Recommend me a soft-shell jacket

[fattyflattie 4,639]

12 hours ago, G650 said:

Hell, they make workwear on par with Carhartt in its heyday.

My last old school Carhartt is about gone.  I’m picking up a Filson tin cloth for myself this year. I’ll report back in a decade or two I hope.  

[Your Mom 4,805]

It's less about the brand and more about which materials within the brand.  Anything that's made with real down will be good quality, but only the good brands are using real down.  The other alternative is PrimaLoft synthetic down, again only used in the good stuff.  Some brands, like North Face, have everything from cheap crap for soccer moms to legit high end stuff for arctic expeditions.  The cheap shit is filled with cotton or low end synthetic down, but people see it and think any puffy is a puffy.  You can't see the difference unless you're looking at the details on the tags. 

Down or Primaloft synthetic are top dogs, Thinsulate synthetic is also good,  but everything else is an also-ran.  Down will always be warmest but only if it stays dry.  Synthetics can still stay warm when wet.  All that being said, you won't find the cheap shit inside a Patagonia.  Other brands have the good stuff in their top of the line stuff but Patagonia has it in all their stuff.  

https://www.sierra.com/blog/camping/whats-best-synthetic-insulation/

Edited December 7, 2019 by Your Mom
added link

[tomahawk dunk 332]

Outdoor Research makes some nice jackets as well.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,976]

The North Face Thermoball insulation is good stuff for synthetic down. It is the equivalent of 600 fill goose down, but stays warm when wet. The downside is sacrificed packability, but that shouldn't be a problem unless you need something very compressible for backpacking trips or such.

[Anton Chigurh 3,319]

Apex Climashield is good shit too.

NF Thermoball uses a proprietary ball shape version of Primaloft Gold that is supposed to mimic down clusters.

I will also add Mountain Hardwear since I haven’t seen it mentioned. They’re owned by Columbia now and maybe not as super high end as before, but still great.

[52-80 19,150]

7 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

My last old school Carhartt is about gone.  I’m picking up a Filson tin cloth for myself this year. I’ll report back in a decade or two I hope.  

Filson got bought out a few years ago and people claim their stuff got worse. 

[G650 14,249]

5 hours ago, Anton Chigurh said:

Apex Climashield is good shit too.

NF Thermoball uses a proprietary ball shape version of Primaloft Gold that is supposed to mimic down clusters.

I will also add Mountain Hardwear since I haven’t seen it mentioned. They’re owned by Columbia now and maybe not as super high end as before, but still great.

Everything I've seen out of Mountain Hardware in the last 10 years has been pretty average tbh.

[52-80 19,150]

I have some MTNHW gear but every garment ive ever tried fit like an inverted tent.  the cut and shaping is all weird. 

[Your Mom 4,805]

Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer was supposed to be the greatest puffy ever made a couple years ago.  I was tempted but went with the REI 650 down for half the price instead.

[TwiceHorn 31,449]

11 hours ago, Your Mom said:

It's less about the brand and more about which materials within the brand.  Anything that's made with real down will be good quality, but only the good brands are using real down.  The other alternative is PrimaLoft synthetic down, again only used in the good stuff.  Some brands, like North Face, have everything from cheap crap for soccer moms to legit high end stuff for arctic expeditions.  The cheap shit is filled with cotton or low end synthetic down, but people see it and think any puffy is a puffy.  You can't see the difference unless you're looking at the details on the tags. 

Down or Primaloft synthetic are top dogs, Thinsulate synthetic is also good,  but everything else is an also-ran.  Down will always be warmest but only if it stays dry.  Synthetics can still stay warm when wet.  All that being said, you won't find the cheap shit inside a Patagonia.  Other brands have the good stuff in their top of the line stuff but Patagonia has it in all their stuff.  

https://www.sierra.com/blog/camping/whats-best-synthetic-insulation/

There have been so many "synthetic downs" over the years with various proprietary gimmicks.  I used to buy into it but I'm not sure anymore.

