Until recently, 1,000-fill down has been a rare commodity. Jackets that included it were��always few and far between. But this year, there will be more of it than normal, giving weight weenies new options for ultra-packable warmth. Don’t get too excited, though: quantities will be limited, and prices will be steep��relative to what we’re used to.��Mountain Hardwear, for example, initially only made��2,000 of its flagship�� ($375), whereas��you can likely snag its��bestselling , and for $50 less. Is��the extra fill power, and two-ounce weight savings, really worth the hunt?

Down Math

Calculating fill power is a helpful way to judge the weight-to-warmth factor of different down jackets. Fill power is a measurement of the quality of the down, and it’s��the approximate��volume in cubic inches of one ounce of down.��So one ounce of 650-fill down takes up approximately 650 cubic inches of space, one ounce of 850-fill down works out to 850 cubic inches, etc. It’s important to note that fill power does not necessarily equate to warmth. Here’s what the numbers mean: Because 1,000-fill��down is high in volume, it’s��not as��dense as other fills��and has more room to trap air within the plumage. A jacket with��650-fill down takes up less volume than one with 1,000-fill down,��so it’s denser and has less space for warm air. But when it comes to warmth, what really matters is��how much��of that down is stuffed into the jacket.

We’ll use Mountain Hardwear’s Ghost Whisperer UL as an example. This��jacket features two ounces of 1,000-fill down (this important measurement is��frequently noted��alongside the overall weight of many jackets on the product page,��though not every brand lists it), which means the volume of the down is roughly 2,000 cubic inches. Keep in mind that warmth is tied to volume. So a jacket with 2,000 cubic inches of 800-fill down should be just about as warm as an otherwise identical jacket filled with 2,000 cubic inches of 1,000-fill down, like the Ghost Whisperer UL—the 1,000-fill version will just be lighter.

But how much lighter? Using a little high school algebra, we can work backwards, dividing��the Ghost UL’s 2,000��cubic inches of down by 1,000 fill to determine that the down weighs two ounces. How does that compare to an 800-fill jacket? The same 2,000 cubic inches (meaning the jacket is exactly as warm)��divided by 800 fill yields 2.5 ounces. Even a 650-fill jacket of the same warmth weighs only three ounces. In smaller jackets, the weight difference from 1,000 fill to 850 might be minimal, though the difference could be larger in products like sleeping bags, which use tens of thousands of cubic inches of down.

So��while fill power definitely shaves ounces for those looking to slim down their kit, the weight��difference in many jackets is minor, and real��weight savings are��likely to come down to everything around the down. If manufacturers spend��big bucks filling their jackets with 1,000-fill down, it’s likely because they’re trying to make them superlight. That means they’ll also try to keep the weight of the fabrics, zippers, and other features to a minimum. But if weight is less of a concern, they might boost durability and function and use cheaper down.

How I��Tested

I took these jackets��backpacking, ice climbing, and backcountry skiing across the West between the fall of 2019 and the summer of 2020.��Temperatures ranged from the low fifties��to bitter single digits below zero. Given the variety of jackets��and their differing warmths, each generally��fell into its own optimal activity��and temperature ranges. (The latter is a��subjective assessment based on my body, what I was��wearing with the jackets, and the activity of the day.)

Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer UL ($375)

Best For: Nerds obsessed with ultralight tech
Weight: 6.7 ounces (men’s medium)
Down Weight:��2��ounces
Optimal Temperature Range:��50 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit

There may never have been a more fully featured down jacket at this weight—or��at least��I’ve yet to see it. Largely thanks to the featherweight nylon face fabric (or outer layer)��that lends its name to the jacket, the Ghost Whisperer line has been able to claim that title for a while. But the brand’s newest iteration swaps out 800-fill down for the primo��1,000 fill and replaces ultralight ten-denier face fabrics with��a downright paper-light��five-denier version, bringing the ’s weight to that of a billiard ball.����

That��lightweight warmth was enough to take the chill off shoulder-season summits or while making breakfast on summer backpacking trips in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains, when��temperatures were in the low fifties. It makes for a toasty midlayer (it fits great under a ski shell) during the colder months, but it’s probably not going to be my only puffy on chilly ski tours (adding a parka would be nice for frigid transitions). And at this level of warmth, the difference between the UL and the 8.8-ounce 800-fill version is really only going to be noticed by picky ounce counters. Cost aside, the weight savings may or may not be worth the paranoia that comes from brushing this jacket against a branch. I babied mine and still saw a few small snags while bushwhacking.

��

Eddie Bauer Centennial Collection MicroTherm 1000 ($399)

Best For: Moving while bundled up
Weight: 9.6 ounces��(men’s medium)
Down Weight: 3.2 ounces
Optimal Temperature Range:��50 to 30��degrees Fahrenheit

The�� only features just over an ounce of additional down compared to��the Ghost UL, but Eddie Bauer��took few chances on the face fabric with a sturdy (for this category) 20-denier material. Plus, stretchy fleece panels under the arms boost flexibility and breathability.

This jacket��kept me slightly warmer than the Ghost Whisperer. I stayed��comfortable into temperatures in the high forties��without moving. The underarm panels didn’t seem to compromise warmth��but were a welcome feature while moving above the tree line during fall hikes up Bear Peak in Boulder, Colorado,��with early-morning temperatures in the high forties. The face fabric still deserves some caution around sharp objects, but I felt confident jamming it into my backpack or wearing it while walking over and around��blowdown.

