What is your favorite insulation material

B

bitter1

Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Messages
1,071
What I mean by that is what type of material do you like in your jacket. Examples are Primaloft, Goose Down, fleece or wool. Since Fall and winter are coming Jackets are going to be in use again, I myself like polartec fleece because we tend to have milder winters here and layering a couple of pieces of fleece work and if it gets any colder then either my hard shell of down vest. Also what are your favorite pieces and brands for insulation. My favorite pieces are the First Ascent Cloud Layer 1/4 zip and Point Success jacket, 100 weight and 200 weight fleece respectively.
 
Just bought a North Face Crimptastic 800 fill down jacket. Has fleece side panels and arm panels to allow for breathability. Probably the most versatile jacket I've ever bought for winter.

I love down. Especially with the new DWR coatings...Everything's water resistant now!
 
I think most people just use a system of layers to deal with a wide set of conditions.

For winter excursions I use a long sleeve wool shirt, fleece jacket above that, and a down coat. I'll put a shell on top if it will get really wet. If it will be above 40 or so, I don't need the coat.

I can't say I have a preference for a certain insulation type between down and primaloft in a coat. You'll generally pay more for down, but it does compact better.
 
Cougar Allen said:
I thought you meant insulation for your house.
Click to expand...

I like the Owens Corning R-38 stuff. You know Pink Panther. Keep your house in the pink. :D J/K. The North Face down is top notch. So is their fleece since you are in TX. The technology is changing about as fast as cell phones have. You should have no trouble with much of anything from Arcetyrex or Columbia either. Make sure what you buy fits well.
 
don't have the extreme need of you in northern climates... polypropylene long sleeve shirt, nylon long sleeve cape back shirt for wind, Columbia fleece, GoreTex single layer rain jacket, wool socks, polypropylene balaclava, knit watch cap, motorcycle gauntlet length insulated gloves have worked at Ft Benning to 26F
 
Anything that keeps me warm, can get wet, and doesn't attract cat hair (fleece is right out). It used to be Thinsulate, which was freakin expensive. I haven't bought a proper winter coat in years.

din said:
lard.
Click to expand...

Bacon grease.
 
I experimented with a few different base layers while hiking last week in the UP. It was about 32 degrees thru each morning.
I had 3 sets of matched base layers. REI nylon (same as UnderAmour), Patagonia mid-weight with a waffled/brushed texture on the skin-side and Smartwool.
All were under a 100 weight fleece shirt followed by a E-Vent material jacket.

The REI set worked great until I stopped being active. Once I cooled off, I was chilled bigtime. It didn't seem to wick the moisture away from my skin either.

The Patagonia set worked great but I still felt a bit of a chill after cooling off. It felt like it did wick away some moisture.

The Smartwool was the winner for me. Warm even when it was wet from sweat, dried quick and felt the best overall. I didn't ever feel clammy when active or when at rest and cooled off. Seemed to dry the quickest also.

If your talking about a insulated coat, I'd say down is the best bet.

I used to wear the best insulated coat I could find but have moved away from that the last few years. Layering under a windproof shell seems to work very well even in zero degree weather.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top