The Katabatic Gear Tin Cup Down Jacket is a premium hooded down jacket that’s a step down from a parka however significantly hotter and bulkier than most three-season down or artificial backpacking jackets. It’s an excellent jacket to convey on cold-weather hikes or early spring and late autumn backpacking journeys for hanging out in camp, however it’s too cumbersome and heat to be worn for energetic use or for sleeping below a quilt or in a sleeping bag.
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- Mfg Spec Weight: 14.7 oz Males’s XL (ladies’s mannequin out there)
- Precise examined weight:
- Fill weight: 6.7 oz
- Insulation: 850 fill energy ExpeDRY down
- Match: Athletic (I needed to dimension up from a big)
- Shell: 20d Pertex Quantum Eco
- Liner: 20d Pertex Quantum Taffetta
- Hood: 1-way adjustable
- Stuffable in a handwarmer pocket: Practically, however not supposed for that
- Pockets: 4 (two zippered hand hotter pockets, two drop pockets)
- Development: Sewn through with field baffling on high of hood and shoulders solely
The Katabatic Gear Tin Cup Hooded Down Jacket is a really heat down jacket insulated with 850-fill energy waterproof down that’s finest used as an outer layer in camp or if you take a break throughout a chilly day on a hike or backpacking journey when temperatures drop under freezing. It’s a cross between a full-blown parka and the kind of light-weight down jacket that you simply’d carry for hotter three-season use: it’s too quick to be categorized as a parka and a bit too heat and ponderous to reinforce sleep system insulation until you run very chilly.
The Tin Cup is a finely crafted jacket with a high-quality 20d Pertex Quantum shell and liner, and a beefy YKK zipper. It has 4 pockets: two zippered handwarmer pockets on the outside and two lengthy drop pockets within the inside. There are stretch cuffs on the wrists to seal within the warmth and a hem adjustment on the higher thigh to forestall drafts from under.
Whereas the jacket has a sewn-through building, the highest of the hood and shoulders (solely), are field baffled for further heat, though the remainder of the development can leak chilly air by way of the seams. The perimeter of the hood is a loose-fitting elastic, though there’s a rear quantity management to regulate the quantity of air that have to be warmed when sporting it.
Whereas that is ample, our desire is for hooded jackets which have neck controls that allow you to modify the dimensions of the entrance opening to forestall drafts from coming into across the sides just like the Feathered Pals Eos or the Montbell Ex-Gentle Down Anorak, that are similar to the Tin Cup in weight and applicability however are considerably dearer. The issue with rear quantity controls is that they pull the edges of the hood again from the face when tensioned, lowering the quantity of head protection supplied by the hood, an impact that’s significantly pronounced for individuals with smaller heads.
The Tin Cup is insulated with 800 fill energy ExpeDry Down, a brand new chemical-free waterproof down therapy that helps forestall humidity from degrading down insulation and accelerates the drying course of by bonding down clusters with microscopic quantities of gold. You’ll be able to examine it extra on this ExpeDRY white paper from Allied Feather. Its most vital claimed efficiency profit is resisting humidity buildup in down baffles, similar to these utilized in sweater-weight down jackets, the place perspiration will cut back down’s capability to retain warmth. Nevertheless, that software isn’t related within the Tin Cup Jacket, which is just too heat to put on for energetic use.
Advice
The Katabatic Gear Tin Cup Hooded Down Jacket is a really heat down jacket appropriate as an outer insulation layer for winter climbing, tenting, or backpacking. Tremendous snug and heat, it’s a cross between a parka and a lighter-weight down jacket that you simply’d use in three-season climate or to reinforce a sleep system with further upper-body insulation. It has an excellent characteristic set and very good building, along with being very competitively priced. It’s finest suited to individuals who get chilled simply throughout relaxation breaks or in camp in chilly climate and need a jacket that gives further insulation and heat.
Disclosure: Katabatic Gear donated a jacket for evaluation.
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