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By Catherine Harnden and Jenni Gritters washing a down jacket
After a new round of testing, the updated Montbell Alpine Light Down Jacket (in women’s and men’s sizes) is still the jacket we wear to warm up.
We’ve also added some new options to our Other good jackets section.
A high-quality down jacket can keep you comfortable during everything from backyard social gatherings to winter snowshoe adventures.
To help us choose our favorites, 10 testers romped across every corner of New Hampshire’s iconic Presidential Range and throughout the Pacific Northwest in 57 insulated jackets, covering more than 272 miles. We took on conditions that ranged from frosty to wet to mild.
After all that, we concluded that the Montbell Alpine Light Down Jacket (in women’s and men’s sizes) is the best puffy jacket for most people because it is lightweight, warm, and weather resistant.
This jacket is the best at providing ample warmth for most outdoor excursions, and it has enough pockets to comfortably tote the necessities of daily life. It’s our go-to insulator for commuting or backcountry adventuring.
Matching the quality and performance of the women’s model, in a taller and slightly broader version, this highly packable go-to insulator continually rose to the task, no matter the context.
Compared with other low-cost puffy jackets, this women’s REI option is warmer, with well-lined cuffs and a fit that’s ideal for layering. It comes in a range of sizes, too, including plus sizes.
The jacket offers the same warmth (without the extra features of our other picks) in men’s sizes. It also comes in tall sizes, adding just over 2 inches of extra height.
This down jacket has lots of cozy features—like graduated wrist cuffs and a cinch cord on the hood—that set it apart from the rest. Plus, it feels as soft as butter.
With the same excellent features as the women’s version, this down jacket sets the bar for warmth and functionality.
Fitted for active use, this jacket—insulated with a synthetic alternative to down—can handle rugged wear and tear. But, as with most Arc’teryx gear, the fit is narrow.
This is the men’s version of the same excellent synthetic-fill jacket.
Our hikers logged over 275 miles while wearing these coats, testing their comfort and how well they insulated.
Our testers wore these jackets while summiting the Presidential Traverse as well as hiking throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Whether via down or synthetic insulation, we chose the jackets that kept our testers warm and toasty when temperatures dropped.
A good down jacket should also keep you dry. We picked jackets with water resistance to protect from winter snows and rains.
This jacket is the best at providing ample warmth for most outdoor excursions, and it has enough pockets to comfortably tote the necessities of daily life. It’s our go-to insulator for commuting or backcountry adventuring.
Matching the quality and performance of the women’s model, in a taller and slightly broader version, this highly packable go-to insulator continually rose to the task, no matter the context.
For over four years, the Montbell Alpine Light Down Jacket (available in women’s and men’s sizes) has been our pick for the best down jacket. This jacket is lightweight but has a high volume of 800-fill-power down, which kept our testers warm. Our testers also appreciated this jacket’s extra luxury features, such as its microfleece-lined hand-warmer pockets and collar, a drawcord hem for an adjustable fit, sturdy YKK zippers, large interior drop pockets, and an included cinch sack.
The Alpine jacket is wind resistant and packs down smaller than any of our other picks. And it has a durable water-repellent (DWR) coating, which will help keep you dry even when you’re walking through socked-in, super-wet alpine zones. In 2023, Montbell updated the women’s jacket to add horizontal baffles, which match the men’s, and new colors. It’s just as warm and comfortable as it was before. Unfortunately, this jacket doesn’t come in extended sizes (but we have a pick that does).
Compared with other low-cost puffy jackets, this women’s REI option is warmer, with well-lined cuffs and a fit that’s ideal for layering. It comes in a range of sizes, too, including plus sizes.
The jacket offers the same warmth (without the extra features of our other picks) in men’s sizes. It also comes in tall sizes, adding just over 2 inches of extra height.
Our testers found the REI Co-op 650 Down Jacket (which comes in men’s and women’s sizes) to be the best low-cost option. Unlike the makers of other budget jackets, REI actually lists down-fill-power numbers—and the 650-fill jacket performs well in moderately cold climates. The jacket also comes in a wide range of sizes, is easy to layer under, and looks attractive.
For those who live in climates that don’t require you to look like the Michelin Man to survive, this jacket is perfect for just-in-case scenarios when you need extra warmth. And due to this coat’s sturdy stitching, it lasts for at least a few seasons. It also packs down small. The cost savings shows up in the form of sometimes-sticky zippers and wide baffling that started shedding down fairly quickly.
