Caring for Your Down Jacket

I am a hot hiker. No, not a supermodel, y’all; I mean I get HOT when I hike. But I also find I get cold just as quickly. One of the hardest times to hike is the spring and fall when the weather fluctuates between hot and cold within a few hours. For that reason, layering is key and finding a jacket that packs down and is super light is so important. I’m a huge fan of down jackets because they can be worn as a top layer or under a rain jacket, and they provide amazing warmth for those fickle days. A good down jacket is also a winner when you reach the top of a hike and the wind suddenly comes whipping over a ridge, turning your sweat to ice-cold moisture. They are also helpful as an extra layer when you go camping and you realize your sleeping bag isn't quite warm enough.  TAKING THE DOWN CHALLENGE Here’s the thing about down jackets, though, and really most jackets for women: They are hard to size, making shopping online for them a challenge. I decided to try out a handful of jackets with my friend, Arika Bauer, another Hike it Baby mom (AKA @zionadventurephotog on Instagram) so we could help you decide on your next packable down jacket pick. Arika and I are about as opposite as they come in terms of our bodies. She’s tall and lanky, with little in the way of a chest and claims she has hips (although I don't see them!). I definitely have hips, but am short and rocking some serious sisters in the front, as well as booty in the back, so I often feel I am an awkward fit with jackets, caught somewhere between a medium and large. I was surprised when Arika reported she also had the same issue with struggling between sizes, finding some jackets just weren’t long enough for her or didn't work for her lesser-endowed area. PHOTOS: Zion Adventure Photog / Arika Bauer With two different body types, we thought we could better share how these jackets really fit, so you could decide which brands may work for your body type. We ordered them all in size large, so we could compare apples to apples. In some cases, the large was surprisingly big. In other cases, there was no way we could've gone any smaller. And some that fit true to size. We tested for fit, mobility, durability, fabric feel, loft, style and, of course, overall comfort as we hit the trail. Here’s what we discovered. LIGHT AS A FEATHER L.L.Bean Ultralight 850 Down Sweater Pros: Super light, packs small, great pockets Light is an understatement with the L.L.Bean Ultralight 850 Down Sweater (MSRP $199) weighing in at just ten ounces. It’s so light we had a hard time believing it would be warm. But we went out on a chilly morning to give it a whirl and sure enough, it felt great in spite of our doubts. First off, it’s important to note the sizing runs big on this jacket. Bigger than any of the other we tried, so size down. Neither Arika nor I felt like we were a large and it shows in the pictures. Sizing aside, there were so many details we liked in this jacket, with one of the most notable being the pockets. Of the jackets we tried, there was none other that put as much thought into the details of the pockets as this one. The standard hand pockets act as both stuff sacks, so you can compress the jacket down to about the size of half a Subway sandwich (yes, it gets that small). The left pocket has a small hole, which allows you to store an iPhone and pass a headphone cable up through your jacket to your ears. This is a great feature if you don’t want to risk your phone pocket opening and closing. Also, there are two “stow” pockets on the outside and inside of your jacket at your chest. The inside pocket is incredibly large and deep. Another difference we found with this jacket was the thin stitching which the company says makes it more like a “sweater.” L.L.Bean has a similar jacket called the 850 Ultralight Down Jacket, which is more similar to the other downs we tried, but this one felt like a good fit for what we wanted -- a light jacket that was easy to pack down. Other selling points for this jacket were the rich color waves (really simple choices that seem like they would work for a wide range of people) and the fact they offer petite sizing for smaller people who have a hard time finding jackets that fit in length.   