Mont Bell Plasma 1000��($439)

Best For: Shoulder-season backpacking
Weight: 8.4 ounces (men’s medium)
Down Weight: 3.4 ounces
Optimal Temperature Range:��45 to 25��degrees Fahrenheit

While the ��down weight��of the Mont Bell is similar to that of the Eddie Bauer, the baffle design of the�� stacks the down a little thicker, making it noticeably puffier and warmer than the Mountain Hardwear��or Eddie Bauer��jackets. It was my go-to puffy for winter backpacking trips in the desert: I��took it down Little Death Hollow to the Escalante River in Utah, where morning temperatures��didn’t creep beyond the high thirties. It was also a comfortable jacket for ski transitions on days when the mercury dipped to the low thirties. The seven-denier face fabric feels a little crinkly��and lightweight and was just as delicate as the Ghost Whisperer’s—I grazed the cuff over a coarse boulder while hiking along the Escalante and introduced a small tear—but the warmth-to-weight ratio of the Plasma is nearly the best of the jackets I��tested. The whole thing packs down to slightly smaller than a 32-ounce Nalgene.

Rab Zero G ($550)

Best For: Super-cold adventures
Weight: 10 ounces (men’s medium)
Down Weight: 4.05 ounces
Optimal Temperature Range:��35 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit

Bigger puffies like Rab’s are where the value of 1,000-fill down becomes more apparent. With additional��down on the inside (it uses more than twice the down of the Ghost Whisperer), the weight difference between a similarly warm 800-fill jacket could be a lot more obvious. The Zero G was warm enough as an ice-climbing belay jacket or a puffy for full-on winter backpacking up Montana’s Hyalite Canyon. The trade-off, though, is that additional��1,000 fill makes this the most expensive jacket I��tested—by more than $110.

The Zero G quickly became my preferred winter puffy on days when the digits��dropped well below freezing.��Thanks to a ten-denier face fabric, it stayed surprisingly intact (I put one small nick in the body with an errant ice screw in my backpack), even though it saw more use than any of its competitors.��

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When insulation-supplier Allied Feather and Down approached Mountain Hardwear in the Winter of 2018 with a way to make the brand’s down jackets even lighter, the outerwear brand was already toying with the idea of an airier version of its staple puffy, the . Packing down to the size of a 32-ounce Nalgene and clocking in at 8.8 ounces, the Ghost has been a favorite of ultralight backpackers and weight-conscious winter adventurers for almost seven��years. But the brand wasn’t satisfied with it��just yet.��

“We had been working with our fabric supplier to develop this new 5×7 ripstop, but we found��that it alone wasn’t enough to make a true ultralight product in our eyes,” said Devon Lambert, Mountain Hardwear’s project manager for outerwear. Without slimming the 800-fill jacket somewhere else, lightening the fabric wasn’t going to be enough to set an��ultralight��version apart. That’s where Allied came in, offering the rare chance to use even warmer and lighter 1,000-fill down.��

“Adding that completed the picture,” Lambert said, because it allowed the brand to strip nearly 2.2 ounces off the prior model and create a fully featured down jacket��unlike anything it had ever made before—the ��($375).��

Mountain Hardwear isn’t the only brand bringing this premium ingredient to market.��Eddie Bauer is��releasing a 1,000-fill puffy in October, and the North Face will debut a collection of ��jackets and insulating pants warmed by 1,000-fill down next spring. Suddenly��the normally��rare, top-of-the-line down is popping up all at��brands that��have never carried it.��

So why is there more four-digit down this fall? It has to do with how��the insulation��is produced.��

First, the basics: Fill power is a measure of how much air a set weight of down can hold. The more air trapped inside, the warmer it will be. The higher number, the higher the volume of down��and the warmer the jacket will be. Until 2020, jackets with a fill of 800 to 950��gave��most users a��solid��ratio of packability to warmth, while only a handful of costly 1,000-fill options were on the market, like the����or��.��

Geese are primarily raised for their meat—down is a byproduct of that process—and the scarcity of higher-quality down is largely the result of the age of the birds. “Most commercial ducks and geese live for a prescribed amount of time before they’re slaughtered for their meat,” explained Downtek’s Andy Payne. In most cases, that’s not very long—between 60 and 90 days for a goose. “The longer the bird is alive, the bigger it gets��and the bigger its down clusters get.” The vast majority of down on the market (between 600 and 750 fill)��comes as a byproduct of geese raised for their meat. But some birds are raised solely to breed these other food-destined birds, and they live much longer—up to three to four��years, according to Payne. When these birds stop reproducing, they end up like their offspring. But by then��their down has had more time to grow bigger and fluffier, yielding fill counts of 800 and up.

But the bird’s age isn’t the only factor when it comes to producing down at the upper limits of quality. Climate and other conditions on individual farms create warmer-insulated birds and warmer-insulating down. According to Matthew Betcher, the creative director at Allied, it was a perfect storm of conditions that boosted the availability of 1,000 fill after 2018. “We saw some supply chains in 2018��where we could acquire some extremely high-quality material: old, large birds with the right weather conditions.” A mixture of cold weather in particular spots (particularly Eastern Europe, including Hungary and Ukraine for Allied sources), the size of the birds (which can fluctuate independent��of age and temperature), and a large number of birds with waning egg-laying abilities all came together at the same time to produce the season’s bumper crop of 1,000-fill.��

Given these factors, the weight savings of��the Ghost Whisperer UL won’t come cheap: the $375 price tag reflects an extremely rare resource.��And��the jacket could perhaps be just as hard to find as it is to afford. Given a limited quantity of down from Allied, Mountain Hardwear was able to make only 2,000 of them, and according to Lambert this might be the only year a jacket like this is possible. Without another irregular influx of 1,000-fill down, he says, the company will��wait for another wave��of 1,000-fill down��instead of downgrading to a lesser fill count.��

Jackets from other brands feature a similar price tag and rarity��to Mountain Hardwear’s. According to the North Face, using 1,000-fill down was prohibitively expensive until the brand��designed its top-of-the-line kit for the highest level of alpinists.