More susceptible to rips and tears because of its less-durable nylon taffeta shell, this jacket isn’t puppy-proof, but it is capable of brushing against undergrowth and backpack straps without noticeable wear. The jacket also has a DWR coating, which helps keep you dry for a short time, but it is not fully waterproof. It’s the only one of our picks that comes in a wider range of sizes, including women’s plus and men’s tall sizes.
This down jacket has lots of cozy features—like graduated wrist cuffs and a cinch cord on the hood—that set it apart from the rest. Plus, it feels as soft as butter.
With the same excellent features as the women’s version, this down jacket sets the bar for warmth and functionality.
Every square inch of Stio’s Hometown Down Hooded Jacket (available in men’s and women’s sizes) has been carefully constructed for a trifecta of warmth, durability, and performance. The attention paid to finishing details—such as a cinch cord that allows you to adjust the hood to accommodate peripheral vision—truly makes a difference.
The coat’s 800-fill-power down keeps you warm on long chairlift rides, when you’re building snowmen, or while you’re watching hockey or figure skating. And the DWR coating helps to stave off most moisture. The true kicker is the jacket’s ripstop nylon fabric, which feels like butter. Sadly, it’s not offered in extended sizes.
Fitted for active use, this jacket—insulated with a synthetic alternative to down—can handle rugged wear and tear. But, as with most Arc’teryx gear, the fit is narrow.
This is the men’s version of the same excellent synthetic-fill jacket.
For those who have a tendency to play hard, the Arc’teryx Atom Jacket, in women’s and men’s sizes, is up to the task. If you’re allergic to down or prefer to avoid animal products, or if you’re headed to an environment where you’re likely to sweat heavily or hit a spot of damp weather, a synthetic-fill jacket is the right choice. And this one also has a DWR finish to help protect you from light rain.
With its stretchy side panels, the Atom Jacket complements active motion in all sorts of scenarios, making this coat ideal for alpine climbing and trail running. However, the narrow Arc’teryx fit isn’t right for every body shape, the jacket doesn’t come in a broad range of sizes, and it’s not the warmest option of our picks.
This guide’s original author, Catherine Harnden, is a multisport professional athlete. While testing jackets, she lived at the base of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, home of infamously volatile weather and the highest recorded wind speeds in the Northern and Western Hemispheres.
Freelance journalist and frequent Wirecutter contributor Jenni Gritters updated this guide with the newest models in 2020 and again in 2023. Jenni has a decade of experience writing about health, the outdoors, parenting, and shopping. She has covered items ranging from headlamps and down jackets to hiking poles and backpacking tents to baby swings. She grew up in the wet and cold cities of Boston and Seattle, and she currently lives in the mountains of central Oregon with her son, husband, and dog. She spends her summers hiking, her falls and springs tromping through the rain, and her winters wearing snowshoes. So she’s a pro at evaluating the best—and worst—winter gear.
In the past, Jenni contributed gear reviews to the REI Co-op Journal (now known as Uncommon Path), which is an editorially independent publication run by REI Co-op. To keep the findings of this review objective, we based our conclusions on quantitative data (such as weight, compression size, length of the torso, and so on) and qualitative data from third-party testers who had no affiliation with any of the gear companies in this guide. The findings for this guide were also reviewed and affirmed by two additional Wirecutter outdoors editors who have never had any professional relationship with REI.
We sought an everyday stand-alone insulator that could also serve as a layer for people who enjoy outdoor pursuits (such as skiing and backpacking) but need a jacket that easily transitions to the demands of work, school, or home. If you’re looking for one dependable daily driver to dominate your coat rack with warmth and functionality, this guide is for you. If you’re constantly chilled and wishing you had brought an extra layer, this is also for you. But if you’re aiming to stay warm while you summit Mount Everest, sorry: These jackets weren’t selected with that in mind.
A top-notch jacket is one that provides reasonable warmth for daily tasks and outdoor activities. Instead of a fashion pick or a specialized, sport-specific style, we sought the most-functional, multiuse insulated jacket for a mix of activities, which should provide:
For the first iteration of this guide, we tested 33 jackets. For the 2020 edition, we looked at 12 more. In 2023, we tried 12 more, bringing our total to 57. When the jackets arrived, we made short work of packing them down, then measuring their sizes and weights. We found that most online specs were correct (although it was often hard to pack the jacket down as small as the advertised size).
