[Closed] Insulated hiking jacket recomendations.

I have a Prism, it gets used a lot. It's not too expensive and not too delicate but suits many different uses/weather conditions.

atom LT. I have knackered old one, and I'll more than likely buy a new one to replace it.

i have an atom lt. it’s not as breathable as i’d hoped, but it is wind proof on the faces. sides of the body are not and can let in a cold wind as well as letting out extra heat.

the cut is very good, no bunching or rising up. i wear mine on my bike and it works well.

there are a lot of stretchy synthetic insulated jackets of this type about now of varying breathability, insulation weight, cut/fit and price. not the easiest, but try a few on and pick the one that fits best with the features that you want.

Montane Icarus Stretch is nice.

I have the normal Icarus which is great but more of an outer layer. The stretch version is more compact and would work well as a layering piece.

Mrs_oab is sporting a Montane Halogen (Pertex and fluffy Alpha Direct).
It knocks the spots off my old Prism in the form of less sweaty and much more comfortable. I plan on buying one.

Recently bought a new Prism (my second one) as it gets worn and used a lot, a great jacket.

I also have a Alpkit synthetic jacket, but its only been used a few times....

Love my Finisterre Nimbus, have one 5 years old and looks like new, bought another colour last year as well.

Couple of these size XL which seems a bonkers good deal. I like ME stuff.

I have an older Prism - it's fine for a bit of dog walking, but not breathable enough for higher intensity stuff, it's a bit of a sweat bag.

I've a couple of jackets with Polartec Alpha insulation - light years ahead of a Prism for 'active' wear, incredible warmth/bulk ratio, wicks very well and warm even when sopping - my go to wear for running up hills in winter.

I can vouch for the Prism. I've not used it in extreme conditions but it's a great all-rounder for wet and cold.

I'm assuming OP wants it as a layer to add during static activity. I wouldn't wear these kind of garments for active use.

there are a lot of stretchy synthetic insulated jackets of this type about now of varying breathability, insulation weight, cut/fit and price. not the easiest, but try a few on and pick the one that fits best with the features that you want.

Yeah, this. They're all much of a muchness in performance terms. Choose your weight of insulation and a face fabric that's either wind or waterproof and go for the one that fits you best / is the colour of your dreams / matches your budget, feature list etc.

If you want one that's down-style synthetic fill but reasonably breathable on the move, something like the Alpkit Katabatic is a good call - but more wind resistant than wind proof. And as above, if you want something that's brilliant for wicking and breathability and is great on the move if you run warm to hot, Polartec Alpha is amazing, but not as outright warm stood about or moving slowly.

depends on your budget, but my most used insulated jacket as either mid layer in the cold or top layer when cooler / to quickly throw on when stopping is a patagonia nano puff. i have a prism as well, which is good, but as others have said a bit boil in the bag. nano puff doesn't seem to suffer as much, but almost twice the pierce of a prism

Another Atom LT Hoody here (new version). Love it. Ticks all your boxes.

I have a Prism, as mentioned above it can get a tad sweaty.

My Montane Icarus is far superior - warmer, much more breathable and close fitting (the Prism is pretty baggy on my skinny frame).

Cheers for the responses folks.... I do tend to run warm and it will be used for hill walking and general dog walking so breathable is key. I will have a look at your recommendations. Thanks.

patagonia nano and arcteryx phantom (i think that’s the name) are v breathable. personally i find arcteryx a better fit

I’ve a couple of jackets with Polartec Alpha insulation

This x1000.
I'm a fast moving running warm dog walker/hiker with an energetic hardcore mountain dog.
I have a Montane Hydrogen and Momtane Extreme - both pile and Pertex with the Hydrogen being the thinner 3 seasons jacket. Breathable and dump heat well, warm when wet yet don't feel wet even when soaked through.
I take a poncho on big hikes in case of torrential rain but otherwise it's either of the Montanes or a Fjallraven when it's dry and slightly chilly.

For active stuff I'd look at Rab Vapour rise, about as thick as I'd go when moving.

https://rab.equipment/uk/vapour-rise

For static, I'd look at the Alpkit Katabatic (similar to the Arteryx Atom etc).

https://alpkit.com/products/katabatic-mens

For me, mainly dog walking in wales, I bought a down jacket from Decathlon for just under 50 pounds and supplement this with wind or waterproof outer layer. In my case my mt500 jacket. I did order the Katabatic and it is a nice jacket but not for me.

I've had two Prisms and was about to buy another but realised I don't need to yet - wow the old one skiing recently (in Scotland) and it does a great job of being not too warm. Bit sweaty? It was skinning up the hills bit not ridiculously and fine otherwise. It's not a precious piece of kit and I like it for that.