New light weight insulated jacket ??

[4everYoung]

I'm in the market for a new insulated jacket. So I'm looking for some experience and opinions in this area.
This is going to be an EDC jacket first and foremost. For work, for casual wear and for outdoor activities, it kinda needs to tick all those boxes. What I'm looking for is a very light weight, water resistant, warm and packable with a hood.
I've been looking hard at the North Face  thermoball hooded jacket and the Patagonia nano puff. I've kinda ruled out down as I often find myself in wet conditions. Does anyone have experience with either of these jackets or maybe another one in that same category?
Thanks

[jzmtl]

The nano puff is made of primaloft I believe, which is good stuff for outdoors. I have house branded (MEC) mid-layer that's pretty much the same construction and material, not as warm as down when dry but retains almost the same warmness when wet. I got lost on a ski trip in -20 temp, and had to climb back up the hill in waist deep snow. By the time I got back to the lodge I was squeezing water out of the sleeves but never felt it. It's not at all water resistant though since the outside fabric lacks any waterproof coating.

[SteveC]

I can vouch for North Faces awesome warranty 

[Poncho65]

I usually layer because I work outside year round and I do wear heavy coats most of the time so I can't be much help I buy Carhartt coats for regular use and then after wearing then a winter or so I turn them into work wear

Hopefully some of what has already been suggested will help and if not someone will come along with the perfect answer for you

[G-Dizzle]

I like a water resistant down jacket and waterproof over-jacket for when its gonna be wet. Down is as warm and lightweight as it gets.

[PetePioneer]

I’ve worked out side and been in the forces for 7 years I can only speak for myself but I use and prefer the snugpak softies ...

[aicolainen]

For various reasons I’ve found the good old wool and fleece mid layers leave much to be desired in some situations.
As a result I’ve stopped replacing them and put my money in the clothing category that’s now marketed as active insulation.
As always with these things, it’s being oversold to some degree, but going into it with reasonable expectations, I’ve found that this category has a something to offer.

What’s especially pleasing with this category is that there is fierce competition, so here in Norway you can regularly find the most popular offerings at 25-60% discount, making them actually cheaper than so called technical fleece most of the time.

I’m currently testing the Norrøna Octa jacket, Arc’Teryx Proton FL, Arc’Teryx Proton SL, Arc’Teryx Atom SL anorak, Rab Xenair light mountain jkt and the Patagonia Nano air hoody.

To keep this post from becoming prohibitively long, I’ll write more about how I use them and my experience so far in a follow up post, or several.

[Tasky]

I'm personally a big fan of UF Pro kit, especially their jackets.
It's only ever water resistant rather than proof, but lightweight and amazingly warm. I also happen to love the other features too, but that's secondary.
For the lightweight side, look at their Hunter FZ jackets.

It's perhaps not as good as the really high end stuff, but it's also nowhere near as expensive, although postage outside of Europe can be painful.