UKC

Hi, I am looking at buying a lightweight down jacket. I have narrowed it to 2 jackets.
Has anyone used or have either the Patagonia Ultralight Hoody jacket or the Rab Microlight Alpine Jacket? How do they wear, warmth etc? Thanks for any replies.

In reply to sean1: I have the rab microlight and absolutely love it. It is very thin but still very warm considering. It also stuffs into its own chest pocket so takes up hardly any room in your pack. Haven't had any issues with mine in terms of wear, tiny bit of down loss which is to be expected, wore mine climbing through winter and it held up fine. Hope that's of some help!

In reply to Richard88:


It is thanks Richard

In reply to sean1: I'm sure either of those are good; I've found I tend to fit Patagonia much better than I do RAB, so you body shape might determine the best one.

If you want to save money, consider the Uniqlo ultralight down jackets. I got the non-hooded one for 50 or 60 quid at Christmas and it is amazingly light. The hooded ones look just like the the Pata and RAB versions, I might get a hooded one sized to go over my current one for next winter.

The uniqlo ones have a higher quality of down in them it seems to the other cheaper micro baffled jackets you seen in other big sports chains, so they pack down to nothing and you don't get feathers pushing through like happens with cheaper down/feather mixes.

In reply to TobyA:
Thanks for that TobyA,
Do the Uniqlo have a good fit for someone slim? Where do they sell them?
Thanks Sean

In reply to sean1:Could be worth looking into the ethical source (or not) of the down in Uniqlo jackets.

In reply to sean1:

uniqlo are about e600 fill down and slim fit (unless they resize for os markets???).
quite nice, especially now they use YKK zips (the previous weakness).
id go with them if youre doing less than about 15 days out in winter, and at 1/5 the price of anything from the big names you can afford to trash them.

good point re the source of the down tho. at that price id wonder about it...

In reply to sean1: Don't get down, once it's wet it is useless, get primaloft or fibrepile.

In reply to Henrycuillin:

Which is also useless if wet.

Nothing wrong with a thin down layer for when it gets a bit nippy its always the smallest lightest option whatever the temp range. If its gonna piss it down wear fleece or buffalo or stay in the valley posing

In reply to andic: primaloft is tested when it's dry and again when wet, have you used wet primaloft, I thinks it's the dogs goolies for our type of weather myself

In reply to Adam Hughes: Primaloft or similar all the way. The weight penalty over down is more than balanced by wet performance and peace of mind.

On a budget: Montane Prism.
Ultimate comfort: Arcteryx Atom LT

In reply to Adam Hughes:

Primaloft is just better than down in the wet its not a magic bullet.

In reply to sean1: I've got the Rab Microlight Alpine and I love it! The fit is ideal for me being slim and long in the arm. I used it for Summer Alpine climbing and UK mountain routes. =o)

In reply to sean1:

I've had a RAB microlight alpine for the past 8 months. To begin with I loved it (and still do actually!) but it's isn't very hard wearing if you're going to use it a lot. I do look after my gear, but it is not full of small holes and I've had to replace the zip on it twice.

I'm afraid I have no experience of the Patagonia jacket for comparision I'm afraid.

In reply to sean1: I've got the RAB. Excellent. Used it with work when stagging on and climbing as a belay jacket. It's a good jacket. Good hood. Lightweight, fits well, warm enough to keep you warm when you're not doing anything but not so warm that you can't actually do activities in it.

In reply to andic:

I would be interested to see some numbers on performance, my personal experience is that in conditions that would reduce down to 0% of dry performance, primaloft is still offering 70-80%.

In reply to Henrycuillin:

don't get it wet is another approach.

In reply to The New NickB: Primaloft is a bi** to stuff though. Down is much more lightweight and packs up MUCH smaller.

The very reason that it doesn't stuff well is one of the main reasons sleeping bags use it on the bottom - so it doesn't compress.

There are much better synthetic fills than Primaloft too. Thermic Micro by Mountain Hardware is my favorite.

In reply to TobyA: I like that idea, but in britain, it is kind of inevitable!