I’m starting a thru hike in late Febuary.Do I go with the Mont-Bell EX light down jacket 5.7 oz or the U.L. Therawrap synthetic jacket 8.8 oz?
mudflap
Down or Synthetic?
system
#2
My vote is for down.
What kind of bag do you have? Some people have a pretty good thought that if you have a down bag, you should have a synthetic jacket. It’s a good thought and it’s hard to disagree with it. But thru hiking is full of irrational decisions, and I went with all down anyway.
With a down jacket, you know you really can’t hike in it, hardly ever at all. The exception might be on a very cold, very dry day, with little exertion. You MUST keep it dry. It didn’t have a problem with that, but I could see where it could become one.
Garlic
system
#4
The AT is a very very very wet trail. Things never seem to fully dry out without a clothes dryer in town, especially in the second half. To able to put on my compressor jacket (worth every penny) during a break and not worry if it got a little wet made life all the easier. A down bag might be cool with a good waterproof stuff sack like e-vent or vigilant trash bag usage.
I’d rather carry a little extra weight to be confortable. I may be biased since I thru’d in 2003 and 2008.
Feral
system
#5
Mudflap, that’s a nice bag, and it’s probably going to be challenged a few times. I started in April last year and had several nights in the teens, above 6000’ in the Smokies and Mt Rogers. Feral makes a good point, but a dry down garment may make the difference on those cold nights–it did for me. Feral’s also right, it takes vigilance to keep down dry on the AT. It’s not easy, but it is doable.
Garlic
system
#6
Go wit down. You probably will not hike in you jacket so keeping it dry in camp should not prove to be problematic. I would go with a down bag too. If either get damp just dry them out on large rocks in the sun. They dry out quick.
Stealthblew
system
#7
I carried down in both regards on my thru and neither the bag nor the jacket ever got even remotely wet enough to lose effectiveness. On the AT, you always sleep under a shelter of some sort and (should) have a waterproof outerlayer. The bag or the jacket may get a little damp from incidental exposure but your body heat will dry out either piece of gear very quickly. I suggest you go with down. It might get a little damp one day out of the month, but it’ll be lighter and less bulky 30 days out of the month.
Matt
system
#8
I would just like to add I believe it is worth the extra dollars to purchase high quality 800 count down. Once you lighten up they will most likely be your most expensive pieces of equipment but well worth it. Look for deals on the net. You already have the bag so you are more than half way there. Enjoy you trek.
Stealthblew
system
#9
For a sleeping bag, most people will pick down. But for a jacket… synthetic can be a good choice… it’s a little more versatile than down, easier to wash, and you don’t have to be so concerned about moisture. Plus, it’s not as likely you’ll need the extra warmth that down provides in a jacket… on the AT. If you’re heading to a much colder and drier trail, down is probably a better choice…
Jonathan
system
#10
On the AT, an insulated jacket will be an item to wear in camp or at shelters, but not for hiking. When the weather’s bad you’ll probably be hanging out in the shelters so rain won’t affect you as much, plus you’ll have your rain jacket to wear over the insulated jacket at those times if needed. I’d go with the lightest possible approach here, which would be a down vest or something like the MB half-sleeve down jacket. Then a month or so later you can probably send it home, esp. if you start hiking longer days and getting more efficient with your downtime.
.
system
#11
sometimes i think i’d like to splurge and go ahead and get one of those 9 ounce down jackets (especially for the pct)…but paw and i have used our homemade synthetic ‘poofies’ for goin’ on 5000 miles and we like ‘em ALOT!..of course, most of our hiking has been on the ‘wet’ AT (or benton mackaye) and not on one of the ‘drier’ trails… we liked the fact that our synthetics (jackets and quilt) dried out so exceptionally fast…(but oh! for the extra ROOM in our packs the less bulky DOWN items would allow us to enjoy!)…synthetics definitely don’t squish down to the ‘packable smallness’ that down does!..(and they weigh a little more…or at least a jacket does…mine is 18 ounces)…in’06, i made myself a very simple, synthetic ‘poofy’ vest (the front closure was velcro)…it weighed in at 9.5 ounces and was my favorite piece of cold weather clothing!..i could throw it on in the a.m. while we were packing up, and then just strap it to my pack once we headed out…then it was easily accessible for ‘blustery breaks’ where it kept me very comfortable till we got goin’ again!..you CAN actually HIKE in a synthetic garment if it’s REALLY REALLY cold…(which we’ve done a few times), because even if the clothing gets soaked with sleet or snow or cold rain(or perspiration), it doesn’t take much to dry it out!..also, poly fill doesn’t ‘pack down’ when it gets wet like down, so you always have the benefit of insulating ‘loft’ (even when wet)…it’s so hard to decide when you consider the weight of down…but the fairly certain comfort of ‘DRY’ might be more important to me…
maw-ee