FILLED WITH FEATURES Columbia Titan Ridge Down Pros: Great fit for women with curves, plus-size options, keeps warmth in, warm pockets and lots of them Like most of Columbia’s products, the Titan Ridge Down Jacket (MSRP $250 but on sale at time of review for 50% off!!!) is a fairly loose fit if you get size large. We find Columbia is a winner in the Hike it Baby community because they make stylish jackets in plus-size (we like to mention that up front for women who are feeling frustrated with the outdoor industry not sizing up past XL). Both Arika and I could have worn either a medium or a large in this jacket. The large was comfortable and a little loose. The length was a great fit for Arika’s longer arms. What I really love about this jacket is the shiny dotted surface on the inside that Columbia calls “Omni-Heat.” This is a patented warming layer that really works. I personally own other products from Columbia with this material on the inside and love it. If you're looking for a puffy that is multi-seasonal and keeps the warmth in, this is a great pick. The color is also a nice, rich deep red, and the outer material is smooth. The downside is if you want to pack this one down small, there’s a little more heft to it than some of the other jackets because of the technology on the inside of the jacket. Like many Columbia products, there are great features like fleece-lined pockets, nice plastic toggles that are easy to pull when you have gloves on and a great inner zip pocket that would be good for holding a full-sized phone or wallet. The hip area feels roomy, but not so roomy that it looks baggy. There’s also a toggle at the bottom to cinch down if you need it a little tighter to keep cold weather out. This jacket is a great choice if you are chesty and like to have more warmth when you hike. There's no need to layer much with this jacket; just throw it on and go with a thin layer or T-shirt underneath. THROWBACK STYLE Cotopaxi Fuego Light Down Pros: Stylish for on or off trail, super light, packs down small, great for gals who rock slimmer fits Style, style, style. Cotopaxi’s Fuego Light Down Jacket (MSRP $229.95) definitely has the '80s colors going for it and the fun color blocks make this jacket stand out from the pack. There’s also a great story behind these jackets. This company pays workers a fair living wage and creates grant programs to help areas they work in. Besides feeling good for purchasing a product from a brand that claims to “do good” and actually does, it’s also a very light, compactible jacket that’s easy to stow away in a pack when you don’t need it. This jacket was one of the lighter jackets we tested with some nice features like a cool hidden pocket on the inside for stashing cash or a credit card. There’s also a soft Polartec liner along the side running up to the armpits for maximum venting. Other great features we liked were the low-profile zipper pockets that are tucked away deep, so even if you leave pockets open, you most likely won’t lose things. This jacket also comes in a vest version if you're more of a vest person. As for fit, of all the jackets we tried, we would suggest buying a size up if you're in between sizes. It's cut slimmer in the hips and chest area, so if the fit is tighter, there would be no room for layering underneath if you're better endowed. Arika is less ample in the “sisters” area, so she fits the medium (which she also owns), but commented on the tightness in her hips with that jacket. She’s a longer, lankier mama; so for someone like me, who is short and stocky, there’s no way I could roll with medium. If you're traditionally between a medium and a large, opt for large to get a comfier fit that you can layer with. The bottom of the jacket has  a little elastic give around the base versus a toggle system that many down jackets have. Other style points we liked were the wide-tooth front zipper, the color options, the very urban feel and that it allows you to go from trail to pizza joint/brew pub post-hike and still feel cute. Lastly, it comes with an awesome little stuff sack, which makes throwing it in a pack really easy and is a nice added touch. SOFT AND STYLISH Helly Hansen Verglas Down Pros: Great on and off the trail, thinner profile for gals who like it fitted in the body, feels loftier than some of the other jackets The Helly Hansen Verglas Down Insulator (MSRP $230) is a clear winner as long as I have a size large for my body type. It also looked good on Arika's body type. With a fairly fitted body, a toggle at the bottom of the jacket (although with my hips, there was no need to toggle) and elastic around the wrists, it's comfortable and hikes well. The loft felt high and full, but is still compacted small when squeezed into a ball. I tried it out on a cold morning and it felt super snuggly. I especially liked the fabric, which was one of the softer ones of the jackets we tried. Other great features of this jacket were the invisible pockets, which seem to zip right up and disappear into the side of the jacket. The cool metal pull tabs that open the pockets seem to blend and have a nice shape and feel like high quality. I’m a big fan of the wide-tooth zipper on the front for easier zipping.  Another thing I love about this jacket is the two tones; it's blue on the outside and black on the inside closer to your face, making it more stylish when you have it zipped open. I love black jackets, but it’s nice to have color; and I would've personally loved if this jacket was reversible.  