Patagonia Nano Puff vs Down Sweater

[Stibb]

I found the answer on one of my questions:
How warm is the nano puff and down sweater compared to polartec fleece?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... gination=1

In short; according to lab measured Iclo the nano puff is equivalent to a polartec 200 and a Pata down pullover is warmer than a 300.
Sounds reasonable to me. Total warmth depends on a lot of factors though.

It's obviously not easy and straightforward to test and I don't know much about Iclo but the test is a good start and seems to give a pretty good estimate. That's good enough for me.

I'm looking at Macpacs Pulsar now. Looks like a really nice one.

[forest]

I have been meaning to get myself something with sythetic fill for a while now just to try. My gear cupboard is full of down, fleece, shells etc and this was about all I had missing.
Did the usual search for Rab, Montane, Montbell, Arcteryx etc. Then I stumbled upon the Macpac Pulsar Jacket (hooded) when I received a $100 voucher for my B'day. Looking at the weight and fill specs it's right up there with the rest.
http://www.macpac.com.au/synthetic-insu ... ket-m.html
So I grabbed one in black, well I don't have it as my local store only had the orange ones which I was no huge fan of.
I have to say they seem really good and are on sale at the moment.
The increased insulation in the torso makes a lot of sense too.

Could be an option for you as they are available to try on locally ??

I'll give it a lash in NZ South Island next week and let you guys know my thoughts if anyone is interested.

[Stibb]

I have to say they seem really good and are on sale at the moment.
The increased insulation in the torso makes a lot of sense too.

Could be an option for you as they are available to try on locally ??

I'll give it a lash in NZ South Island next week and let you guys know my thoughts if anyone is interested.

Agree on the extra torso insulation! And yes, I'll be trying it on tomorrow even though I wont buy anything until later this year. I would really like to hear more after you've used it!

[wayno]

whats this I hear??? Forests getting off nappy duty? how'd you swing that one? or did it take a divorce? which track are you doing?

[forest]

Off baby duty.... Not likely.
Nothing like a family trip. Taking our baby charlotte on the QCT of course. Well family for the first 15kms. Then daddy gets to smash the rest out solo. Swapping the baby carrier for the golite Jam at Furneaux lodge.
Plus a few good mini mountain morning/arvo loops at Nelson, St Arnard & Hanmer Springs.

Trick is to lug the evil in laws to spread the baby sitting duties. They are great though so Im lucky there. Gosh heaven forbid I took my parents

[wayno]

you should be able to get to lake angeles and back in a day along robert ridge....

[wayno]

don't bank on any water at the shelters, punga cove to the portage is exposed to any sun most of the way and sheltered from the wind in an avenue of trees, treat it like you would an aussie track if the weather is hot,, its a solid track underfoot so easy to move fast on it... should be cool in the morning, but temp could still get up toward middle of the day...

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recrea ... -charlotte

[forest]

you should be able to get to lake angeles and back in a day along robert ridge....

As much as Id love to do the full ridge I will probably just get the pinchgut loop via Mt Robert and the bushline hut. Will see how times travelling. If I can knock off the QCT and get a 3-4 hr walk in here and there that's pretty good for a "family" trip. Weather's not looking that flash mid next week but you get that. On the clear days I'll lug bub along.

(sorry for the thread steal but I will give the pulsar a good run and report back).

[Hallu]

How does the Patagonia R2 fleece Jacket compare to the ones mentioned here?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

I have both the R2 fleece and the Nanopuff. The R2 is more comfortable and nicer on the skin, as you would expect, but I find the nanopuff a bit warmer. I wished the nanopuff ran longer though, it's shorter than a T-shirt or a sweat-shirt, it stops at the upper waist. It also lacks hand pockets and the chest pocket is small.

For size, Patagonia and Arc'teryx fit me with a Large, while I need XL for all EU/AUS/NZ brands.

[forest]

Just a short update on my thoughts regarding the Macpac Pulsar Jacket I took to NZ last week.

It's a winner !!

Tested it whilst sweaty on a few mountain tramps once I reached the peak, you know, nice and damp on the back from the pack and that cold wind just slices through you once you stop and are exposed.
Prevously I have wetted out down jackets in this situation.
The Pulsar kept me warm and didn't wet out. Normally within 20 minutes if I stayed up there taking pictures my baselayer would be dry again under the pulsar. I couldn't feel any loss of warmth or loft in the primaloft one insulation even with the moisture.

Oh and a massive thumbs up for the cut. It's a LONGER jacket. None of this short belt height junk. I'm 5'11" and in size large the coat covers my whole bumb to the lower cheeks.....
For me down is still what I will normally take if the climate is fine for camp warmth. For the damper mountains where your likely to use insulation through the day on breaks the synthetic insulation now has a new home in my gear cupboard.
I still like the fleece and windshirt combo but pound for pound the pulsar jacket is warmer, for less weight.

Anyone that counts grams might be interested.... others not.... the Mens Pulsar in Large weigh's 390 grams.

[Stibb]

Thanks for the update forest and great to hear it's a winner. I tried it on the other day and I really liked it. And, I like orange Haven't received the Nano puff yet so can't compare but I think the Pulsar will be on my wish list (when it's on super sale...)

[Hallu]

A recent article on the subject : http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Insulated ... ing-advice

[Lones]

Hey, thanks so much for this "review" of the Macpac jacket - I just stumbled across it - my girlfriend and I are considering getting one of these each

[slparker]

I found the answer on one of my questions:
How warm is the nano puff and down sweater compared to polartec fleece?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... gination=1

In short; according to lab measured Iclo the nano puff is equivalent to a polartec 200 and a Pata down pullover is warmer than a 300.
Sounds reasonable to me. Total warmth depends on a lot of factors though.

It's obviously not easy and straightforward to test and I don't know much about Iclo but the test is a good start and seems to give a pretty good estimate. That's good enough for me.

I'm looking at Macpacs Pulsar now. Looks like a really nice one.

Just reading the link: I can't find any mention of thinsulate. I have a jacket with thinsulate that is pretty warm for its weight (and a beanie as well) but can't find out much about it. It's probably old tech compared to primaloft.