In reply to Tube Screamer:
Thank you for taking the time to reply and giving me some advice on the subject. The two jackets I've got my eye on are the Mountain Equipment Annapurna and the Mountain Hardwear Absolute Zero.. on paper, it seems that the Absolute Zero would/should be the warmer of the two jackets, but it is also a fair bit more expensive. Whether that actually equates to real world usage, I'm not entirely sure.. at the end of the day, I don't mind spending the extra cash, if it turns out that the Absolute Zero is in fact by far the better of the two?
As for looks and style, I have to say that I really like the looks of both jackets, and so there's no real deal breaker there. I've not yet had the opportunity to view the jackets first hand as yet, but I'm hoping to get over to a dealer to do that soon.
Thanks again for the advice.. if you happen to have any further advice/opinions regarding the two specific jackets mentioned, that would also be very helpful.
Russ