New down jacket for the wife...

[rmplum]

She's hinted at one for year, time to do it. Err, I mean Santa may do it. Has to be black. Warmth and stylish are important (Michigan weather and all), and she doesn't want one of the knee length jobbies. I usually give my $ to REI (close, easy, great return policy) and am leaning towards this one, but it's just a lean - and the angle is currently small:

Mountain Hardwear Downtown Coat - Women's at REI.com


The Patagucci offering is probably higher on her "looks good" scale, but likely less warm:
Patagonia Downtown Loft Down Jacket - Women's at REI.com

She originally wanted North Face, but the more I look, the more it's overpriced junk ATMO and every review of it says that they require a sweater and thin jacket underneath - WTF? The Patagonia may also be dangerously close to that, although some of my older stuff has held up well.

Any other suggestions from the peanut gallery? I'm willing to look elsewhere for sure.

[Derek Raymond]

The Pat is warmer FYI. It uses 800 fill Down, the Mountain Hardware uses 650.

Get whatever is more her style yo.

[caleb]

Patagonia always wins for both looks and quality. Oh yeah, and a lifetime warranty they actually honor.

[AbeNP]

Rab stuff is fantastic. You might check that out.

[billrick]

My wife wears the Patagonia jacket. Says that it is finally "cut for a woman" - not like some bulky unisex blob - so take that for what its worth. Also, Patagonia has good colors this year. That would be my vote.

My wife is getting Blundstones and Darn Tough socks.

[rmplum]

Yeah, I like the Patagonia, although some of the jackets that have a liner inside seem warmer, despite the fill rating. Many of the reviews I've read for those say that it should be layered with a sweater and light jacket, which turned her off a bit. She tried a few on over the weekend and liked the Eddie Bauer Lodge Parka, which is very similar to the Mountain Hardware coat above.

The EB coat is $100 cheaper than the others, so on the bright side (assuming she's happy with that) that gives me $100 left over to get her a nice new sweater or something for the same cash outlay. The EB coat does seem to have a bit of a "cut" or shape to it as well - so it doesn't quite look like wearing a sleeping bag.