I am new here and new to the light hunting gear scene, so hopefully what I am chiming in will not offend anyone here. I mostly whitetail hunt from stands and in blinds, so I am sitting long hours with no/little movement to generate warmth. I have been doing a lot of research in hoe to stay warmer longer, for myself and the girlfriend that is so cold blooded that she wears gloves in July. Some of this has already been said on here, but this is what I have found for lofty insulators and water proofing.
You can not compress them, or very little to have any insulating properties.
Even if the fill is rated at 700-800 there still has to be an adequate amount to hold warmth in. So the jacket might be light and thin but will not hold the heat in, if it is to thin. I would much rather have a jacket with twice as much of the same 700-800 fill in it and deal with a bit more weight.
If you get sweated up, and put the insulation on before cooling down/drying off you are going lose insulation properties. This is why I walk/hike in with minimal layers on. I am very hot natured, and usually walk in with nothing more than a base layer and light pants on, even when it is -20 F out.
There is no way to truly have a waterproof and breathable product.
If a fabric is treated to resist water it is going to wear off eventually. How long? who knows, as seen I think it depends on the use and abuse it gets. I retreat all of my Gore-Tex rain gear for work every year, as well as other gear that I want to be water resistant. About the only way to keep insulation from diminishing when in wet environments would be to use a very water repellent outer layer that does not compress the insulation. A lot of this are things that I have also learned from re-furbishing old houses and seeing how most insulations react to moisture.
My answer to what I am wanting to accomplish is to find a higher rated fill jacket with more fill in it with a lose fitting waterproof/windproof outer layer. I know my hikes are not as long and as strenuous as most out west, but I think the same concepts apply. You can only cut the weight of clothing so much before you are diminishing your returns.
Hopefully none of what I said came off terribly bad to anyone.
Very warm, I wish the hood had a draw on it though. I use that one a lot around town.
