By: Blonde Two
You might remember that, during my summer visit to Austria, I was so overcome with down jacket envy (they were everywhere) that I bought a bright blue number of my own.
I was concerned at the time about its ability to; a) Survive the Dartmoor damp, and b) Avoid scaring the animals with its brilliance.
So on Sunday, I took it for a test. Not a very rugged test admittedly as it wasn’t raining and there weren’t any sheep.
Down jackets really are amazing, you hardly know you are wearing them (although everybody else would have noticed mine) and they keep you warm as toast. Often too warm in fact, can you imagine being the temperature of toast all of the time? Butter definitely would melt!
The trick with down is not to let it get wet. Unlike a fleece, it won’t give you much comfort once it is soggy. Mine is going to accompany me on walks in my rucksack, and be brought out for emergency, “I need to scare the sheep,”, “I need to scare the army,” or “I need to sit on a rock with my back to the camera,” events.
I think down jackets are designed for the likes of you who potentially spend a long time in one place waiting for your groups of lovelies to appear of the horizon and need to keep toastie while waiting. I find fine is far too warm to walk any distance in but packs down so small in my rucksack I’m quite happy to carry it as an extra warmth layer for lunch stops etc. Mine probably gets used the most while camping-great pillows and great warmth!!!
Have to confess that my primary reason for buying it is that it will fit nicely into my sleeping bag with me! Plus it coordinates with Big Orange nicely!