when I'm about to replace my old down jacket. No doubt there's more info on Rab's web site.

Cheers, PB

Drew

27/11/2002 at 15:13

I don't know how they got that at £180. I recently got my Rab Glavier Guide (I think) for £200. 250grams of 660+ fill power down. Very nice, but seemingly not as good vaue as the Trail tested one. I don't understand!

philip newing

27/11/2002 at 22:00

ME Lightline for me. You could buy 2 for £200 notes. Mine cost £60 in a sale 2 years ago from CCC in Sheff'. (it was a last years colour). Still only costs about £100. Can't argue against Rab on the quality but then then ME is equally as good.
I'm sure Trail recommend it this month.

Jon Doran

28/11/2002 at 10:37

At the risk of repeating what everyone else has already said, I'd go abck to first principles rather than starting with a pure price point. It really depends what you want to use the jacket for. The only time I've ever used a down jacket for active climbing or walking was mountaineering on south-facing faces in the Andes, and that just once and very slowly.

The three main factors to look at are the fill power of the down, the quantity of the fill and the construction, usually box-wall or sewn through. Box wall construction places the down in channels with walls and means that there's always a solid layer of down between you and the outside, sewn through is easier to make and cheaper, but means there's a point along the seams where there's no insulation.

If you really do want ultimate warmth, then one of the big expedition jackets from the likes of ME or Rab are probably the way to go - say ME's Annapurna or the Rab equivalent. The Annapurna has a removable hood, don't know about the Rab offhand. How warm do you need to be?

OutdoorsMagic Editor | jon@outdoorsmagic.com

Paul Bedwell 2

28/11/2002 at 12:18

Jon makes some good points (the Rab jacket we've talked about has a fixed hood Jon, with a wide retaining tab with velcro to hold back the bulk of the hood).

Just to add that the Rab jacket has two variations - the Neutrino and the Neutrino Endurance, the former is slightly lighter, the latter has a few more features. You can check the spec at http://www.rab.uk.com/index_e.html

Snow and Rock (www.snowandrock.com) are doing an offer on the classic (but now ageing?) North Face Nuptse, at £101, but not sure exactly what's going on with their site - yesterday it was a straight 'click to buy' at £101.50, but having gone back to check it just now it says £101-£149, so you'd need to check..

I think the ME Lightline got the thumbs up from Trail, getting the 'Best Value' ticket, which bears out what you were saying yesterday Phil.

Yours (in his battered old Columbia down jacket, looking at the Rab with big eyes!)
PB

Ninja Marmot

28/11/2002 at 12:36

I think the summary from Trail was that any of the 'warmer' jackets in the review would be suitable for anything outside the Arctic Circle. For those who haven't read it, they say 'warmer' because some of the ones reviewed were the thinner mid-layer style.

Personally I prefer one without a hood because they tend to be very bulky, working on the theory that that's what hats are for! Mine is the MHW Below Zero ...

650 Fill Down insulation. Water-repellent ripstop shell in a lovely periwinkle colour. The 3 pockets are zipped and have a very fluffy lining which is nice and warming (not all duvets have this) and there is also an inner security pocket. The abrasion-resistant patches on the shoulders and outer arms are very effective. I also like the fact that it is a short cut so can be worn easily with a harness when on a cold belay.

Richard Shilling

28/11/2002 at 13:36

As everyone says it depends what you will use it for.

I have a Rab Summit and a ME Annapurna. To be honest the Annapurna is a very nice jacket but too warm for all but the very coldest conditions. I have worn it in the Himalayas in March and it was occasionally too warm until over 5000m and I have never used it or needed to in this country. The RAB or equivalent is a much more all around jacket which easily copes with treks in Nepal and I have used it in the UK too. I am not a warm sleeper, so I would say that the Annapurna is suitable mainly for sitting around when very high (not at parties but at altitude - although handy for parties too!) or in very, very cold climates. It is an excellent jacket but it is designed for one purpose and therefore not very flexible. Both jackets have removable hoods. The hood on the Annapurna, though bulky, is very lightweight i.e. no wire peak etc.

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