There’s not a lot of bells and whistles with this jacket. No hidden pockets or extra features, but nothing more is needed. It’s a warm jacket with nice lines. In terms of packing, it felt mid-range ... not super bulky, but not paper thin like others. It feels like it would weather a storm well and keep you warm on a cold spring hike. PACKERS DELIGHT REI C9-op Magma 850 Down Jacket Pros: Lower price point, lightweight, super compact, soft to the touch Fashion, function and a lower price tag is always a nice combo and REI’s Co-op Magma 850 Down (MSRP $189 but at publish date, select colors were on sale for $131.93) managed to hit the mark here. This lightweight down jacket looked good on both me and Arika, which wasn’t the case with all of the other jackets. We liked the silky, soft feel of the material and the cut was long enough for Arika’s height, but thanks to the lines in the jacket, it also felt like it hit me in the right place. Some of the noticeable features in this jacket are easy-to-pull waist toggles, a great phone or cash/card stash pocket on the inside of the chest and an easy-to-find hanging loop (it’s bright blue) for putting your jacket on a hook in a dim room. Warmth-wise, this felt like a great layer for lighter days and was super easy to pack down and tuck away. A big bonus for me was that the chest area didn’t feel tight, nor did the body, but it was still fitted and I could wear other layers underneath. The big treat with this jacket that I feel makes it a big winner is that the left pocket acts as a stuff sack. You can pack the whole jacket into itself, leaving you with a small soft package that’s about the size of small loaf of french bread. There’s even a nifty blue loop on the outside, which allows you to clip the packed jacket to a daypack and not take up precious space when you're hauling snacks, diapers, wipes, water and other essentials for hiking with babies. This is a new jacket from REI and it seems they’ve worked hard to provide both style and a lower price point, making it a real contender against some of the higher-end brands in this arena. The only downside to this jacket is it appears to only go to size XL, so plus-sized ladies are out of luck here. THE PRICE IS RIGHT REI Co-op Down Jacket Pros: Affordable, comes in plus-size, long in arms and body, packs down well You don’t have to break the bank when purchasing a down jacket, and REI proves this with their simple, straight-up REI Co-op Down (MSRP $99.50). The jacket runs big, so if you are in between sizes like me and Arika, you'll want to go with the smaller size. And most women can purchase it without trying it on because the cut is made to fit a wide variety of bodies. Unlike some of the fancier jackets, this is what I would call “a jacket of the people,” with a generous cut, ample room in the bust and hips and clean lines. It's a utilitarian down jacket, which is really all you need when looking for a solid layer for your hiking arsenal. The down fill is a little lighter on this one (650 fill) than the previously mentioned REI jacket and many of the others in this review which have 850 fill. But it still has plenty of warmth and heft, especially if it’s going to be worn under rain jackets or over layers. It’s a perfect lightweight spring piece. This jacket also offers the same cool pack-it-into-the-pocket feature as the more expensive REI jacket. One of the big bonuses is that this jacket works well for women who have long arms and a long torso. Interestingly, however, the large didn’t fit Arika well, so going with a medium would be a perfect fit. (We promise the childbearing hips will fit in a medium on this one.) What we also love about this jacket is that it comes in plus-size and has ample chest room for nursing mamas who might be bigger in that region than usual. If you're in that transitional phase and think you might end up back in your original size clothing but it may not be happening for the next year, this is a good one to pick up while your body is in flux. The price tag is reasonable and it will make for an awesome giveaway or loaner to your girlfriend who's pregnant or newly postpartum. We've seen this jacket on REI for as low as $68, so keep your eyes online for sales with this one! STRETCHING FORWARD The North Face Stretch Thermoball  Pros: Moves well, packs small, urban cool When I first tried on The North Face Stretch Thermoball (MSRP $220), I didn’t quite get it. It wasn’t soft like the rest of the jackets and the inside felt almost unfinished. The jacket material felt crunchy and not at all like any down I had ever experienced. Then there was the fact that it felt thin, but as I walked around in the cold morning, I noticed it was surprisingly warm and because it didn’t have a lot of bulk, it could compact down fairly well. Then it hit me, it was a stretchy down. I had heard about these jackets but never tried one on before, so this was a new beast.   