r/Ultralight • u/Opening_Connection_4 • 1d ago
Purchase Advice Looking for a versatile puffy jacket
Hey there, I am looking for an insulation layer to wear both for thruhiking but also in the city. I was thinking of purchasing an Arcteryx atom hoodie as it fits me well and seems to be great when I am biking around town. However I need a jacket that I can bring on thruhikes, mainly to keep me warm at camp, the Atom Hoodie seems to be designed for active use. Most down and synthetic puffer jackets I have looked at are either too heavy or not warm enough, the ones that are great are mostly out of my price range (max. 300€).
I would love some advice, or tips at what jackets I could have a look. And if someone has experience with the Atom hoodie.
The jacket must be purchasable in europe.
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u/Kokuryu27 1d ago
Cumulus is a great brand, based out of Poland, I think. I rarely see them get a mention, probably because they don't have the huge presence of Patagonia or Arc'teryx, but I've found their gear to be excellent, great weight:performance, and fairly affordable.
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u/AnnaCSvensson 1d ago
I just bought a Cumulus for my Greenland hike - very warm and packs small. I have a Patagonia for Swedish winters that I’ve had repaired for free several times which is something I really like with Patagonia.
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u/maverber 1d ago
I love the atom around town, but I would not recommend it for a through hike. There are warmer / weight options. I find my AD90 + shell slightly warmer than the Atom.
If you want a synthetic puffer that isn’t ugly (EE torrid) I would look at Patagonia micro puff. Generally I would recommend whatever it the right level of warmth down for your needs. Montbell, Cumulus, etc sell various wrights. Lots of choices.
My notes https://verber.com/insulation-layer/
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u/GoSox2525 1d ago
FYI, Enlightened Equipment is owned and operated by Trump-loving bigots and no Torrids should be purchased from them.
It is a great jacket though, which is a such a shame. Worth searching the used market for one.
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u/maverber 1d ago
The torrid I think was disqualified in the request by the criteria "appropriate for the city". Ignoring politics for a sec, it's highly effective and it's ugly as sin.
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u/Narrow-Ad5941 1d ago
I had very good experience with Patagonia Nano Puff Jacket.
Then I got a second hand Micro Puff from Vinted... it's simply a better Nano Puff! Lighter, smaller packed size and a little warmer
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u/IngoErwin 1d ago
My micro puff has also survived quite well over ~5 years of being my main winter jacket as well as insulation layer for outdoor activities, climbing, skiing, etc. and I have not been particularly careful with it.
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u/PHayesxx 1d ago
Even if you weren't careful. They offer free lifetime repairs, when they couldn't repair my waterproof jacket earlier this year, they offered me 40% of any item on the website.
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u/The80Percent_ 1d ago
I highly recommend the Montbell plasma 1000. It's shocking how light it feels at 4.9oz(138g). Packs down really small too. I snow shoe with it and a Marino base layer in below freezing. It's $300 (258 euro)
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u/bradmacmt 1d ago
Where are you located? What sort of temps will you experience?
It's an impossible question to answer without more specifics, though that doesn't seem to have bothered many here lol.
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u/0dteSPYFDs 1d ago
I think getting one piece of gear for two completely different use cases is less than ideal. Look for used cottage equipment to save $$$ and find one that fits your needs best.
Would need to know more about your thru hikes and where you live to know about viability of one size fits all jacket.
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u/Alfredo_Marinara 1d ago
As someone already mentioned, your post is hard to answer without more details: location(s), more specific use case, temp. range? In Europe, I would look at Cumulus and Rab as niche and mainstream options respectively. If you look online you might be able to find great deals on discounted Rab at the moment. For down you need to look at fill power (cuin) and down weight.
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u/BrandonThe 17h ago
I dunno if it’s considered ultralight but i love my outdoor vitals nova ul puffy. It doesnt look too terrible in town, keeps me plenty warm especially with proper layers and also has pit zips for when you gotta be active
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u/Spunksters 16h ago
Cutter and Buck Rainier. It has the side benefit of being way more waterproof than one would expect and it washes up nicely and looks good once clean again. There will be a couple of pills to remove at the seams, though.
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u/Tharno_ 1d ago
You can get the EE torrid jacket in the outdoorline shop. But it's not so nice looking.
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u/GoSox2525 1d ago
Enlightened Equipment is owned and operated by disgraceful bigots. I would not purchase anything from them or any retailer selling their products new. GGG (the American analog to outdoorline) cut ties with them and returned all of their products for a reason.
It is a great jacket though, which is a such a shame. Worth searching the used market for one.
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u/Opening_Connection_4 1d ago
I always think that the torrid just looks super fragile, I would be kind of scared to snatch it somewhere, while wearing around town. Do you have experience with it? I guess considering the warmth/weight ratio that would probably be the best option
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u/DrBullwinkleMoose 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's no more fragile than any other ultralight puffy that you would want to take on a thruhike.
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u/DrBullwinkleMoose 1d ago
For around-town, the Outcast (Large=12oz/340g) is the same insulation as the Torrid (Large 10D=9.5oz/270g), in a nicer-looking and more durable 30D shell with athletic fit. It is specifically designed as a town version of the Torrid, if you care more about looks than about best weight:warmth ratio.
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u/Raafikii 1d ago
I love the torrid and I wear it in town when traveling. I don't think of it as fragile as long as I treat it with some care
I have a hole in mine after many years but that was my mistake and I taped it with that fancy repair tape and it is fine. Tape sticks to the shell fabric very well so I think it'll outlast the lifespan of the insulation.
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u/Raafikii 1d ago
I should add that the sizing runs very large, enough for me to size down. They say this is intentional so that layers can be worn under it but if I went with my normal size I could fit an entire second puffy under the torrid.
I fill out a size Large (usa sizing) for nearly all clothing except the torrid. The torrid size Medium fits me nice and snug with my other layers underneath. It is almost too snug (if I stretch out my chest there's tension on the zipper) but I prefer the snugness since this makes it feel warmer. Basically a Large would have better fashion but Medium has better performance for my use case
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u/Snoppfrid 1d ago
Neve gear barrington jacket got the best performance for the money and it also looks good.
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u/LEIFey 1d ago
Ooh, I've been curious about this one since it was announced. How's the sizing?
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u/Snoppfrid 1d ago
I think it's supposed to ship now early September. my earlier comment is about the specs which are outstanding compared to the competition. so I have no idea of the sizing
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u/PHayesxx 1d ago
Europe as in the EU? What outdoor shops does your nearest city have? Probably best to go and try/feel some of them before you purchase.
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u/Opening_Connection_4 1d ago
I went to my nearest globetrotter where I can try on Patagonia, Arcteryx and a few Rab jackets. The more "niche" brands are unfortunately not available there.
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u/purple_wall-e 1d ago edited 1d ago
if you’re not sure how it will be, get something from decathlon simond/mt900, or ultralight uniqlo. I believe 90% cases they will be pretty fine and if something happens to them, you won’t be sad as price is so low.