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Down, Fleece, Synthetic or Wool(OR)?
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 4:29 pm
by maverick
What keeps you warm when that night chill starts to creep in? Which fill material
do you prefer?
Any piece that you have had for a while, and wouldn't replaced it no matter what?
I love down for it's warmth, light weight, my favorite piece in my WM Fight Jacket.
Re: Down, Fleece, or Synthetic?
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:35 pm
by sirlight
Fleece for me. I currently use a Columbia stern mountain fleece. This is one of the few pieces of gear that I am still using since I first began backpacking. It could stand to be lighter, but it is durable, warm and breathes well. Not much good in the wind, but that is what my shell is for. It becomes my pillow at night unless the temperature drops too much, then it supplements my sleeping bag. I still want a down jacket, but I don’t think it would be as flexible or durable. A jacket is one thing that I don't want to "baby" during use. A few sparks from the campfire don't bother this jacket much!
Re: Down, Fleece, or Synthetic?
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:06 pm
by oldranger
Am I the only one that still brings a wool sweater? Makes a much better pillow than fleece, especially with my Western Mountaineering down vest wrapped around it. All my other layers are synthetic.
Jeeze Maverick you need to be careful about your multiple choice questions!
Mike
Re: Down, Fleece, Synthetic or Wool?
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:24 pm
by maverick
Updated just for you OR, and I do use wool, but only as my base layer.
Re: Down, Fleece, or Synthetic?
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:33 pm
by markskor
Mike - Re: Western Mountaineering down vest...
Consider a vest, down or synthetic, essential to successful Sierra layering, especially when fishing up high.
Had my eye on one of those for a while now...(wish list)... expensive but pretty sweet.
Sigh.
Anybody having a WM vest and wants to get rid of one? - XL, let me know.
Fleece, vest, and a waterproof shell... finger-less wool gloves too -
Works for me.
Re: Down, Fleece, Synthetic or Wool(OR)?
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:02 pm
by maverick
Yo Markskor,
New Black XL WM Fight Series Vest at $150.00, but not promising, would you be interested?
Re: Down, Fleece, Synthetic or Wool(OR)?
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:41 pm
by hikerduane
I like my WM down vest and the jacket that has the WindStopper material, then for winter, my MontBell down liner pants added in, all I could afford at the time. Wool is too heavy for a trip. I just gave away a heavy wool sweater to a younger guy I do a few trips a year with, he thought he looked like Mr. Rodgers now. I had the sweater for 20 years and only wore it once or twice.
Re: Down, Fleece, Synthetic or Wool(OR)?
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:59 pm
by LMBSGV
A polartec fleece jacket and a wool sweater. When the wind gets bad, I put on my rain shell. I'm with oldranger on the wool sweater as a pillow. Stuff the sweater inside a t-shirt and it's like my pillow at home.
Re: Down, Fleece, Synthetic or Wool(OR)?
Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 11:26 am
by Troutdog 59
A low budget Cabelas down coat and an old ragg wool sweater for the base. I'm a little less high tech than most, but it works.
Re: Down, Fleece, Synthetic or Wool(OR)?
Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:52 pm
by Wandering Daisy
If humidity is not a problem and it is shoulder season, I prefer down (down vest). In summer, I take one fleece layer and one wool layer. When I hike on the coast, I switch to wool and a synthetic vest. I am a die-hard wool fan. I always have one layer of wool. I rarely sit out at night, so my sleeping bag is really my "evening attire".