Down makes me sneeze and the jacket’ll probably get wet occasionally (I live in Scotland after all) or I’d go for the Alpkit Filo or similar – but want something that’s going to be good and toasty for the winter!

What can the collective suggest? Thanks!

I have one of these:

Men's Jackets

It is incredibly lightweight, but super warm too. I got mine a couple of years back for an absolute bargain knock-down sale price of £40 though!

How warm?

I’ve got a Montane Prism which is good for most stuff, but when it gets properly baltic a Rab Photon Belay gets pulled out. It’s like wearing a cuddle, just toasty warm all the time.

Rab Generator jacket?

http://rab.uk.com/products/new-this-season/new-synthetic-fill/generator-jacket.html

I’ve got a Rab generator. It’s great – living in a ski resort, it’s my go-to jacket throughout the winter, whether for snowboarding on cold days or just hanging-out in resort.

At the same time, it’s more of an “active heat” (e.g. skiing/snowboarding on cold days) rather than the “portable fire” of a big down jacket.

Snugpak Sleeka

Montane Extreme Jacket. Warm, tough as ye olde boots and dead easy to maintain.

+1 for Finisterre. I’ve got a Bise gilet and it’s hardly ever off my back. Great bit of kit. As above, worth getting on their mailing list as they often have sales on

Can second the Montane extreme jacket. I have the extreme smock version, and like tootall says, tough as old boots, and i also find it shower proof

Keela Belay is a good option if you need something more packable

got a north face version of the primaloft jackets above, in a snugfit to go under a goretex shell.

It is warm.

I saw a question on the net about how well primaloft wears over time.

An obviously experienced bloke said he bought a primaloft sleeping bag x years ago, but now it was just prima. I thought that was quite amusing 🙂

what size are you? I’m thinking of selling my hardly-used (reason for sale) Mammut Stratus which they no longer sell in this country. Nice and thick proper duvet jacket, very warm. Its a Medium, on the closer-fitting side of things, in case you’re interested.

I can +1 the Montane Prism. Brilliant lighter-weight jacket.

Sportspursuit have (had yesterday) Berghaus insulated jackets on the go.

I have the montane flux and its very snug.

Paramo Torres smock or jacket, lovely and warm and great when wet – there’s a couple on ebay ATM

+1 for the Keela Belay jacket, if you try there factory shop in Glenrothes you can generally get them for £50 or sometimes less.

I have a Rab Photon Belay. It makes me want to turn the heating off, open the windows and sit on the sofa. I like.

Montane Extreme is a pile and pertex coat designed to keep you warm whilst moving/working in crappy damp winter conditions. It’s a great coat for its intended use but it is not an insulating garment so if you stop you will get cold fairly quickly.

Primaloft is the market leader in synthetic insulation but there are other alternatives that are just as good
Google clo-rating, synthetic insulation comparison etc.

Also beware the different weights of each material, e.g. Primaloft Sport 60g/sq m vs 133g/sq m so that you compare apples with apples.

If you want something cheap, simple design, tough and very warm then the Keela Belay is great

I have a 11 year old TNF Nuptse. They made them proper in those days 😀
Oh, and also a Rab microlight alpine. Nice but the hood’s too small and its more for being active in quite cold temps. There are much warmer options.
If I was buying now, it would be an arcteryx atom. Very clever design, the wife loves hers.

Arcteryx do quite a few waterproof synthetic fill jackets(prepare to spend though!). I use a Patagonia primaloft hooded jacket and a shell, both lightweight and packable, factor in a lightweight hi loft fleece and a good base layer, thats quite toasty and good on the move(used this system a lot in the himalayas). I do like a good down when its proper cold.

4ags4 – Member

Snugpak Sleeka

This ^^^ …

I bought one from a STW member just to find out what all the fuss was about the puffy jacket, but after having wore it during last two winters I have been rather impressed with how warm it is even during the coldest days. The only thing missing is a zip pock at the chest, other than that I am very happy with it.

🙂

If I hadn’t got a bargain Merrel 3 in 1 from TK Maxx I’d have got a Buffalo Belay.

it is not an insulating garment so if you stop you will get cold fairly quickly.

Funny thing that. I wore my Extreme Smock whilst sitting around on a cold exposed airfield for 2 days last week. Worked a treat. Just close up all the zips and trap all that warm air – the pile being a pretty good ‘insulator’ and the pertex keeping the wind off.

For the Snugpak Sleeka recommendation – the British Army has been issuing their own version for a couple of years so they are in the surplus system now.

+ 1 for the Finisterre. I love mine, although my wife reckons it looks a bit like its made of bin bags.

Rab generator alpine. Loved mine until my sister borrowed it and now it lives in Australia. Light, warm, luxurious, I’d buy it again if I needed similar. Very packable, and as at least as warm as my buffalo belay jacket (also recommended, bombproof but big and heavy).

I love my Montane extreme smock. I just wear a base-layer under it and it always keeps me toasty!

Rab Photon Belay here too – very toasty!

Wow- thanks for all the responses!

I’ll have a look through and see what sounds the best. Looking for something to keep me warm when less active – and especially sat between laps at Strathpuffe. There’s a good chunk of googling to do with the suggestions above so hopefully get something sorted!

Jimmy, thanks for the offer – I will be large or XL in most brands…

If you can find one on Ebay, Berghaus did an insanely warm PrimaLoft-filled, waterproof shelled bivvy jacket called the Asylum Parka a few years back. It was supposedly designed for big wall climbing, but it weighs a ton, like 1200g or more – and ironically, what it works best for is sitting around between laps at 24-hour races.

The other seriously warm PrimaLoft thing out there is the Patagonia DAS Parka, very warm, but not quite so ridiculously heavy. Or possibly a Mountain Equipment Citadel.

I own a Snugpak sleeka and have been issued one of the copies. The Snugpak is far better made and warmer than the issue one; however it isn’t as warm as my Flux.

>Funny thing that. I wore my Extreme Smock whilst sitting around on a cold exposed airfield for 2 days last week. Worked a treat. <

Yup I find that equally funny – never, ever been cold standing around in my Extreme Smock.

Does need to be properly cold though for mtb use. As a matter of fact I wore it last night for the first time this winter, minus 6 in the Pentlands…

Genuinely bombproof piece of kit.

I just got a snugpak ebony and it is very snug indeed. Their sleeka’s are suggested for use down to -10 and this goes down to -15. Now I’m not planning on getting that cold but it should do the trick in most UK conditions. Light too.