Help me buy a Coat for Camping...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Hi. I just had another thread about buying the wrong jacket/coat from LL Bean and before I make my mistake worse, I was hoping to consult with the experts. Now I know that there are many serious campers & back-packers on this board. Heck, I think I still have a packing list in my PDA compiled of various posts from a ‘things to pack’ thread posted here more than a year ago. I guess I just need advice or the talents of a superior shopper familiar with the needs of camping clothing.

Last weekend, I went camping with my oldest. It was fun, but I was Cold. The jacket I normally wear in this weather is not camping-friendly, so I dressed in thermal u/w, a cotton shirt, a heavy sweatshirt, a wool sweater over that, and a large denim jacket on the outside. I dressed in layers, as everyone says to, and I was Cold. Once the drizzle started, I was also wet and it was not fun.

Now I have at home one or two Parka coats, but I was told they’d be too heavy and either I’d be sweating & wet or I’d take it off & be cold. I also have a leather jacket with a thinsulate liner that I like to wear casually, but leather will get ruined fairly quickly camping. I have a light jacket or two, but nothing water proof (or even water resistant).

If I could find it, I would like to get a jacket that is fairly warm (possibly thinsulate?), but less heavy than a parka. It has to be warm enough to be comfortable even if the temperature drops to freezing, especially in the arms. Something that is water-proof (or severely water resistant). Something that has breatheable materials, so that sweat and wetness has the ability to evaporate outward from it. It can have a hood, but if it doesn’t, I’d like it to have a normal collar (hats & scarfs can always be added later). It has to be durable enough to last a camping trip or two and have the ability to be cleaned w/o disintegrating. Finally, I’d like it to be in just one color. Make it red, make it blue, make it green, but make it just one darn color. (Lets leave the two-tones to skiers with animal first names and ugly Cadillacs.)

Does anybody make (still make) a coat like the one I just described?

2

I really like my Stormtech jacket. Waterproof, breathable, warm. It’s a 3-in-1 so you can layer it up or down as required, and I bought it in a bigger size so I can add a sweater underneath for even more warmth (which I do with all my jackets). I have it in slate as there was no black when I bought mine (wish I’d got one in black though, wouldn’t get dirty so easily).

I’ve been wearing it half the winter, usually when it’s warmed up but not above freezing. Put a hoody or a warm shirt underneath and I’m nice and cozy all day.

I’d also suggest finding an equiment store. Not like Camper’s Village but a store that sells equipment and clothing for people who like to do outdoor stuff. My favourite is Mountain Equipment Co-op. It’s a Canadian store, but you can order online or try and find a similar store near you. I haven’t been camping in awhile, but that is where I buy all my winter gear.

3

First off, ditch the cotton. It has absolutely no place in cold weather - as you’ve noticed it gets wet, stays wet, loses insulating power and makes you miserable. Depending on circumstances these things can get you into hypothermia territory which would be very bad.

Start with a good medium weight thermal top - there’s various polyester, silk and wool varieties but most common is polyester. This will help keep you warm and importantly it moves moisture away from your body (wicking). Maybe $20 at a good outdoors store.

Next a nice insulating layer - my favorite for “cool” but not “freezing cold” is a plain old wool shirt (Woolrich is nice, there are plenty of brands). If you want something warmer, Polartec fleece is nice and comes in a variety of weights. It’s very warm, breathable, lightweight, stays warm even when wet and it dries quickly. Basic fleece jackets can be had quite cheaply.

Finally put a shell on top of it to keep nasty weather off - a lightweight goretex shell is great but they can be expensive, shop around.

Other things that work well:

Down vest - these can be picked up very cheaply at outdoors stores, like $20. They pack down very small and add a huge amount of warmth. You can also get a down sweater/jacket if your arms get that cold. The caution with down is that if it gets wet it’s no good at all, so have a waterproof shell handy. If you don’t mind spending a lot you can get a down jacket with a waterproof shell.

You can also get “synthetic down” like Polarguard which isn’t quite as good as down (although most people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference) but insulates when wet. I have a Mountain Hardware synthetic down jacket which I use for snowcamping, it’s great.