Even for suppliers like Allied, offering 1,000 fill is more of a bonus they can bring to their most important manufacturers��rather than a moneymaker. “It’s a bit of a loss leader,” Betcher��said. “It’s really something we only offer our best partners when we can attain it. We see it as a benefit of working with us, that we can source the rarest and highest quality material in the world for unique product lines.”

While the weight savings of this down could be important to alpinists, ultralight backpackers, and other ounce counters, 1,000-fill down isn’t a feature most consumers will justify—or notice a major difference from—over more readily available options in the 800-to-900-fill range. The market for high-quality and pricey down on this level is hard to predict. But Lambert is confident that for a few niche consumers, the addition of 1,000-fill down will make a difference. “The Ghost Whisperer jacket has been a popular staple in our line for a long time,” he said. “And adding this 1,000-fill down takes it to another level.”��

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In this week’s episode of Staff Picks, gear editor��Ariella Gintzler walks us through the features of the�� ($275), which she tested��this��cold fall in Santa Fe. A durable, stretchy face fabric and a stitch-free baffle design combine to make this puffy move��with her��while keeping her warm in temperatures well below freezing.��

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In this week's Staff Picks, Emily shows us just what you need to keep nice and warm this winter. Weighing less than eight ounces, the ($250) are perfect for chilly nights around the campfire and even for days on the ski hill.

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For far too long, the bottom half of our bodies has been ignored by the graces of heavy-duty insulation. It’s easy to bundle up in a jacket, but there aren’t as many good options to keep our legs warm around camp or our butts warm while sitting on a ski lift. Mountain Hardwear wasn’t the first company to release a pair of insulation-filled pants, but ($250) are the first made with the modern adventurer in mind. An athletic fit, high-quality materials, and versatility elevate them from an old piece of gear you would find in a thrift store to pants you’ll pack for every adventure.

Use

I’ve been wearing these pants since the beginning of summer, and they have proved to be incredibly versatile. In the warmer months, I wore them on chilly mornings and evenings when camping. On a recent climbing trip where temperatures hovered around 20 degrees, I wore the pants for 48 hours straight, hanging out, sleeping, and even while bouldering. While the fabric has no give, the wide gusset on the interior of the leg allowed me to move as freely as I can in my favorite yoga leggings.

Fit

When I first started doing research into these pants, I was disappointed to see that they only came in unisex sizing (sizes XXS to XXL). In my experience, unisex really means men’s sizing; therefore, the pants were destined to fit me like a shapeless grocery bag. Still, I ordered them in an extra small. For reference, I usually wear a size zero or two in standard women’s sizing, and I’m about five feet four inches tall. Turns out the extra small fit great—not too tight, not too baggy, and with enough room to easily layer over a pair of leggings. The aforementioned interior inseam gussets really make them feel like a normal pair of pants.

Materials

If you’re familiar with Mountain Hardwear’s Ghost Whisperer line of sleeping bags and jackets, then you know the materials are some of the highest quality and lightest weight on the market. We continue to rate Ghost Whisperer products among the best year after year. The pants utilize the same lightweight ten-denier ripstop nylon shell and are packed with 800-fill Nikwax hydrophobic down. This combo means that while I wear them mostly for camping, these pants will also hold their own on multiday backpacking and mountaineering trips.

The Bottom Line

I won’t lie: I get weird looks and laughs when I break these out at camp. They’re not super flattering, and I get a lot of “are those down pants?” reactions. But I’m here to tell you that the strange looks and weird name-calling is worth the comfort and warmth these pants provide.

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One day in July��2017, the shake machine, which tests water resistant properties of hydrophobic down, had been going for 2,000 minutes. Samantha Lee, a then 21-year-old��intern at bulk down supplier��Sustainable Down Source (SDS), knew she was onto something. So far, the test results indicated��that 33 hours of rain��wouldn’t rob the��feathers, which had been treated with a eco-friendly Durable Water Repellent (DWR), of their insulating properties.

But there wasn’t time for Lee to celebrate. Just as she realized she might have found the answer to a question that’s been plaguing the outdoor industry for years, a lightning bolt struck the company’s headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, setting part of the building on fire and causing some of the company’s electronics��to go haywire.

Everyone evacuated, including Lee, who forgot her lab notebook. She texted her manager, Caroline Zapf, chief sustainability officer for SDS, which produces hydrophobic down under the name��, something to the effect of “Well, the good news is, the shake machine’s still going and has surpassed 2,000 minutes. Bad news: the building’s on fire.”

It’s a story with a happy ending—or, perhaps, a beginning. Lee had scored big.

She had created a DWR��treatment that performed��extraordinarily��well: it was��third-party tested to withstand 33 hours of constant rain, compared to��DownTek’s original��formula, which was only rated for 16.7 hours. More remarkably, it contained zero PFCs, (short for perfluorocarbons), the harmful and non-biodegradable��chemicals that the outdoor��industry had heavily relied on to make apparel water resistant up to this point, but performed just as well if not better.