Stretchy down is definitely a futuristic fabric and has only just entered the market in the last few years. The downside is that the warm cozy feeling of a puffy down jacket is lost with the stretch material. The upside is the jacket offers both stretch and down in the same coat. For climbers, or nursing mothers who are wrangling multiple kids running in different directions and dealing with a body that’s in total flux, this jacket is a blessing. Buy it true to size and it will grow with you and shrink back down. One jacket and you're good to go. For most of us mommies, you probably remember that phase when you couldn’t fit into any jackets and maybe grabbed your partner's or your dad’s jacket to get outside. Well, this jacket just might be the answer to the expanding Mama Dilemma when wanting a new down coat to adjust to your changing sizes from pregnancy to post-partum. It's pretty well sized, so consider this to be true to size or on the more fitted side of jackets. The stretch leaves room for flexibility, so I wouldn’t plan on buying this super big. Also, the stretch material feels a lot more durable than most downs and perhaps is more wind-resistant, although I didn’t have the opportunity to try it out in wind. If you're curious about stretch down, I suggest going to your local outdoors store and giving it a little feel, as it’s definitely a different kind of down than anything else you’ve ever tried. Learn how to care for your down here All of the photos for this piece were shot by Arika Bauer. Products were provided by the companies, free of fee, but in no way was the reporting altered based on the donation of these products. We were honest in all of our reporting and picked these brands purposefully because we felt they were excellent representations of a variety of sizes and price ranges. Missing from this piece are Outdoor Research and Patagonia, which we have an upcoming piece for you to check out: Down Alternatives for Spring Hiking.  Read more: The new era of the new family camping tents Fitness trackers: Finding the right one for you 5 Sports bras for the active woman

This summer, due to various circumstances, we decided to become a one-car family, temporarily, from early summer until fall. We live in Portland so it's an easy transition. Luckily, the roads have special bike lanes and whole streets are dedicated to only bikes. While I know this isn’t the case everywhere, we see this trend growing – especially electric bikes. Many cities are embracing biking as a form of transportation – even with kids. While I love biking, I have to admit that since Mason was born, I’ve grown quite lazy about it. I haven’t biked much with his 40 pounds on the back, even though I have a great bike and bike seat for him. I like a workout, but going uphill with a kid on the back pretty much sucks, in my opinion. Luckily my husband does most of the kid hauling when we head out to bike as a family, so this hasn’t been a problem. This summer when we had an opportunity to try out a Rad Power Bike, I jumped at the chance. My gut told me it would give us a chance at trying out being a one-car family for a few weeks. Electric bikes have been gaining in popularity over the last few years. At first the higher price tag made them more of a specialty item; however, with improved technology and more competition on the market, electric bikes are popping up everywhere. Getting past the hurdles of electric bikes I’ll admit I was a little wary of the electric bike when it showed up at our house. First of all, it was very heavy, weighing in at about 75 pounds. This can be a little intimidating when you don’t bike a lot. I notice this reaction from others when I first roll up. I often offer it to others for a ride, but I can see the nervous reaction in the “no, that’s ok” look they give me. This comes from the fact that it doesn’t just look heavy – you can feel the weight before you even push it off the kickstand. Everything about electric bikes feels more intense. For intense, the kickstand is a solid scooter or motorcycle-like kickstand with two legs on it. An important thing to know about electric bikes: they need power, so you have to pay attention to where your battery is at and when it needs a charge. With such a heavy bike, you can choose to pedal it on flat ground, but forget about going uphill without the electric assist. Charging is easy; however, you have to remember to plug it in after every ride so you don’t suddenly find yourself on a ride without power. Also, there are a lot of cables, buttons and a control center panel on the handlebars. If you are not mechanically inclined, it could create a barrier for getting on an electric bike. You also need to baby it a little bit. Don't leave it out in a heavy rainstorm because there is a lot of technology