Finally there are “softshell” fleece garments - these are basically fleece with a lightweight shell permanently bonded to the outer face. I bought one on sale at LL Bean for $80 and it’s really nice. Warm, wind proof, very water resistant. You can also find Windbloc fleece which is pretty similar. It’s not as flexible a solution as proper layers but you get everything in one garment.

LL Bean carries a lot of stuff like this, it’s a nice source to look at online. I favor the lighter backpacking/mountaineering gear.

4

Valgard is absolutely right about the cotton - it’s worse than useless in the rain.

When I do cold weather camping, I dress the way Valgard described. I wear polyproylene thermal underwear and a nylon shirt over that to start. If I’m moving around a lot and it’s a sunny day, that might be enough. When I stop moving or if I get a little cold, I put on a fleece jacket and (if it’s windy or rainy) a shell. The shell is waterproof breathable nylon, but it doesn’t have any insulting power. It just keeps the wind and rain off of me.

This time of year, you can find some really good deals on winter gear. On REI-outlet, there’s this jacket, for example. Check around other stores to see what they have on sale, too.

5

Flutterby, that sounds like a nice coat. I did a froogle search and found it for about $200. One of the sites had it for $84 (???) but only in the Titanium/white color. (white is a stain-magnet) Still, thats an awesome coat.

Valgard I like your suggestions as they seem to line up with what I have already. I know I have to lose the cotton (the thermal U/W is top & bottom poly) and I might actually keep the LL Bean ‘Headwall Soft-Shell Jacket’ just as a shell. The Woolrich shirt idea intriques me. Looking at their site, however, it seems like what’s out there are things called ‘shirt jacs’ which have insulation, but are seem like cotton coated fleece. (cotton seems to be something to avoid here) They do have full wool jackets (the Pennsylavia tuxedo?) and I guess I’d wear the shell over one of those?

6

They do run a bit expensive, but generally worth it and they last for years.

Otherwise, I totally agree with Valgard’s suggestions. I’ve been known to run around in stuff like what he lists as a day to day thing when just trying to deal with the weather here. Since we can go from below freezing to quite warm in a matter of hours, it’s much easier to keep yourself warm (or not too warm) by layering up.

7

I was going to come in here and suggest MEC. Their stuff is fantastic - I have my gortex suit that I got from them 10 years ago and it’s still in great shape - washed and dried a couple of times and still totally waterproof. I use it for skiing/snow activities, as well as camping so it’s had a lot of use and still going strong.

If you see something on the site that you like but want a IRL report, I’m happy to be your roving reporter - send me an IM or an e-mail and I can head to the local MEC and sess things out for you. Really, I just like and excuse to check out their stuff. :slight_smile:

8

By a wool shirt I’m talking about something like this:

http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0022572942019a&navCount=1&podId=0022572942019&parentId=cat601773&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat21082-cat601773&catalogCode=UG&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601773&hasJS=true

(Sorry about great big long linky)

I’ve got a couple (not Cabela’s but same thing), both are a 90/10 wool/nylon blend (adds to strength and durability) with a lined collar (that’s where you’ll feel scratching if you feel it anywhere, I never do). One belonged to my father, he wore it for many decades and it is still good as new, has been through winters, up and down Yosemite, etc. The other one I found on the REI sale rack for $20.

These shirts are rugged, warm, will keep you dry in most rain short of a real downpour (I wore mine going up the Mist Trail in Yosemite in an exceptionally wet year), are very breathable. It’s the cast-iron frying pan of shirts.

Throw a windbloc fleece vest over it (also found on REI sale rack for $50) and I’m (a) looking ruggedly outdoorsily handsome and (b) actually good to go outdoors - that combination is fine in chilly, windy weather, including rain and snow.

Those “shirt-jacs” are mostly cotton flannel with cheap insulation under a quilted nylon lining. That’s fine if it’s cold and dry, but if it’s cold and wet, cotton is bad. Avoid it.

