Light summer belay/overnight jacket

[kevino]

Trying to find a jacket to fit this bill:

-synthetic insulation

-hood (like the extra warmth)

-used for belay on spring/summer/fall alpine rock climbs or light overnight trips

- <16 oz

 

So far the only jackets I have found are the Montbell UL Thermawrap Parka, Arcteryx LT Hoody, Montane Prism 2.0, and OR Fraction. Anyone have some of these jackets or other jackets that fit these requirements? Seems to be a pretty narrow field...

[Water]

I have montbell UL Thermawrap parka. very warm, the insulation is solid. i like the hood--forget if it fits over my helmet, im thinking not. Only caveat is the material, in my opinion is not very robust--i think a harness on top of it could cause some pretty decent fraying/piling over a year, if it is anything less than quite soft/smooth material rubbing on it. For backpacking I found it fine since I wear it around camp or fine for throwing on at the summit of something, but after using it on a single trip up mt jefferson it got more frays/piling than I would have expected--but again it is 'Ultra-Lightweight' so how high should expectations be. Its not paper-delicate but at the same time I think for anything that would be used in abrasion situations, a bit more robustness would be good.

[Dirtyleaf]

I've got the Montbell. I like it. The hood fits over my helmet, its cheap, light, and has held up very well to 3 years of use.

[Dane]

Arcteryx has a new one coming call the Atom "something"...basically a Atom LT without the side vents.

 

Still sweater weight and packs really small into its own pocket like the Atom lt.

[robpatterson5]

Here is a bit of a discussion from last year

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/871744/Re_Summer_belay_bivy_jackets#Post871744

[Bronco]

The Eddie Bauer Ignitor is on sale for $99 on the EB website. Seems like a fine jacket and comprable to what else is out there. I don't know if this link is any good but here it is:

 

http://www.eddiebauer.com/EB/Men/Sale/Sale-Outerwear/index.cat#ppl=%7Btype%3A%22transition%22%2CensembleId%3A%2234983%22%2CformatStr%3A%22product%22%2CpassedIdObj%3A%7B%22ensembleId%22%3A%2234983%22%7D%2CcategoryId%3A%2221310%22%2CpathInfo%3A%22C1C2C21306C21310%22%2CcolorId%3A%22014%22%2CsizeIdSelected%3A%22-1%22%2CquantitySelected%3A%22-1%22%2CimageName%3A%22EB09IB_0013922_014C1%22%2CimageTypeCode%3A%22C%22%2CcatPath%3A%22%7E%7EcategoryId%3D21310%7E%7EcategoryName%3DSALE-OUTERWEAR%7E%7EpCategoryId%3D21306%7E%7EpCategoryName%3DSALE%7E%7EgpCategoryId%3D2%7E%7EgpCategoryName%3DMEN%7E%7EggpCategoryId%3D1%7E%7EggpCategoryName%3DEB%22%2Ccs%3A%220%22%7D

[monoloco]

The Eddie Bauer Ignitor is on sale for $99 on the EB website. Seems like a fine jacket and comprable to what else is out there. I don't know if this link is any good but here it is:

 

I picked one up a couple of weeks (months?) when they first went on sale. Unfortunately, the season was already over (here in mid-Atlantic) so I can't speak to experience.

 

I can say that it appears to be very nicely thought out and well made. It also has a BIG hood (I hate wimpy hoods that don't work with helmets) which is great!

 

It is bulkier than I'm used to (I've never owned a poly puffy, only down).

 

My only other real "concern" is the one way zipper. I'm on the short side (5'7") and wear a medium. It's cut *relatively* long and I'm not sure if it's going to get in way of access to harness/ATC when I actually get around to using it as a belay jacket.

 

I'll know more in two weeks when I'm headed Baker way...

[Le Piston]

The Mountain Hardwear hooded Compressor jacket would seem to fit your criteria. I have a similar jacket made by REI (new version called the Spruce I believe) that I really like similar to the Compressor. It is under a pound, warmer than you'd expect for the weight, Primaloft insulation. I use it on almost all of my non-winter climbs.

[dberdinka]

I have the OR. I really like it. Nice price point compared to some of the other brands.

