SUL 1.1 down sweater (custom size)
The SUL (super ultralight) series garments are aimed at pushing weight as low as possible for a given fill amount, without compromising function. They are down sweaters in the strictest sense. Like a knit sweater, no zippers, no pockets, no drawcords, no linings, no webbing, just insulation in the form of down in a nylon shell.
Fill type - 950fp DWR down
Fill weight - 2.4oz (small)
Total weight - 4.6oz (small)
The goal with the SUL down sweater 1.1 was to bridge the gap between the .75 and the 1.5 for true, average, 3 season use. It get's the same shell as the other SUL sweaters but with 5" wide baffle spacing to limit cold spots and maximize loft. It has 1.1 calculated loft. There is only the one vertical sewn through line in the body, none in the arms. Just the 5" horizontal lines. This is a solid comfortable at freezing, 3 season jacket for the average person. It has a snap at the neck and an ultralight cinch at the bottom hem to keep out drafts.
A puffy is most often used as an inactive layer for stops, at camp, or to help boost a sleep system. They don't make for very good active layers since your sweat can easily compromise the down fill. This makes a zipper for ventilation a somewhat frivolous feature that can add a significant amount of weight and bulk. Pockets can be nice to have, but they often add a big chunk of weight and bulk and compromise the performance of a jacket by creating cold spots and by pulling insulation flat when there is weight in them. For those wanting pockets to warm hands I recommend adding a few inches to the sleeve to cover your hands. This is lighter than pockets and doesn't compromise the overall warmth. Drawcords can be good for cinching a jacket tight to your body to keep out drafts, but then again, we don't need a full length cord to do that. The SUL sweaters use a short cinch cord, so we can leave off an ounce of continuous drawcords while still allowing the wearer to cinch it tight. The collar uses a single snap to close up the top. All non-essential sewn through lines have been eliminated so the down can loft and cold spots are reduced. Simplicity and reduced weight and bulk are not the only benefits of all this. Leaving off many tedious features also reduces my labor and allows me to offer a very affordable jacket at an extremely low weight.
It's meant to be used with a modular hood or head insulation, but can be built with an integrated hood on request.
More warmth out of less fill http://www.timmermade.com/sewn-through-baffle-construction-and-its-effect-on-warmth.html