Down’s weakness is moisture. Get it wet��and it compresses, losing its renowned insulating powers. Companies have long turned to DWR treatments��that contain��PFCs��to bolster it against moisture, but at an environmental cost. So a��PFC-free treatment that actually repels water is somewhat of a holy grail.

This wasn’t Sustainable Down Source’s first attempt at PFC-free. The company created a��ZeroPFC��line in 2014, which was environmentally successful but less effective at repelling water. They��spent several years��researching alternative, PFC-free down coatings to replace the��ZeroPFC��line.��Lee came up with her��formula, which uses����(rated safe for both humans and the environment)��chemicals, in one summer’s worth of work. Moving forward, DownTek will produce only PFC-free down filling, treated with Lee’s DWR. The company will nix��PFCs from the production of about half a million pounds of hydrophobic down this year alone. (It’s worth nothing that many major brands, including Big Agnes, Brooks-Range, and L.L. Bean, use DownTek��in their products.)

This isn’t the first brand to release PFC-free DWR, either.��Nikwax launched its PFC-free hydrophobic down in 2013, in collaboration with , but has long made PFC-free DWR treatments. The brand looked into PFC chemistry in the ‘90s, when it started proliferating in the industry for its performance, says Heidi Dale Allen, marketing VP at Nikwax. But then research indicated that PFCs are harmful for people and the environment. Since Nikwax is an after-market care product that people apply themselves in their homes, they decided the risks outweighed the benefits, and they steered in the opposite direction.��Fjällräven stopped using PFCs��in its rain shells in 2015. DownTek��debuted Sustainable��Down Source’s ZeroPFC��in 2016, though��it��performed about one-third as well as its original formula.��Last year, Columbia released its first PFC-free rain jacket, the Outdry Ex Eco Rain Shell, and this year, Marmot came out with its own.

In the grand scheme of the mounting horrors we inflict on the environment every year, DownTek is just one so-called “ingredient brand” in one fairly small industry. Even the whole of the outdoor industry is barely a blip on the scale of the work that needs to be done to eliminate PFCs in manufacturing and chemical production, says Chris Dreszig, head of marketing and communication for Bluesign. Since PFCs are��extremely effective at repelling water, grease, and stains,��they’re ubiquitous in household items like pots, pans, and carpets, as well as in technical apparel and coatings on airplanes.

Still, progress is progress.

“We should really be leading the entire consumer goods market,”��says��Dale Allen. She added that even though DownTek is a direct competitor of theirs, she still sees their new formula as a win. “As long as we’re all working in the same direction, that makes me happy.”

Patagonia doesn’t use DownTek—or any hydrophobic down—in its line of gear, but it has committed to jettisoning its use of PFCs by the year 2020. A few other brands have made such goals publicly. VF Corporation—which owns Smartwool, the North Face, Jansport, Eagle Creek, and other iconic brands—plans to be PFC-free by 2025.��Burton and Jack Wolfskin��plan to be PFC-free by 2020.��

But there’s no set goal for the industry, says Beth Jensen, senior director of sustainable business innovation of the Outdoor Industry Association. That’s in part because DWR��that uses PFCs is still used in so much gear. We’ve come to expect��maximum performance as a baseline for satisfactory gear. It’s great to hear that a jacket has been rain-room tested for 24 hours without fail, but few of us ever even come close to pushing our gear to those kinds of limits. In some ways, we’ve forced some over-engineering of outdoor apparel, says Dreszig.

Jensen acknowledges that brands are challenged by customer expectations as they work to find greener solutions. Educating them is a big part of this process. Right now, many brands say they’re more internally driven and motivated by like companies than they are being pushed by customers to use greener materials or chemistries.��Regulations have also changed. As research has proven the harmful impacts of chemicals like PFCs, certain forms have been banned by government agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

“This is such a big deal in our industry,” says Matt Dwyer, director of materials innovation for Patagonia. Patagonia customers have no issues asking hard questions, but “by the time a customer is asking us for something like this, we’re too late.”

It’s unclear how long the road is to being completely PFC-free, largely because the industry doesn’t want to rush into solutions without longevity, Jensen says. The best thing you can do for the environment��is to buy stuff that lasts long enough that you won’t need to replace it, preventing more products from being made later down the line.

“If you use a product only once, the impact is very high. If you can use it 10, 100, or 200 times, that’s better,” Dreszig says. “It’s not just a step back, [brands] have to produce products that are really needed by consumers. When sustainability starts by design, designers should actually think much more about what they’re doing in terms of sustainability.”

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Like wool, down is one of those insulators that Mama Nature has been perfecting for millennia. In spite of how remarkably sophisticated our human-made insulations��have become, I doubt we will ever truly match��the warmth-to-weight ratio and packability of down.��

I tapped five experts in the outdoor world to deliver the full breakdown of what makes down so great—and when you should invest in a quality jacket or sleeping bag filled with the stuff.��

Down 101

Structure

It’s a common misconception, but down is not a feather. “It’s a three-dimensional spherical plume,” says president Daniel Uretsky. Feathers—the quills with filaments branching off of them—lack down's insulating power. The down clusters commonly used in outdoor gear differ in size from a dime to a quarter.��Down is incredible to look at extremely close up—an intensely intricate network of tiny little filaments that radiate out and have barbs that link together.

Insulating Power

Down’s three dimensional nature creates dead space to catch your body heat, and those filaments and barbs mentioned earlier add an extra thermal bump by boosting loft.