Catherine and eight enthusiastic friends collectively trail-ran, hiked, skipped, crawled, and climbed through four laps of the Presidential Traverse and 26 separate individual summits. The group totaled more than 220 miles and over 170,000 feet of elevation change (the combined total of all our elevation gains and losses over that distance, as measured by a Garmin tracker).
In 2020 and 2023, Jenni took the updated models of our original picks and many new options on adventures in the Pacific Northwest, the Central Cascades, and beyond, exposing the jackets to icy rain, high winds, and slow drizzles. We also had a tester out in the Sierra Nevadas—wearing the coats through a winter with over 700 inches of snow—and going up into the glaciers and streams of Alaska.
We attempted to stuff the jacket pockets full, tried layering aggressively underneath them, and compared the constructions, evaluating zippers, shell materials, baffling, drop-back hems, and beyond. We splashed water onto the surfaces to see if water beaded off or soaked in and then threw them into the washer and dryer.
In the outdoors, we exposed each jacket to at least 5 miles or one hour of activity. Many of the top contenders were used overnight during backpacking trips, for late-night dog walks in high-speed winds, and snowshoe expeditions. We also wore the jackets for daily commutes and running errands in town.
This jacket is the best at providing ample warmth for most outdoor excursions, and it has enough pockets to comfortably tote the necessities of daily life. It’s our go-to insulator for commuting or backcountry adventuring.
Matching the quality and performance of the women’s model, in a taller and slightly broader version, this highly packable go-to insulator continually rose to the task, no matter the context.
The lightweight and warm Montbell Alpine Light Down Jacket (available in women’s and men’s sizes) is our choice for the best down jacket.
The Alpine jacket has the right fit for layering. Over the years, Montbell has updated the fit of its jackets. In 2023, it changed the baffles on the women’s model to be fully horizontal, rather than diamond-shaped (the men’s have always been horizontal), but we found that the warmth and comfort were just as good as before. That said, the women’s model is now slightly more fitted than it was in the past. But compared with many of the other models we tried, the Alpine jacket still has a boxier fit, which makes layering easy. The adjustable cords around the waist allow you to cinch the jacket to keep cold air from getting between your layers.
It has high-quality extras, including terrific storage features. The Alpine jacket has many features we loved, including two large inner pockets, two microfleece-lined hand-warmer pockets, a microfleece-lined collar, YKK zippers of appropriate sizing to the jacket, high-quality elastic cuffs, a DWR coating that actually keeps out some moisture, and a drop-back, drawcord hem. It packs down to fit into a cinch sack or its own pocket. It was also soft enough to comfortably sleep in.
It’s suitable for trips of many kinds. We liked the Alpine jacket for trips around town, but it also met and exceeded our expectations as an insulator to take into the backcountry, keeping us warm at night. This coat was also soft enough to comfortably sleep in. And it impressed us as we walked through late-fall rain clouds—the moisture beaded off the surface, keeping the down inside from getting matted.
It’s durable (and repairable). We also put it through rock scrambles, contact with pack straps and grabby undergrowth, and, on one memorable occasion, hugging a scraggly pine tree to avoid falling into a stream. Throughout our adventures, we didn’t notice any glaring signs of wear and tear. In fact, over multiple seasons of long-term testing during the winter months, the Alpine jacket has held up beautifully—far more durably than almost any other jacket we tried. But if you do end up needing to repair your coat, Montbell offers “reasonable rates” for repairs; it will also fix manufacturing errors for free, for the lifetime of the jacket.
Compared with other low-cost puffy jackets, this women’s REI option is warmer, with well-lined cuffs and a fit that’s ideal for layering. It comes in a range of sizes, too, including plus sizes.
The jacket offers the same warmth (without the extra features of our other picks) in men’s sizes. It also comes in tall sizes, adding just over 2 inches of extra height.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive down jacket to wear occasionally, the REI Co-op 650 Down Jacket (which comes in men’s and women’s sizes, including plus women’s sizes and extra-tall men’s sizes) kept us warm.
This jacket’s features kept us comfortable at a lower price. During a cold and wet fall camping trip to the Olympic Peninsula, the REI 650 emerged as a favorite among the cheaper options. Its boxy fit allows for easy layering, and the jacket blocked light wind and fended off light rain and overall dampness without the down turning into clumps, thanks to the material’s DWR finish. The jacket cinches around the waist, and the wrist cuffs are comfortably lined with soft nylon fabric. It also has two zippered hand pockets. And a major bonus: The REI 650 packs down smaller than most of its competitors, fitting easily into its own pocket; this, combined with the jacket’s light weight, makes it simple to stash in a backpack if the weather changes.