9

While I really appreciate fleece’s warmth/weight ratio and ease of care, wool has some advantages - it seems to be much more rugged and especially if you are camping, you can huddle around a fire in a wool shirt without worrying about it melting or burning, unlike synthetics. There’s a reason it’s still popular after hundreds of years of use!

10

Just as an update: today, at an outlet, I got a Woolrich 80-20 wool ‘Buffalo Check’ shirt ($20) and a Colombia 100% fleece vest ($20). Both seemed to be good deals.

I returned the LL Bean ‘Headwall’ jacket (I just didn’t like it; the style, the colors, the 2-tone and I Hated that collar), so I’m still looking for something that’s as close to 100% wind/water proof and semi warm. Bean has something called ‘Waterproof Warm-Up Jacket’ that seems to match what I need. I’m going to keep watching to see if it goes on sale…

11

Excellent buy on the shirt, it’ll last forever. Not a big fan of Columbia stuff myself but it’s hard to do a simple fleece vest wrong.

I think that I have the same jacket as you and you’re right about the collar, it just doesn’t behave right. However functionally I like the jacket - warm, windproof, kept me dry in some pretty good rainstorms. I have one of their Goretex mountain guide shells and aside from the fact that I’ve lost enough weight that I can’t really wear it anymore it’s great.

12

In general for camping/hiking, outer layers for protection against wind/rain/snow and insulation layers are best kept separate. Insulated parkas are great for kicking around the cabin, but not very helpful if you are carrying it all on your back. Get a good solid fleece or a down sweater if you really want to be warm, then a solid hardshell jacket without too many bells and whistles.

13

I’m lucky in that I run pretty warm - unless I’m not moving at all, a midweight thermal top and goretex shell are all I need (and when I’m snowshoeing, unless it’s driving snow, just the thermal top is great). For snowcamping I bring my polarguard jacket for downtime. Otherwise I might pack a down vest for when I stop for lunch,

14

Once you try silk long undies and undershirt, you’ll never go back. As far as ease of movement and weight to warmth ratio, ya just can’t beat it. As a Minnesotan that camps a lot, layers are the best.

15

I second the silk. Polypro is awesome but it isn’t that comfy on the skin and boy does it stink after a while. After all of my tibet trips, I would just throw away the polypro bottom layers as there is no way to get the reek out.

16

Silk feels very nice but the last silk baselayer I had (turtleneck) snagged on anything (like the tiniest nick on my nails when I put it on). I’ve worn far more synthetics than silk but I’ve never personally had a problem with polypro - throw it in the washer at home or if on the trail just rinse it out, wring the excess out and it airdries very quickly. Quite comfy, too.

17

My experience with silk is that it doesn’t hold up to abuse. I abuse gear, and silk is just too expensive to go through it that quickly.

18

They are hella-expensive, but a Gore-Tex Parka has always kept me warm and dry. Granted, I got mine from Uncle $ugardaddy, but it’s perfect.

I learned in Scouts that you layer for warmth, but your outter layer should keep you dry. A Gore-Tex parka will keep you dry (and can take a beating, too) and will give you the flexibility of wearing different layers underneath.

Anyway it’s expensive, but to me, I’d buy another one.

Tripler
And plenty of other suppliers have 'em. You don’t just have to go through Ranger Joes.

19

The biggest problem with heavy parkas (even uninsulated) is that you will overwhelm their ability to breathe when hiking. You can easily generate more moisture then a G-T or any breathable fabric jacket can pass. You won’t get wet from rain, but your own sweat will not pass through the jacket and will end up soaking you.

That’s why features such as pit-zips to vent the jacket are very important.

When actually hiking I rarely wear a heavy jacket. Only if it’s raining and below 50 degrees will I break out the heavy jacket. Otherwise I’ll wear a much lighter coat and get a little wet. In a heavy downpour, there’s little way to avoid getting wet one way or the other if you are doing strenuous exercise.

20

I love my Northface gear…that being said I just discovered Sierra Trading Post . Love it! You will too.

I always look for weight, breathability, warmth and versatility. So far, Northface and Helly Hansen have been the ebst.