The most common term you hear thrown around when it comes to down’s warmth is fill power. This is��simply a measure of volume—the number of cubic inches that a 30-gram cluster of down plumes (with some feathers mixed in) will take up. Most fill powers in outdoor gear range between 550 and 900. Generally speaking, something with a higher fill power has larger down clusters. “900 fill power will be about the size of a quarter, and a 550 is closer to a dime,” Allied’s creative director Matthew Betcher says. Though larger down clusters will make a jacket pack down smaller and lighter, they won't necessarily make it as toasty because you can fit more small clusters into a baffle, potentially equaling the same warmth.

The Bird

All down comes from either geese or ducks. Geese, the larger animal, usually create larger down clusters than ducks. But, as Uretsky says, “You could always use more duck down to hit the same ratio of goose down.” Within that, just like breeds of dogs have their own types of fur, different breeds of duck and geese��create different types of down and feathers. But the differences are so small I wouldn’t suggest getting too hung up on it—many outdoor brands don't even heavily advertise the species the down comes from.

Down-to-Feather Ratio

All fills in jackets and sleeping bags aren’t exclusively down, but a mixture of down and feathers “What that ratio is will depend on the quality specs you are looking for,” Uretsky says. In order for something to be considered a down jacket in the U.S., it has to contain at least 75 percent down. High-end jackets will top out at 90 percent down, 10 percent feathers. Generally speaking, a higher percentage of down creates a product with a better fill, but it does not always mean a better product. More feathers can sometimes be beneficial, since they’re more rigid and create structure inside a baffle of a jacket or sleeping bag, which can make the fill stand up more and also back up the fragile down.��

Moisture��

There are certain circumstances where down becomes essentially worthless as an insulator. Its Achilles' heel is moisture. If down gets completely soaked, the filaments on each cluster stick together, eliminating that heat-trapping dead space and robbing it of its warmth. “Water drops collapse the structure of the down,” Robert Naughter, insulation manager at , says.

Many manufacturers are now treating their down with hydrophobic compounds that certainly make them better at dealing with moisture (more on that later). But at the end of the day, synthetic insulation is king at staying warm when wet, since it won’t lose its structure, even if it isn’t quite as good at retaining heat. Legendary alpinist obsesses about traveling light expeditions, but will add ounces—sometimes pounds—of excess weight to his kit by bringing synthetic jackets and sleeping bags. “If I’m going to be overnight or on an expedition, I am going to go synthetic,” House said. He used a synthetic Patagonia Das Parka to guide in places like Denali and Chamonix since the nineties, long before he was sponsored by the company.

Ethical Concerns

There are plenty. Due to the fact that down is a bi-product of the of the goose and duck meat industry, and given that the vast majority of the down manufacturers are using is from far away places like China and Eastern Europe, it’s extremely difficult to keep track of how those ducks and geese are being treated before and during their slaughter.

To help quell some of the animal rights issues, measures like (RDS) and (TDS) have been put in place to ensure the geese and ducks are treated humanely. “Gone are the days when you can just shake somebody’s hand and say, ‘OK great, it’s everything you say it is.’” Naughter says. “Now we, as an industry, have invented these traceability measures that take into account on-site audits and documents of how the birds were raised, where they were shipped, and when they were killed.”

Down in Gear

Jackets

Manufacturers typically keep down in place in a jacket by blowing it into baffles. The size of those baffles and the amount of down within them��makes a huge difference in��how a jacket insulates. At its most basic, a big-ass down jacket—regardless of the quality of the actual stuffing—is going to be a lot warmer than one with tiny baffles, even if those baffles contain the best��down in the world.��Smaller baffles mean less concentrated down to catch less heat, plus they potentially have more stitches where it could escape.

Something with a higher fill power will pack down smaller and be lighter than the same product with a lower fill down. Don’t get fixated on high fill powers, though. It won’t give a very thin jacket magical warming properties—you still need thickness to make warmth happen—it will just make the jacket lighter and easier to pack.�� “If I had an 800-fill Down Sweater and a 600-fill Down Sweater, the 600 fill might be just as warm, it would just weigh more,” says��Naughter.

Then there’s how the jacket hugs your body. “Fit can completely blow all of your materials technology out of the water,” Naughter says. “If a jacket doesn’t fit right, you’re going to lose all this trapped warm air and everything you are trying to do is going to go out the window. Ideally you want a jacket to fit you snugly but not overtly tight.”

Sleeping Bags

Higher fill down packs better but won’t give you a better night’s sleep. “You pay for compressibility and lightweight,” VP of sales Mike Welch says. “The higher fill power down, the more compressible it will be so it will pack up smaller and it weigh slightly less. Those are two real benefits to a consumer if it’s important to them, but they come at a real cost. You may be able to knock three or four ounces off of the bag, but you are going to pay almost $100 more.”

While a super tight down mummy bag is going to be the lightest and most compressible option on the market, if you feel trapped and uncomfortable in it you won’t sleep well, regardless of the fill. “Weigh the experience of a good night sleep with how light and compressible you want to get,” Welch says. Focus on fit and comfort level first. The advice to not get blinded by fill power applies here too.

Innovations in Down

Anti-Moisture Tech

Companies like and have treated down with hydrophobic chemicals that make it more resistant to absorbing moisture. I’ve tested both and can vouch for the fact that down treated with either can get considerably wetter than non-treated down before it loses its structure, plus dries a lot faster. But it’s not a magic bullet. In really wet climates, you'll still want a synthetic fill.

