That is a perfect situation for a space bag. The puffer coat would take up no more space than a sweater if you put it in a space bag. So you could still use the 22" bag. Down filled coast/vests/jackets are the most dramatic since they are mostly air so squeeze down to almost nothing.

Extreme compaction of down and/or feather filled clothing is unwise as it destroys the down/feathers and therefore will ruin your jacket or coat. I would not recommend that anyone compacts down and/or feather filled garments 'down to almost nothing'. Feathers and down are very delicate and are effective because they are fluffy and trap air. When you compress them them like this, they will not return to the same level of fluff and the delicate parts of the down/feathers will break down resulting in a less effective and possibly lumpy jacket.

Down jackets compress naturally and many come with little bags made of similar fabric to the jacket, enabling a safe level of temporary compacting and also allowing your garment to breathe rather than hermetically sealing it and compacting it far beyond what's safe. Or just gently roll it up to compact it as you pack it in your case.

Not in my experience -- I've compacted down jackets and vests many times and all returned to their original 'puffiness'/loft.

If you are compressing a down filled jacket here and there it shouldn't cause any damage to it. As long as you don't leave it like that for weeks on end. Simply hanging it up to settle or giving it a low tumble in a dryer will fluff it back up. If it doesn't, then most likely you need a new coat as down does break down eventually.

Agree with all that the down coat can take the compression as long as it's not stored for weeks and months that way. That's why I "sit" on the top of the suitcase lid, sit on the coat on the plane, or stuff up in the overhead instead of doing the space bag compression. I do carry the space bag for mid- or end-of-trip laundry.

In the meantime, I found the name of the coat I bought for Paris last year online after trying on a zillion winter "puffies" in person in every type of store from discount to high end:
LL Bean Ultralight 850 Down Coat, Long
That should help you see what we're talking about. The "puffy" part is now more compact these days. More seaming.

I bought it in the Mariner Blue because I had OD'ed on black for so long in my packing life. It was a very pretty color on me, but black still would have been better. On second thought, I do remember that when people were sort of lined up at the door outside of restaurants that didn't take reservations and couldn't get in, we mysteriously got admitted. ASAP.

Yeah, I do know how to plead big time in French, but my accent hurts French ears. They can understand me right away, but they usually wince.

• Was it the fact that I was the only one in Mariner Blue in the line outside the door? or,,,
• Was it the fact that I'm married to a guy who looks like Harrison Ford?

We'll never know. Except that I in NO way look like Calista Flockhart.

Anyway, good luck with all the packing. I should relate the story of my sister's packing routine, which I soon learned to copy. My sister was taking a trip with her husband, his 40th birthday present to her, of a LONG trip to France, She did all the planning (control be the best gift ever) and then she packed. She shopped a month ahead; she packed a week ahead, laying everything out in some space in her house. And then she'd subtract and/or substitute something every day. And I mean EVERYDAY.

We met up with her in the airport when I was taking the two girls and myself to some hoity-toity US Southern resort (NEVER AGAIN--my husband almost divorced me AND the kids) where we had to be dressed to the nines. I had had to pack more luggage than I even knew I owned.

In contrast, my far-more-in-style sister was down to ONE big purse and a small carry-on for FOUR weeks in France. And in every picture of the trip, she looked FABULOUS.

Happy Packing and Planning,
AZ
PS--I still am experiencing Paris Trip Envy.

If you buy a jacket that's not as waterproof as you'd like then you could try Scotchgarding it with a can of spray. However, if you dry clean it you will have to Scotchgard it again.

Lavandula

I agree that down will eventually break down. So it's only logical that extreme compression via space bags will accelerate that break down process as it puts strain on the filling and the whole garment. Some people don't really care to get more than a couple of seasons out of a jacket or coat. In that case, it's not really a big deal. Just fluff it up until it's shot and then get a new one. But if you wish to get several years of service out of a down jacket (which it can easily do if taken care of), then I think it's wise to avoid space bags.

Adelaidean Raincoat or Waterproofing the down coat..

Well, my L.L. Bean mentioned above did bead a few drops. It was sort of rain resistant. But I did not trust it, and Scotchguard and I are not good friends (that's another post). Instead, I had tucked into the coat's lovely inner pocket a packing standard...a drugstore plastic poncho.

It's our family joke. Or rather it's one of them. On every packing list, whether it's to the local amusement park or to the Jungfrauroch, I list "99 cent poncho". It will probably make our daughter's wedding this upcoming spring.

