Sleeping in a quilt at low temps can challenge whatever head warming system you're using. One advantage of the BR hood's large size is that it fits almost perfectly over my Katabatic gear Crestone hood (2 oz). The two together should be a seriously warm combination. I'll almost always be using the Bitterroot either for sleeping or for low energy around camp use.

Like the good low back/butt cover for the same reason.

The other thing is that if you do something really great, the huge hood gives you plenty of room to have a swelled head.

awesome stuff. use the clear tenacious tape please! all the trees will laugh at you!

OK, I'll go first. Today, I spent several hours adding a shock cord/cord lock to the existing elastic rim around the face of the hood. The stock rim is actually a thin tube of stretchy elastic nylon. In the first photo, you can see it with a metal rod inserted into the elastic tube.



I thought I would simply attach the shock cord to an 18" flexible titanium rod, and thread it through the elastic tube:



It was quite hard to thread the bulk of the rod + the cord, and I kept getting stuck in the "tunnel." I switched over to a very, very thin titanium wire. I heated the wire on a canister stove, and melted it through the end of the shock cord. Then I wrapped the wire around itself several times. This ended up looking like a suture, with an 18" needle. This passed through the elastic tube pretty well, but it too would occasionally get hung up on the mesh. I had to tug pretty hard at times, and the thin wire finally let go of the end of the shock cord. This was maybe 2/3 the way through the tube. So now I had a choice--blow the project off, or spend another couple of hours painstakenly pushing the shock cord through the tunnel, millimeter by millimeter. I had nothing else to do, so I kept going.

When I finally moved the shock cord to the end, I couldn't get hold of it to pull it all the way out. I had to do a little surgery, and I cut into the end of the tube. I pulled the shock cord out, slapped cord locks on both ends, and then sewed up my little incision. The next photo shows the end result:

(BPL won't let me add another photo, so I'll post what I've done so far, then do another separate post with my final photos and thoughts)

Edited by Zia-Grill-Guy on 11/28/2012 15:16:28 MST.

Finished project:



Ugly model wearing the hood in stock mode, without any cord lock tension:



And with the cord lock at maximum closure:



Here's the deal--when I fully close up the hood's face opening, it adds significant additional coverage. However, it pulls the hood forward considerably. The only way that this will work is either by adding a velcro adjuster (or Tenaceous Tape--I like that idea) on the back to pull the hood backward, or by simply wearing a baseball cap to keep the top of the hood opening off your nose.

I will look forward to others' escapades regarding this hood thing.

Edited by Zia-Grill-Guy on 11/28/2012 15:10:04 MST.

Thanks Gary.

Can you share some details on the tickness of the shock cord you used and which locks. I hope I can buy them somewhere online or in REI.

The thinnest shock cord I had was 2.0 mm in diameter. I might have bought it at REI, or perhaps another specialty hardware store in town. The tiny cord locks were purchased from Lawson at Mountainfitter, but I see that he's not carrying them right now. A couple of days ago, someone was selling a bunch of tiny things, including BPL bottles, and those small cord locks--maybe you can locate that thread.

By the way, after I posted about my project, I wore it around outside for awhile, checking out its possibilities. I also wore my Black Rock beanie, which I wasn't wearing in the photos. I had mentioned that a full-on closure brought the top of the hood way down, nearly covering my eyes. It turned out it only did that when I had the top of the zippered front below my chin. When it comes up over my chin, the hood actually fits pretty well. And that's the way I would be wearing it if an icy wind was really howling. So I think I'll have no need to make a velcro/Tenaceous Tape thingy on the back of the hood. And that way, my whole modification is reversible, except for my minor surgery/suture.

Mod on, you guys, and make me proud!

Maybe it's just me, but I got mine in the mail today and I think it fits better than my Patagonia UL Hoody and my Nunatak Skaha Hoody with 2oz. overfill. I'm almost 6'3" and weigh 165...as my friend Monie labels "long and strong" and a medium fits perfectly! It lofts somewhere in between both (closer to the Patagucci)...the big hood fits marvelously over the trucker hats I love to hike in, and the overall construction is quite impressive for the price I paid. The stuff sack seems a little on the cheap, but I won't complain. Stoked.

I love mine! The only funny thing I see is that on GoLite's website, they say that it "packs down to the size of an apple..." - I knew this would not be true, but of course saying this thing gets to the size of an apple is downright comical. They included a stuff sack that I think I could get my 30 degree sleeping bag into! I did manage to fit the jacket into a stuff sack from my Pata Hi Loft Down Sweater. Still nowhere near any apple I've ever seen...

Those GoLite folks must have some HUGE apples!

The jacket stuffs into the inner pocket. Don't quit understand why Go-lite included another stuff sack that isn't needed except maybe for waterproof storage inside a pack.

The stuff sack they provided isn't waterproof. Look at the seams. Idk why the hell they included it... they could have at least color coordinated the SS instead of giving me a bright orange with my green jacket. Strange.

I received a bright yellow stuff sack with my red jacket. I'll use it for something else.

i got an orange one with my black and orange accented jacket. i am super psyched that my jacket and overbuilt stuff sac match.

Edited by rbeard on 11/30/2012 11:34:27 MST.

Some people have all the luck.

Of course Adam's worked out. This guy gets all the luck! I call shenanigans! He's an undercover Golite rep. He probably packaged my bright orange stuff sack with a smerk on his face.

first, i had the children sew on the huge golite back strap, "so it's easier to pull out of your pack." second, i had them cut the last thread, so the first time you yank, it's going to rip off.

mwhahhahahahahaa. :-)

i will say this publicly to the board about my luck (and my affiliation with golite), although i am in-between jobs right now (the life of a creative), i do consider myself very lucky in that I have a beautiful wife, a 2.5 year old little girl, caring family and friends, and plenty of opportunities to sit back (or go forward) and truly enjoy life. and i score some pretty good deals on gearswap. happy holidays to you all.

Edited by rbeard on 12/01/2012 07:46:43 MST.

If anyone bought one or two of these beauties in large and has one for sale please let me know.

Scott

1scottp@gmaildotcom

Bump ill jump on a extra medium as well

Gary, thanks for the head start on modifying this hood.

I found that 1/32" shockcord threaded rather easily thru the majority of the elastic channel (maybe 10mins). Getting it started and finished was a bit more difficult - this took a little "surgery" but none that required sewing repair, just extra time.

Also, I added a snap to the back of the hood to help take in some of the extra volume. With these two changes, I find the hood fits as well as any other (non technical) hood I have.

Total added weight was about .2oz with a final weight of 13.5oz (medium).

This jacket is currently back on sale at $149.99 (with free shipping to boot).

If anyone is looking for a men's small, I inadvertently kept one from the last sale past the refund date. If you're interested I'll sell it for the same price. The color is "smoke".