Down-Synthetic Hybrids

Some materials companies (like synthetic insulation pioneer ) have combined synthetics with down in an effort to create a best of both worlds combo of warmth, weight, and water-repellency. This method involves actually intertwining hydrophobic-treated down with synthetic fills.��The jury’s still out on these types of fills, and I haven’t used very many of them myself.

Different Structures

Messing with the structure of a peerless natural insulator is a ballsy move. We’ve seen it blow up in companies'��faces, as with Patagonia’s plasma-infused down four years ago. But then there are cases where it works. Take . It’s essentially chopped-up down feathers placed between two layers of synthetic material. The end result is thin sheets of down that aren’t constricted to baffles or as puffy but still extremely warm.

My Picks

Patagonia Hooded Down Sweater ($195)

Even though it's not the most heavy duty down jacket I own, the is really easy to layer underneath a shell. I've had it for a decade at this point, so it's riddled with Gorilla Tape and Noso Patches, but its 800-fill down means that it packs down to about the size of a Nalgene. And Patagonia has traditionally been transparent with where and how it sources its down, so even in 2008 when I bought it, I knew it dodged many of the sticky ethical concerns mentioned above.

Sierra Designs Zissou Plus 700 Sleeping Bag ($100)

This is another item I reach for time after time. uses an old version of DownTek, and I've twice soaked it completely through on kayaking trips but was able to dry it enough to not freeze those nights, even with bouts of snow and rain. It's a lightweight traditional mummy shape, making it great for backpacking trips as well.

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With my wife and I expecting our firstborn in November, I’m starting to worry about a lot of things, like sleep training, college tuition, and whether I’m ever going to be able to leave the house and get into the hills with my new child. Luckily, I’m surrounded by other dads at ���ϳԹ��� and in my circle of friends who I’ve been able to ask for advice, particularly about playing outside. Here’s the gear they recommend that should make things easier.

Ergobaby Carrier ($160)

Chris Keyes: ���ϳԹ���’s Editor, Father of Two (Soon to Be Three)

“This is than the BabyBjörn, which is a back killer,” Keyes says. “You can put a kid in there from day one and go hiking with them facing you in the front. And as they grow, the kid can switch to your back. It feels like you’re carrying a light backpack, and I found it more comfortable than, say, a Kelty kid carrier with a frame. I was bringing this thing along until my son was about five. Some days he just couldn’t go the distance on a hike, so I’d throw him in there—it was like a comfy piggyback ride. We were both happy.”

Thule Chariot Cheetah XT Bike Trailer ($600) with Cross-Country Skiing and Hiking Kit ($300)

Eric Porter: Professional Mountain Biker, Father of Two

“Looking back, that time when they’re an infant is actually pretty easy,” Porter says. “They take two or three naps a day, and you can use that time to get exercise.” Porter and his wife threw down the full $900 on a new because they liked how it could be used as a running stroller, bike trailer, or ski sled. They also invested in the insert, which fits a one-month-old. In summer, Porter rode with the trailer on both paved and mellow dirt roads, and during winter he took the sled on laid-back ski tours no steeper than 15 degrees. The kids liked the ride down, and he liked the exercise he got on the way up. “When I would go ski touring by myself, it felt like I took the batting weights off,” Porter says.

Patagonia Hi-Loft Down Sweater Bunting ($150)

Jakob Schiller: ���ϳԹ���'s Online Director of Gear, Father of Two

“Worrying is one of your jobs as a parent. That never stops, but there are ways to ease your fears. When playing outside in winter, I was always thankful my kids had this down suit,” says Schiller. “Yes, $150 is a ton of money to spend on a little baby, but this full-body, gave me peace of mind that my kids wouldn’t freeze whenever I skinned up the local ski hill with one of them on my back or just went for a walk around the block on a chilly morning. And here’s the trick: Buy the thing big so you can get at least two seasons out of it. And buy a gender-neutral color so when your second kid comes along, they can use it, too.”

BOB Revolution Stroller ($460)

Sam Moulton: ���ϳԹ���'s Content Marketing Director, Father of Three

“I ran with a when my kids were under a year old by just putting a BOB-compatible car seat right in that thing,” Moulton says. Keyes agrees that a good stroller is a huge help: “I logged a ton of hours with a BOB and trained for an ultra with it. It’s also the ultimate sleep machine.”

Grey Wolf Camping Trailer ($15,000)

Ryan Allred: Whitewater and Fly-Fishing Guide, Father of Three

Allred, a and in southern Oregon and northern California, is used to camping outside, thanks to his guiding businesses. But sleeping in a tent with babies can be hard, so he invested in a 19-foot when the third of his three kids came along. “I acknowledge that I will catch a lot of grief from the most core outdoors people for that,” he says. Allred also knows $15K is a huge, out-of-reach investment for most (including me), but he went for it because the trailer allowed him and his family to be comfortable during the heat of summer and in fall and spring, when the temperature dropped toward freezing. Tip: If you don’t want to spend $15,000 but still want a trailer, check out the much more affordable Hiker Trailer, which starts around $5,000.

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summer is going to be more epic than yours. The 36-year-old Boulder resident is planning to bike to, and then climb the 100 highest mountains in Colorado—a journey he’s calling “The Highest Hundred.”��The massive, self-supported, human-powered grand tour of Colorado’s high country will require 2,000 miles of biking and hiking with more than 300,000 feet of elevation gain along the way. And he’s planning to do it all within 60 days, setting the Fastest Known Time, or FKT.��

On the bike,��Simoni��will spend countless hours trudging along dirt roads and remote��singletrack, some of which follows the��Colorado Divide. When he’s out of the saddle, he’ll be finding his way through the backcountry and occasionally battling class five pitches to reach certain summits. The single toughest section promises to be the����that requires a��traverse between two peaks on sketchy rock. “Every step you take causes a mini rock slide,”��Simoni��says.

