Best belay jacket for NH

Big fan of the Wild Things custom insulight jackets. Big plus, its made locally. Well cut for me. I'm 6'1" 185lbs. Its warm. The hood fits well with and without a helmet so I use it around town often. The fit is good so that its very comfortable and accomodating to climb in when the weather sucks. When it gets real cold I add a pair of arcteryx insulated pants and some mittens for the belays. As seen above, there are plenty of jackets available, all will have their pluses and minuses.

Going to chime in, I'm in the confusion here.

I own
Super Puffy:
Bergans of Norway Sauda Down Jacket
650 Fill Down
35 oz. mfg stated weight

Typical Jacket:
Patagonia Micropuff
100g Primaloft
18 oz. mfg stated weight

I just bought
Rab Continuum Jacket (no hood)
850 Fill Down
11 oz. mfg stated weight

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My question is this. I've read around that 100g of primaloft is a pretty good standard in a belay jacket, but my micropuff seems to be sub par on days I would consider cold. I know there is a million other factors like nutrition, personal thermal temp, other layers, etc. But does anyone have any baseline thoughts on this jacket's weight for a typical ice cragging jacket.

I bought the continuum no hood and I am hoping for more heat, but more packability.

It seems my super puffy is overkill save for the most ridiculous cold days, and it is just too damn bulky. And it seems my micropuff is lacking in heat retention and still bulkier than I would like.
I know my main concern with the Rab Continuum is going to be fit, because they market this jacket as a midlayer piece and not an over-layer belay-jacket style garb. But thinking of the minimum movement done in the task of belaying I think my issue with fit is going to be how easily the arms and cuffs slide over my lower layers. So what is your experience with this type jacket, i.e. is an 850 fill down in an 11oz. jacket still going to be too lightweight? Or with the proper lower layers, am I on to something?

Any insight to your experiences will be much appreciated. Again I am looking for an ice cragging belay jacket, not the jacket I take up Mt. Washington or on moving alpine days. If it works for those that would be great, but not necessarily what I was thinking when purchasing.

I have similar thoughts tom. The big bulky ones are just overkill, and the synthetics aren't warm enough. So I am looking at the mid-level outers - the neutrino endurance, the electron, the nebula synthetic. Jackets that are warm but not super bulky. I don't know. We'll see.
gotta sell that giant puffy first though.

Luke,
If you're still looking. TjMaxx has the Marmot Guide Down Jacket and the Marmot Guide Down hoody for 99.99

coppolillo wrote:Rab Andes is beyond warm, warmer than my Feathered Friends....Neutrino is way lighter/less expensive...but man, it's COLD out in NH! You guys have it rough! Whatever you do, buy a high-quality down jacket; it'll last you 6x what a synthetic one does!

^^^no just a poorly perpetuated myth put on by the republican party^^^

truth is by the time that your synthetic breaks down-5-10 years of use, you are ready for a new one anyway. If you want to keep your down jacket for 20+ years, yes down will retain loft better.

as far as the whole belay jacket thing goes, i think many of you are missing the point of the belay jacket. It is meant to be warm no matter what the conditions, reliable and stout. think big technical alpine routes. you've got your action layers, probably a base layer and a softshell over the top, then you have your belay coat for the belays. Imagine a saturated down coat up 10 pitches, you're cold, hungry, and out of energy. now you've got to bail and rappel 10 pitches, with a wet down coat that is not even worth its weight...

For belaying at the bottom of a climb or a couple pitches, yes a big puffy down works fine, but that is really just a warm jacket, not a belay parka.

For NH, really anything warm should work. you're never that far from safety, just don't break your ankle out on mt. washington...

yo bill....synthetics don't like being packed and repacked...so they begin losing their loft (warmth) a couple years into service. they're still warm and all, but not as warm as they once were.

as for down vs. synthetic...depends on your environment. if you might run into liquid water (as opposed to frozen water, i.e. snow and ice), then consider a good synthetic. if you're up high and you don't need to worry about getting soaked, down is far, far better (lighter, warmer, packs better). I spent a very long day at several hanging belays on Longs Peak in winter in down and zero stress about water/getting soaked, etc..truth is, you probably want both...ouch!

anyway, good luck ... whatever you do....have fun!

p.s.---if you're considering "moving" in the jacket....then the Rab Strata Guide jacket is pretty badass, too. just started messing with it...but skinned in it today in 5-degree temps....really nice!

I love being told both yes and no, this and that, up and down.
Still not sure, but leaning down, and on the lighter end of warm. Rab Neutrino Endurance may be the winner.
(ducks for cover from the incoming insults of the synthetic crowd)

lukeweiss wrote:I love being told both yes and no, this and that, up and down. Still not sure, but leaning down, and on the lighter end of warm. Rab Neutrino Endurance may be the winner. (ducks for cover from the incoming insults of the synthetic crowd)

lukeweiss wrote:I love being told both yes and no, this and that, up and down. Still not sure, but leaning down, and on the lighter end of warm. Rab Neutrino Endurance may be the winner. (ducks for cover from the incoming insults of the synthetic crowd)

lukeweiss wrote:I have similar thoughts tom. The big bulky ones are just overkill, and the synthetics aren't warm enough. So I am looking at the mid-level outers - the neutrino endurance, the electron, the nebula synthetic. Jackets that are warm but not super bulky. I don't know. We'll see. gotta sell that giant puffy first though.

The Peak XV I had (just sold) was a large, got it from my brother in law. It was too big, and it was a bit too warm. I also wanted to knock at least .5 lb off the weight and bulk.

For any that are interested - I went with the RAB Positron.
I think it is the perfect jacket for what I was looking for, threading the needle between weight, functionality, and warmth.
Loving it so far.

I just bought an EMS down tek hoody for $85.00 (regular price $225.00 or something like that) online as a new belay jacket. Carried today but didn't need. My buddy has been using for two months now and loves it.

What do you all like for a jacket for climbing in NH, since the jacket for belaying has been bought? provided you are warm enough to take off the belay jacket.

Johnny G,

It depends on temps but my normal setup is:

- lite base layer
- pata piton hoody or R1 hoody
- puffy, usually pata nano puff
- gore tex shell (pata alpine, OR furio and and old Mont Bell I just can't get rid of).

- lower is base layer (weight is temp dependent) and gore tex shell pants

Or some combo of the above. Early and late season is almost always soft shell outerwear. Hope this helps.

Mark,
I tried on the down tek and liked it, but found it a touch too light. I wanted a bit warmer. Nice jacket though, and that price!
Thankfully I got the rab on prodeal, so I didn't pay an arm and a leg.
On the other question - I climb in a base wool layer and arcteryx gamma mx soft shell pants and jacket.