And why not? Rain storm, wind storm, snow storm, a cheap bit of plastic does it all. Why get soaked? Why sit on a wet bench? Need a picnic table cover? I have drawers full of these in two apartment coat closets.

I'm going to copy this to my girls. They'll get a kick out of it. Heck, my sons-in-law (present and future) will get a charge.

You guys get going! Travel! Enjoy!
AZ

i think the down coat debate has to do with the quality of the jacket in the first place. I have a cute but inexpensive one for travel, I do use the stuff stack because I"m going to the tropics and that's the whole idea of the coat), but I don't expect it to last more than a few years.

Agree. But to be clear I have no problem temporarily using my stuff sack that comes with the jacket. The issue at hand is space bags and compressing it down to nearly nothing. That creates a lot more wear and damage than the stuff sack that's designed for the jacket.

But i agree with you that there is a difference in a jacket or coat that you won't want to wear in a couple of years anyway. My down jacket is expensive but I expect to get over 12 years of life out of it. It's not going in a space bag to be flattened down to the thickness of a piece of cardboard. No way. Never got into disposable clothing. I spend a lot on shoes and I take care of them and use shoe trees. typically resoled twice for 20+ years of use. But to each his or her own. No right or wrong. But nobody should use space bags on down or feather garments and expect that it has no negative impact.

thanks for clarification. i was not differentiating between the stuff sack that came with the jacket and using an actual compression cube or the like that sucks out the air and compresses it to nothingness.

I'd go with the waterproof jacket and eventually if too cold wear an extra, warm underlayer.

I'd go with the Gortex longer jacket, but also layer w Merino wool sweater over a base layer, and perhaps pick up a pocket-packable down jacket that hopefully could go under the Gortex (Uniqlo's are great) if the one you have will not go under it. If you don't have much room, then definitely opt for a down vest (Uniqlo again). We never travel without them except in June-July--Aug! Two weeks ago wore our down jackets under waterproof parkas in Quebec City. They make great travel pillows when in their little cases too.

just came across this thread and forgive me if this has already been raised, but one matter to consider is the heat inside most public buildings. We found that museums etc were so hot that we could easily walk round in ordinary day clothes without jumpers, so we left our coats in the garderobes and were very comfortable. The same applies to restaurants and cafes.

So IMO the way to go is a thick warm outer layer but what you wear underneath can be lighter than you might think.

"Invariably, the problem then becomes how to keep you bottom half dry in a city."

I hate to be cold and found these trousers made by Kuhl to be great. Warm, stretchy, and water/wind resistant. Nice enough styling for city sightseeing, dinner, etc.

https://www.kuhl.com/kuhl/womens/pan...oftshell-pant/

I also have these pants. Better for cold weather hiking, I think, but I wore them a lot in Scotland just tramping around castles.

https://www.kuhl.com/kuhl/womens/pants/ws-klash-pant/

Neither are water-proof but are water-resistant which is usually good enough for me. But if you want water-proof:

https://www.kuhl.com/kuhl/womens/pan...eam-rain-pant/

I think that somewhere along the line of this long thread, I think I promised to let you know how we got on... Well we had the most wonderful holiday! And our clothes, while not particularly fashionable, were just fine.

I took a bum-length puffer coat which a friend kindly gave me as it was no longer needed and a light weight rain jacket several sizes too big for me which would go over the top. The light jacket was perfect for Spain and the puffer wonderful for Austria and places north. Only once did I wear them together. I'm told this winter was warmer than normal, with more rain, so I suspect I could have done equally as well with my Goretex jacket (taking only one) which would have reduced my luggage - but it was nice to always be warm. I took super light weight wool jumpers intending to layer them if needed but never wore more than one at a time.

Silk leggings are challenging to buy in Australia so we took bamboo ones, which were great. We wore them maybe half a dozen days and welcomed the extra layer. We both took and wore jeans (I also had other pants but my daughter did not) and jeans with leggings were fine even on cold days.

Sturdy ankle boots with warm (bamboo or wool) socks were fine.

We kept getting news from home that it was 40+C in Australia and we fervently agreed that we'd rather have sub zero temperatures. Hearing all about the bush fires was very upsetting - all I can hope is that the Australian government can make some positive changes for the future. Such a tragedy, the scale of destruction is hard to comprehend.

On a more positive note, we travelled to Europe in the winter from necessity (that was the only time available to us) but concluded that we'd happily choose to do so again. It was a wonderful holiday and experiencing snowy mountains, Christmas markets and brilliant blue skies in Spain was a real treat. Thanks to everyone for their advice about winter clothing!