But the Highest Hundred isn’t��Simoni’s first rodeo. The former����already has the FKT for��summiting��in the same manner��in under a month.��Simoni��grew up in Connecticut, and credits his love for self-supported adventures to his youth spent sailing the Atlantic. He traded boats for bicycles after moving to Colorado for college and eventually sold his car, deciding to devote his life to traveling by bike.��

“I love being on my bike and out in the middle of nowhere alone,”��Simoni��says. “During that month where I tackled the��fourteeners, every day was a mini epic. One day, a bear ate all my food. One day, I survived only on peanut butter. One day, I got chased off a mountain by a gigantic thunderstorm. It never gets boring.”��

To train for the Highest Hundred,��Simoni��has rock climbed��at higher grades so he’ll be comfortable with the occasional 5.3 pitch along the route, and knocks out half-day ascents of��Longs Peak, where he rides 40 miles��from Boulder to the fourteener inside climbs it, then rides home.��

“I feel like at this point, I can bullshit my way through the physical parts. It’s the mental challenges that will be tough,”��Simoni��says. “Waking up on the side of the road and realizing you have to climb five mountains that day. The crux of this trip is really in your mind.”��

An expedition like this can’t be done without the proper gear and we asked��Simoni��to detail the key products that he’ll rely on during the��Highest Hundred��project. Here are his picks in his own words. ��

Ultimate Direction Fastpack 35 ($185)

is comfortable enough to run in, yet spacious enough to hold my lightweight sleep system and enough food for a multi-day thru-hike. Water, nutrition, and electronic devices are easily accessible thanks to the large pockets on��the pack’s shoulder straps. That easy access��means I can spend less time taking off my pack and more time crushing miles.��

Surly ECR Bike ($2,000)

My bicycle will be the lifeblood of the trip. It will��help��me��travel between towns and trailheads, carry all the gear I'll need for two months, act as my basecamp, and be my constant companion. features a bomber steel frame and 29-inch wheels with plus-sized tires that roll smoothly on the Colorado singletrack and rugged ATV trails I'll be riding. You won't find even a trifle of carbon fiber on my rig because it's too delicate for long expeditions.��

La Sportiva Mutant Shoes��($155)

On foot, I'll be traveling over 400 miles and accruing almost 175,000 feet of elevation; hiking from ten to 30 miles each day. I won't be bringing any climbing-specific shoes so will be my do-everything shoe. I like the integrated gaiter, which prevents rocks and sand from getting in around my ankles, and the super sticky Vibram sole makes them perfect for scrambling up steeper pitches.

Sierra Designs Mobile Mummy 15 Sleeping Bag ($250)

I'll be camping between 8,000 feet and 12,000 feet for the entirety of my trip and will experience everything from perfect star-gazing nights, to the worst thunder hail storms you can imagine. At under three pounds and stuffed with water repellent down, the is a lightweight, comfortable sleeping bag that also allows you to move around unimpeded.��You can wear it much like an oversized hoody��(it has arm holes), and even walk around by zipping your feet out of the bottom and��stowing the foot bag out of the way (it attaches to the back of the bag).��

Garmin eTrex Touch 35 GPS ($300)

The has four gigabytes of memory and can hold my entire 2,000-mile cycling route as well as the hiking trail up every peak, plus alternative routes, just in case. The 2.6-inch touch screen is user friendly and whole thing is water resistant. It also runs off AA batteries that I can easily replace, which is crucial on an expedition like this, as I won’t have a power source to recharge it. It will also be how I'll verify my trip to set this audacious FKT.��

Outdoor Research Verismo Hooded Down Jacket ($150)

I'll be bringing only the bare minimum clothing needed to complete this trip, and the will be my main insulation layer. The Pertex shell is tough and water resistant, and the 650-fill down insulation provides warmth without heavy weight.

Black Diamond Twilight Bivy ($150)��

Taking inspiration from alpine style mountaineering, my sleep system is small, lightweight, unfussy, and compact. Extremely minimal, the weighs on 10.7 ounces and packs down to the size of a melon. It adds a little warmth and prevents my sleeping bag from getting wet when it's raining.��

Sea to Summit Escapist Tarp Shelter ($200)

only weighs 10.6 ounces and has eight tie-out points so it can be pitched in a number of ways depending on the surroundings. Most often, I’ll use my trekking poles to create an A-frame style shelter which should protect me through the monsoon season.��

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm Sleeping��Pad��($200)

The provides more warmth-to-weight than any other pad on the market. This is necessary because in early June, the ground is still frozen in some of the high parts of Colorado. I opt for the three-quarter length to save weight.��

Ultimate Direction Kicker Valve Bottles ($10)

These are compatible with Ultimate Direction’s running vests and my bike's water bottle holders. There's nothing fancy about them, but I like the leak-proof cap and textured grip.

Sawyer Mini Water Filter ($20)

This is my on the market. It's cheap, easy to use, and takes up little space in my pack. It also lasts for up to 1000,000 gallons, which is 30 times more than most other filters.

Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Z Trekking Poles ($190)

Unlike a pure trail runner or endurance cyclist, I have a fairly conditioned upper body from climbing, so I like to put it to use by using trekking poles. are lightweight, but stiff enough to punch through snow, and pack down to about 12 inches so I can easily stow them in my pack. I’ll also use them to pitch my shelter at night.

Bolder Bikepacking Frame Bags (From $75)

Instead of using panniers or a trailer, I'll be using custom, lightweight soft bags from , a local, independent creator of bikepacking gear. These bags are made of 1000-denier��Cordura��fabric and YKK waterproof zippers, and mount directly on my bike frame with velcro.��

Zeal Optics Range Sunglasses ($150)

The��on the��Ranges work in a variety of conditions and are dark enough to minimize light reflecting off of the snow. The��frames are flexible and one pair has lasted me through multiple expeditions.

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It’s still dumping snow in places like Lake Tahoe and Jackson Hole, but winter will be over before we know it. When temperatures rise, you’ll need to stow your gear. Remember: there’s a right and wrong way to do this. What follows are some tips I’ve learned over the years to make my gear last for many seasons, plus tips from friends Saylor Flett and Rick Stock, who run and maintain a fleet of skis and boots.

Skis

Wax Them Before Storing

After your last run, brush and scrape the bases of your skis to remove any old wax, and then coat them with a thick coat of hot wax. Use two to three times the amount you’d apply for a normal wax job during the season. This wax layer will keep the bases from drying out during summer and prevent the edges from rusting. When next season starts, you’ll need to scrape everything off—be especially careful around the edges. Bonus: you’ll have freshly waxed skis ready to rip when you’re done.

Strap Them Together Carefully

Keep your skis strapped together during summer with something like a to keep the edges from rubbing against each other and dulling out. This also helps prevent skis from scissoring and falling to the ground. A strong warning: do not strap your skis in a way that compresses the camber or rocker. This can cause warping. I wrap a strap around the area where the skis naturally meet, being careful not to yank on the strap.

Store Them Indoors, But Not in a Ski Bag

A ski bag with any leftover moisture in it could rust your skis’ edges. I recommend storing skis indoors so they’re out of the elements, but you don’t have to store them in a perfectly climate-controlled closet. Your garage is fine as long as the skis aren’t near leaks or in a crawl space that heats up more than a normal room.

Sharpen Edges and Fix Any Core Shots

It’s better to get this stuff done at the end of the season so you can avoid long waits in November. But don’t wait too long. Most ski shops and places like REI put away their ski tools once bike season gets going. Ask the shop so you know your deadline.

Clothing

Wash Synthetic Base Layers with a Base Layer Wash

During the season, it’s fine to wash your synthetic base layers with regular soap—you’re just going to stink them up again next weekend. But at the end of the season, I recommend a special wash like from Nikwax, which gives a deeper clean so the stank doesn’t fester in your closet all summer.

Wash and Re-DWR Outerwear

You should wash your shell at least once a season (more if it’s really dirty). Accumulated oil and dirt interferes with the shell membrane’s ability to repel water and vent moisture. I like the designed specifically for technical jackets. Once you’re done washing, reapply a , which makes water bead up and roll off your jacket’s outer layer before it reaches the membrane.

Let Insulation Breathe

Do not shove your down or synthetic puffy into the back of the closet, and then smoosh it back there with all your other clothes. These layers create warmth by trapping air in their fibers, and those fibers need to be lofty and uncompressed to work. It’s the same principle as a sleeping bag. It’s fine to cram a puffy into a bag when you’re on a trip, but it needs to hang freely when stored.

Let Everything Dry for Longer Than You Think

Things dry quickly if you live in New Mexico or Colorado. Not so in the Pacific Northwest. After your last ski day, let all your gear dry for a silly long time to make sure every last drop of funk-inducing moisture is gone. Put it out on the clothesline if it’s a warm sunny day, and don’t be afraid to run dryer-approved clothing through an extra cycle. I know people who put rice inside their gloves, but if you follow their lead, make sure to store the gloves where mice and rats can’t get to them.

Store Everything in One Place

Once everything is clean and dry, store it in one spot so you’ll be ready to go during next fall’s first big storm.

Ski Boots

Dry the Liners

I’m sounding like a broken record, but this one is important and something you might forget since boot liners hide in the shell. It’s actually good practice to dry your liners every night after skiing to fight funk and extend the life of the material. A boot dryer like this one from makes it easy. If you don’t want to invest in a dryer, pull the liners out to air dry, and make sure they’re dry before they go back in.

Buckle Your Boots

Boots can lose their shape if you leave them unbuckled for an extended period of time. Before storing them, make sure they’re clasped and locked on the loosest setting.

Backcountry Gear

Remove the Batteries from Your Beacon

Do this for two reasons. First, you don’t want the batteries to corrode and ruin your beacon. Second, you always want to start the season with fresh batteries. Many people suggest tossing batteries even if they’re at 75 or 50 percent to ensure you never run out of power on the trail. Pro tip: check if you need to replace your old beacon with an updated, safer design. Here’s that will help you determine if it’s time.

Dry Your Skins and Store Them with Skin Savers

Don’t dry your skins in the hot sun, which can ruin the glue. Do dry them thoroughly. I don’t store my skins with the skin savers during the season because it’s a pain to keep track of that extra material, but it is important to use the savers over the summer. If you leave skins folded together for months without the savers, you might tear the glue off certain spots when they come apart for the first time in the fall. (Heads up: Pamoca skins don’t need to be stored with skin savers.) Just like your skis, keep skins away from hot areas of the garage.

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