[jmace]

Picked up the Nano the other day

 

-9 oz

-packed size is about the size of a pair of gloves

-DWR

-Synthetic

-wind proof

 

No Hood though, grab a very lightweight R1 with a hood and you have an awesome spring through fall setup

 

http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/product/patagonia-mens-nano-puff-pullover?slc=en_US&sct=US&p=84020-0-961

[Pilchuck71]

I throw in my vote for the OR.

I bought one toward the end of last season and used this coat right through this last Winter.

I think I just saw one for $94.00 or so by doing a quick search.

I thought it was a value @ the $150 I paid for it.

 

[BigSky]

I've used the OR Fraction and Thermawrap both. Don't think the Thermawrap hood went over my helmet, but I don't have it anymore to check. The Fraction has been good to me though, and it seems like they are always on sale.

I now use an Integral Designs PLQ for summer+ belay duty. I put snaps on my Dolomitti hood and PLQ collar, so it now has a removable hood at about 16.5 oz. all up. It's a little bit loftier than the others, which I wanted.

[t_rutl]

Patagucci's Nano will be getting a full zip and a hood late this summer/fall.

 

Other than that I like the MB Thermawrap.

[kevino]

Thanks for the opinions and comments. I'm really trying to stick to my original guidelines for this jacket as I'll want the lightest/smallest pack I can get for plans I have this summer. With that in mind, both the compressor (18 oz) and ignitor (19+oz) are out. As mentioned, the nano puff hoody is going to come out in late summer, and weights around 14 oz. Till then I'm going to get the OR Fraction as it fits my wants and costs $60-70 less than the montbell, which was next in line. Thanks again!

Edited May 13, 2010 by kevino

[robpatterson5]

take a look at the cocoon stuff from backpackinglight, might fit your bill.

[G-spotter]

Uplink

 

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442630549&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302699079&bmUID=1273774886227

[robpatterson5]

G-spotter I'm curious, do you really find that warm enough? My experience has been that a 60gm Primaloft Sport hoody was pretty marginal. Nice during the day or evening but not enough on an unplanned bivy. 40gm seems like a nice layer for moving in!

I now carry a compressor hoody as I like having a little bit of extra insulation if we get caught out, the BPL cocoon parka has been good too but now mostly take the compressor.

If anything this might work better with a wp/b shell: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442627243&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302884890&bmUID=1273775450438, seamseal it and you could maybe ditch the rain shell...

 

 

[G-spotter]

Mostly in summer I don't even take an insulated jacket, I find the lightweight ones don't give enough warmth vs weight saving compared to a softshell which I am already taking.

[Dane]

The sweater weight jacket. Done right it is an interesting theory and use of materials.

[TrogdortheBurninator]

I've got a nifty new Rab thingy that weighs 12oz or so. Superlight shell, but reasonably durable. Primaloft one throughout. Packs in its own pocket, with a crab loop. Has a hood, but it is a bit small for over helmet, so usually has to go under. Also has no zippers on pockets, which saves weight, but makes it less ideal for spin drift etc. As a rock or alpine rock jacket, it seems to be the bees knees.

 

It replaced my OR fraction (previous generation), which was also great. Fraction is a bit heavier, but has an over-helmet hood and pocket zippers, making it more serviceable for four seasons. My fraction could fold into its chest pocket, but wasnt designed too, so zipper was a pain to close and it didnt have a dedicated clip in point. Some things might have changed with the current model. I think Fraction is PL sport, but it always seemed remarkably warm for the weight.

 

I've also had a few super-light down sweaters, but in general I don't find them quite as useful as the synthetics for this weight range.

[kevino]

Trog,

 

Whats the rab product? I saw Doug Shepard talk about a new rab piece but it isn't out yet...

 

While I agree with G-spotter that insulation is not always needed during the summer, I want this piece to work into spring skiing and fall alpine rock where there is greater chance of storms and cooler temps (prusik in oct or the wind river range in sept again)

[TrogdortheBurninator]

likely the same one Doug is talking about. It is probably due out around the time as the Pata Nano Hoody. They have some similar stuff available now, but no hood on the light weights, and a slightly heavier shell fabric.