on it that could fizzle with hard weather. While we didn’t test it much in rain because it was summer, we did ride in a slight misting and it seemed fine. I imagine that since it’s a bike and meant to be outside, after all, light weather is certainly okay. Finding more opportunities for more adventures What I loved about this bike from the moment I got on it is that it felt like it opened up a whole new world for me with biking. Suddenly, I found I was excited to run errands on the bike. I was fine with taking the time to get Mason “bike-ready”. Loading gear up to head out was now exciting in a way it had never been with my bike and trailer. The electric bike makes going longer distances no big deal, especially if there are only mild hills involved. I also saw Mark heading for further adventures on the bike. One afternoon when my sister headed to a newly opened park on the southwest side of town with her kids, about 20 miles roundtrip, Mark loaded Mason up and off they went. We figured worst case scenario if they didn’t make it, they could load the bike onto the front of a bus or my sister could, maybe, get it into her mini van and drive them home. A few hours later they sent pictures from the playground. And when they got back, we saw that Mark made it across town and back with juice to spare in the battery. At the park, two other dads rode up with kids on cargo bikes and Mark said his bike proved to be a conversation piece. This brought my normally fairly introverted husband out of his shell to chat with the dads about bike adventures with kids. Another plus of having an electric bike is that people are really curious and will ask you a lot of questions. Gaining health and lifestyle benefits In a time when gas is getting increasingly expensive, as are cars; electric bikes are a great alternative for families. The minimal repairs you can expect with an electric bike are flat tires, which are a cheap and an easy fix once you learn how, and when the battery goes out after a few years. You can expect a battery to last three years on most electric bikes (depending on use) and will cost about $500 to replace it. Here’s a list of general fixes on a bike: Tune-up: $75 – $100+ Flat tire (not including tube cost): $10 – $20 Brake adjustments: $20 – $35 Drivetrain replacement or adjusting: $20 – $60 Also, consider the environmental impact if we all made that switch to being a one-car family and chose a bike as our second mode of transportation. While an electric bike isn’t necessarily an affordable bike option for all families, we're excited to see that there are more affordable electric bike options on the market these days. This  makes electric bikes a viable option for more families. Here are a few more things to think about with biking versus driving: More time spent outside for you and your child, a better sense of balance from time spent on a bike, an increased awareness of your neighborhood since you're traveling at slower speed, and you experience more sights, sounds and smells around you. The pluses for your health can’t be disputed. According to a study conducted by James Blumenthal of Duke University, when you start exercising, whether running, walking or pedaling, your brain gets a boost in serotonin. In a lab rat study he conducted in 2015, serotonin increased by 200 percent as soon as lab rats started running on a wheel. Also, the heightened serotonin lasts all day, which boosts moods and strengthens brain power. A mere 30 minutes on a bike can also grow your brain. Apparently, the increased oxygen due to enlarging capillaries and the increase in brain-building protein can double and even triple cell production in the brain. Cycling is linked to a decrease in heart disease and cancer. If you live in Portland or some of the other bike cities around the U.S., having one car and making a bike your second form of transportation is a growing trend. If you look around the world, traveling around cities with a bike piled high with kids and your daily shopping goods is pretty normal. In the U.S., this is a new phenomenon, though that’s changing daily. With electric bikes, it’s easy to see how this might convince those who are wary of biking with kids to give pedaling a try. If you've made the transition to electric bikes, please share your tips with us in the comments below. Read more Best bike trailers for kids - Gear review Rolling into spring: Stroller review Backpacking with the family: Four-man tent review Photos by Andrea Leoncavallo *This is a sponsored post brought to you by Rad Power Bikes. The opinions are completely based on our own experience with the product. As a nonprofit organization, Hike it Baby chooses to partner with companies that believe in getting families outside and review their products for our community. We received product and compensation to review this bike and share our experience.