Nice stuff…
…but I don’t see any garments that fit the description at their website.
How small…
…will it stuff? Do you happen to know?
static electricity
I got my daughter one of those primaloft “sweaters” and it is incredibly warm but one hell of a static generator.
about the size of two soft balls…
using the supplied stuff sack.
It will go smaller if you use a compression sack.
Intergral Designs
Best primaloft clothing out there, but you pay for quality. If you want quality, support independent manufacturers.
Seems like youre asking for “the holy grail.” Good in wet/humid conditions, compressible and inexpensive. You can easily have any two of these, but not usually all three.
why no hood?
i was seeking the same thing as you, and got the Mont Bell Thermawrap with hood. it is an awesome peice, and the hood is a brilliant fit. this is also my hypothermia aviodance garment and i feel a fitted hood is a necessity, even over a good toque, or balaclava.
the fit may not work for some however. the Pata and others are very beefy, very wide bodied jackets for true XL guys. my MB is an XL and was MADE for my build. long armed, slim fitting through the body. i was so impressed with the form, function and yes fashion of this stuff, i paid full retail! haven’t had to do that for years…
I never mentioned cost…
??
Why no hood?
Because I’ve got a couple hats. Seemed like the hood would be redundant.
Mmmmm Insulated hoods!
I had a dramatic demonstration yesterday of just how much warmer an insulated hood is in addition to a hat.
I was out biking in the mountains yesterday with my young daughter. Conditions were increasing overcast with temp’s in the mid 20s and winds gusting into the 30MPH range with fine blowing snow.
I was wearing a fleece hat with ear flaps under my helmet and my head and ears were warm enough without overheating, but when I stopped to help my daughter bundle up (we were heading down for the next 10 miles and the sun was rapidly disappearing behind clouds) I popped on my down parka to ward off any chill. As an afterthought I pulled up my hood over my helmet/hat combo.
It was at that point as I felt myself relax as I warmed up that I realized just how much heat I had been losing through my hat and how much warmer I now was with the hood on.
Having both the hat and hood made a huge difference in my temperature and the energy output I needed just to stay warm. I just wish I could use my down jacket around water.
Thanks
You are of course correct. I read too much into the “It is something that I expect to destroy this summer” line. In that case you’ve gotten several excellent suggestions in this thread. Best of luck.
Could be useful for sleeping in
Since these jackets are not intended for paddling in, the hood is appreciated for more sedentary things like puttering around camp or reading in the night chill.
If you get an unusually cold night, the hood is especially nice when sleeping in the jacket.
I once went tent-camping in December in Canyonlands NP. Temps got into the single digits. I had brought a thick fleece HeadSokz “thing” that can be worn something like 7 ways, including as an ultra-long balaclava. I wore that thing every night when I slept, and it literally made the difference between camping or having to pack up and find a motel.
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And who makes the other clothing?
Often, the smaller companies make a nearly-identical item with a “big” name label on it, for sale by said big name. If you want the designer name, there’s nothing wrong with that. But the same thing might be sold under another name, too.
Judge by the merits of the clothing itself.
Having worked for the big names…
– Last Updated: Mar-09-07 8:44 PM EST –
..... before I can tell you that it works the other way around also. There have been a number of high ticket specialty shop items produced by the big guys for the little guys to sell with their label.