You know the one thing about the mountains is, they're [ __ ] cold. Here in idaho snow won't
melt in the mountains until july and by september it's already making a comeback. So if you want your
hiking and backpacking season to last longer than two months you're gonna need to stay warm and the
number one piece of equipment that you're gonna need to do that is a down jacket. And i know you
may be tempted to throw on that super comfy but super heavy cotton sweatshirt but that is not
what you should be using out there. The reason you need down and want down in the backcountry
is because the weight to warmth ratio is so high. These are super light, super packable, super warm
jackets that are going to keep you comfortable and they're going to keep you warm while you're
doing your overnight camping in the fall, spring, and colder seasons. But down jackets aren't the
cheapest things. Backpackers know there's a price to pay for light weight and today i'm trying out
three different down jackets all at a different price point of one hundred, two hundred, and three
hundred dollars. Can you get away with something for just a hundred bucks, or do you need to spend
three hundred dollars to be comfortable in the backcountry? I'm going to answer that right now.
The first jacket i have here is our cheaper option. This is the REI Co-op 650 down 2.0.
This retails for a hundred dollars and it weighs 11 ounces. And all in all i think most people can
actually get away with something like this. Now it does have a few little quirks that i'm not a
big fan of. First off is just the fitting of it. My shirts, my jackets, my t-shirts. All of those i wear
in a large and when i originally bought this i bought it in a large. But the sleeves were a
little too long and i know you can't tell from the video but i'm six feet tall and my old high
school basketball coach described me as long. So it's really unusual that i had to go a size down
for this jacket. Once i went to a medium it seemed to get really tight in the arms and i know you're
like Jon i mean that's because you're absolutely shredded like the rock and i know, obviously.
But for really cold cold excursions i'll have stuff on underneath this. A fleece layer and a long
sleeve shirt and that makes it even tighter so it's not the most comfortable fit. It does have
this recycled nylon shell that actually holds up pretty well in the rain. In a light rain it won't
soak through. That's the one thing you need to know about down it is not waterproof. If down gets wet
it will not work. I'm not too concerned if a jacket is waterproof or not because i will have a rain
shell and a poncho out there and if rain starts happening this is not the piece of clothing that
i brought to protect myself. This will be under something and staying dry but it is a nice feature
and if a light drizzle happens while i'm hiking, the down will not stop working that's nice. The
other thing is unlike the other two more pricier options i have here, this one seems to leak the
most. I also use my down jacket as a little extra pillow support at night and when i use this one
i do wake up with a few extra feathers in my sleeping bag. That can be really annoying but all
in all for 100 bucks, i do think the REI Co-op 650 2.0 is a good option for the casual hiker.
This is the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer 2 jacket.
This is the lightest jacket of the three coming in at around eight ounces. It comes with a hooded
option. I did not get the hood i don't know why you would get the hood it's just extra weight and
probably blows off you. Wear a beanie or a hat or something don't get a hood. Now this is the most
expensive of the three jackets. When i first bought it it was $300. I see it listed on Mountain Hardwear
for $250 yet it's on sale right now in some places for 140 bucks so the prices of all three of these
may vary just depending on what's on sale and what's not. But consistently this is probably
going to be the most expensive of the three. Why? Because it's the lightest. This is made with
800 fill down. Now when we're talking down i mentioned earlier that the REI Co-op jacket is a
650 fill down. Basically down ranges from usually about 650 to 900, 950. The higher that number
it means the less you need for more warmth. So just think the higher the number the less weight
for the warmth. What i like about this jacket is the obvious low weight at eight ounces it's super
light. It does feel fragile which is kind of hard to get used to at first, but this jacket has never
leaked on me and though i keep thinking that it's fragile, it's never shown a sign of being fragile.
Now it is kind of a burden on my mind to know that i'm wearing a $300 piece of clothing that feels
like it could tear it any moment, but credit where credit is due it hasn't yet. So if you're all about
that ultra light life and you need to shave three ounces off your down jacket and you want to be as
light and packable as possible, this is the jacket that you need to go with.
And finally this is the Patagonia Nano Puff jacket. This is my favorite down jacket and it's actually
not even down. This is made with Patagonia's prima loft down which is basically synthetic
down, fake down. Now all three of these jackets are like fair trade certified and you know have
all their seals of approval. This one goes above and beyond with all its recycled materials.
This one comes in at 11.9 ounces so it's a little bit heavier than both these jackets but at
11 ounces it's still super light. I find this to be the warmest jacket, it's the best looking jacket, it
fits really nice, it's definitely the most durable. There's footage that you're probably seeing right
now of me hiking through brambles and sticks and stuff. It never leaks whatsoever. Unlike real
down as well if this gets wet it'll still work. That's the one nice part about this prima loft,
it's water resistant as well and if you ever for whatever reason get a hole which i doubt you will.
You can see the design pattern on here is these very small squares.
That's to make sure your leak is localized to that specific area. The whole jacket's not going to just
pour prima loft out of it. It's just going to be that little spot that you got to take care of
and at $200 this is right in the middle for the price point. But this jacket is my favorite jacket,
this is the jacket out of the three that i would go with. Now a down jacket isn't the only piece of
clothing that you need to keep you warm in the cold weather season so check out this video if
you want to see a full cold weather hiking outfit. All three of these jackets can be found at REI
link to them is in the description below. And check out these playlists over here if you want
to see just more awesome hiking and backpacking videos. Thanks for watching i'll see you next time.