I bought a Chinese imitation MA-1 Flight Jacket that I didn't expect to be very well insulated.  In fact, I was expecting more of a windbreaker.  That thing is warm as shit and it's got the same shit in it as my pillow.

Now warmth to weight ratio is probably an issue still, and you're right, the quality of down matters a lot and things pass or are passed as down that aren't very good.

[UnivTex34 1,763]

On 12/5/2019 at 9:15 AM, UnivTex34 said:

I bought a Mountain Hardware ATherm a few years back and it is amazing. Went back last year to get another color, and its discontinued. Bummer. The Arcteryx Atom and North Face Ventrix are very similar soft shells. Looks like the Kor from Mountain Hardware replaced it, but without the Polartec Alpha insulation.

 

8 hours ago, Anton Chigurh said:

Apex Climashield is good shit too.

NF Thermoball uses a proprietary ball shape version of Primaloft Gold that is supposed to mimic down clusters.

I will also add Mountain Hardwear since I haven’t seen it mentioned. They’re owned by Columbia now and maybe not as super high end as before, but still great.

Hi there...

[fattyflattie 4,639]

3 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Filson got bought out a few years ago and people claim their stuff got worse. 

Well shit. Guess I’ll have to do some digging and see what’s going on before I pull the trigger. 

[otisdog 365]

On 12/7/2019 at 2:52 AM, 52-80 said:

Filson got bought out a few years ago and people claim their stuff got worse. 

True, and their quality shows it. They've also discontinued a lot of their blue collar work stuff, and jacked the prices up so as to be one of those "exclusive" outfits. Shame, I've been wearing their stuff for decades (as well as Chouinard ). They basically don't carry anything that I'm interested in...used to live in their double tin shorts.

[otisdog 365]

On 12/7/2019 at 6:46 AM, fattyflattie said:

Well shit. Guess I’ll have to do some digging and see what’s going on before I pull the trigger. 

Patagonia has a new line of heavy duty work stuff...

[Guest Lobo]

REI is having their annual post-Christmas garage sale on the Saturday after the fact (28 December, 9:00a-CST), at both of their Austin locations.  

If you want a quality jacket at a good price and don't care about what label you project to the world, I highly recommend attending.   

[fattyflattie 4,639]

31 minutes ago, otisdog said:

Patagonia has a new line of heavy duty work stuff...

Pretty sure I put my hands on one tonight. I’ll look further but if it was, I’m going to need something a bit more sturdy. 

[We’reTexas 1,473]

Patagonia nano. It’s a lighter synthetic down. I live in San Francisco and it’s pretty much perfect as year round jacket for high 50’s-low 60’s with wind and sun. For colder temps I’ll lay over a Better Sweater (you get a lot of Patagonia work swag in the Bay Area). 

[52-80 19,150]

8 hours ago, We’reTexas said:

Patagonia nano. It’s a lighter synthetic down. I live in San Francisco and it’s pretty much perfect as year round jacket for high 50’s-low 60’s with wind and sun. For colder temps I’ll lay over a Better Sweater (you get a lot of Patagonia work swag in the Bay Area). 

what about the fleece vest?  lmao at a down garment for 50s tho....

[G650 14,249]

[otisdog 365]

15 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Pretty sure I put my hands on one tonight. I’ll look further but if it was, I’m going to need something a bit more sturdy. 

What it made of hemp? That's the line I was referring to.

[52-80 19,150]

3 hours ago, G650 said:

business on the inside; party on the outside

[G650 14,249]

I was thinking more douche on the inside, douche on the outside.

[Kennythetiger 9,377]

On 12/7/2019 at 8:46 AM, fattyflattie said:

Well shit. Guess I’ll have to do some digging and see what’s going on before I pull the trigger. 

Well, hell. I was going to tell you that I have a Filson tin jacket that’s close to 15 years old and still going strong. Didn’t know anything about what 5280 said.