Best Puffy?

[sneaky]

Curious how a world class hiker, backpacker and trekker is qualified from a regular hiker, backpacker and trekker?

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Probably 10X as many days in the field, and in more austere environments. Pretty big difference between a weekend, casual hiker, and someone who travels all over the world and spends months at a time in the field in the gear. It's pretty easy to differentiate actually.

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[sneaky]

I really like their reviews, I just wish they'd also compare to hunting brands so we can see how they stack up. Since they don't go head to head we have to make our own inferences and sometimes spec sheets don't tell the whole story

Why? Most of the hunting brands use the same shell materials and down as the outdoor brands. Pretty easy to compare the specs and make a decision. Hunting brands are just notorious for charging an extra hundred bucks because theirs is camo and not a solid color.

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[Eddyhorace3]

Looking at going a different direction with my puffy jacket and curious what everybody else is running. I currently have the Kuiu Super Down Ultra, and I like it. The weight is great and it’s pretty warm in most situations, but every single time I wear it it seems like I lose a handful of down feathers, and kys definitely not as warm as it used to be with 3 years of feather loss at this point. Any recommendations? Grumman, kuiu, Kifaru?

Just got my Canis panmir not sure if it’s considered a true puffy for me it is and much more. May be some heavier but it’s got rip stop fabric and DWR coating. Very impressed

 

[SewardsFolly]

I moved away from the hunting brands last year and ended up on the Rab Mythic Ultra Down Jacket. My size L weighs 18 oz, has 8.5 oz of 900 fill down in it. Its not cheap at $495 but if you sale shop and use activejunky or rakuten to get cash back, you can get it in the 300s. Still have a cheap REI down or my FL synthetic puffy for earlier season hunts, but this weighs about the same and is amazing on the cold sits and frozen mornings. Would be too warm hiking in, but for spot and stalk and sitting its hard to beat.

 

[Redthies]

Most of the hunting brands use the same shell materials and down as the outdoor brands. Hunting brands are just notorious for charging an extra hundred bucks because theirs is camo and not a solid color.

I have an arc’teryx Cerium hoody and a FL Brooks hoody. The arc’teryx is $365 solid color and the FL is $285 in camo. Hmmmm.

 

[Redthies]

When you are debating the “best” down jacket, there is a very important question: sitting and glassing in -30* or still hunting in 25* weather? Definitely two different use cases.

I have owned a crap ton of different downs over the years ranging from North Face Nuptse jackets (used on Everest) to my FL Brooks. The Brooks is the lightest weight I’ve owned, and great if you are on the move in temps just below freezing to say mid teens. If you are looking to be warm while sitting for hours in anything below freezing, you probably want something with a lot more fill. Like the Chamberlin. If I know I’m sitting for hours in serious cold, I’ll get out my -30 Marmot bag and sit under/in it.

 

[David]

Ounce for ounce, the SG Grumman Down Jacket is tough to beat.