The REI 650’s wider baffles make for spotty coverage, though. You can see this jacket’s cost savings in its wide baffles, which means the down occasionally moves around and could clump up over time. After just a day of wear, tiny feathers started to emerge from the seams: the sign of a jacket that will hold up for a few seasons but won’t retain its warmth over the long haul. And the zippers tended to catch on the nearby fabric, just as they might on a poorly designed tent. You may find stray feathers poking out of the fabric as well, and the REI 650 is a bit more prone to holes and water soaking through, compared with our other picks.
We liked the extended sizing options. This jacket comes in many shapes and sizes, offering options for tall men and plus-size women. Men’s jackets range from S–XXXL and M–XL for tall sizes. Women’s jackets run from XS–3X. Unlike many of the brands that offer plus-size clothing, REI’s extended size options for this jacket actually lived up to the quality of the standard-size line; rather than just adding a side panel to make the jacket larger, the REI 650 plus and tall options have continuous baffles for consistent warmth, and they contain all the same features as the standard offerings. Several online reviewers noted that the women’s plus-size line can be a bit too short and boxy, depending on your body shape. The men’s model also comes in a hooded version.
REI’s return programs are solid. Should you find that this option doesn’t work for you, REI has a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which means you can return any purchase for any reason within a year for REI members and in 90 days for non-members. Ordinary wear and tear is not covered by the warranty (although some stores have repair shops, or they can direct you to their favorite down pros), but manufacturing defects are covered at any time. The down in these jackets is RDS certified.
This jacket is ideal for using in a low-intensity way. But if you plan to do heavy activities where you’ll be exposed to intense weather, this is the least warm of our picks (650-fill-power down, versus the 800-plus fill of our other picks).
This down jacket has lots of cozy features—like graduated wrist cuffs and a cinch cord on the hood—that set it apart from the rest. Plus, it feels as soft as butter.
With the same excellent features as the women’s version, this down jacket sets the bar for warmth and functionality.
Stio’s Hometown Down Hooded Jacket (in men’s and women’s versions) feels like butter and features a tailored fit that still allows for easy layering.
The Hometown jacket’s cozy features are a treat. It boasts a soft yet durable DWR-treated shell; a drop-back, drawcord hem (which makes the front and back long and adds additional warmth); and fleece-lined hand-warmer pockets. The 800-fill-power, water-repellent goose-down insulation and an elastic-seamed hood (to seal against the elements) also provide warmth and protection.
The men’s and women’s models have comfortable (although different) features. Though both models have microfleece-lined hand-warmer pockets, the men’s jacket also has an exterior zipper chest pocket that is microfleece lined; the women’s version has a zipper chest pocket on the interior, so the equivalent microfleece is in the collar of the jacket instead. The other notable variations can be found in the finish of the cuffs and the outer fabric. The women’s cuffs are angled, reminiscent of a high-low dress, but with function rather than fashion in mind. The angled cut makes the pinky-finger side longer than the thumb side, keeping rogue elements like snow and wind from going up your sleeve. The men’s and women’s versions also use different fabric: The women’s is softer, with a shinier finish, and the men’s is more of a matte finish. Both are durable across multiple seasons. The one performance difference we found was that the outer fabric of the women’s jacket was surprisingly much better at shedding water than both the men’s version and the vast majority of the competition.
The Hometown jacket’s fit is stylish and functional. Both jackets feature drop-back, drawcord hems, massive inner dump pockets, YKK zippers, and a helmet-compatible hood complete with a drawcord. An elastic inner seam gives the hood a perfect seal to keep the elements from sneaking down your neck or around your face. These features worked together to make the après experience enjoyable and unlimited. After a hard workout, a limiting social factor is usually how quickly a chill sets in, which might force you to leave and change into dry, fresh clothes. But the immediate increase in core warmth when we put on this jacket, even after mountain biking or running, allowed us to stay out, celebrating adventures indefinitely with friends.
We loved Stio’s high-quality down sourcing program. Its down is RDS certified.
But the Hometown jacket is bulky and comes in limited sizes. This jacket definitely won’t stuff into its own pocket, and it packs down only to the size of a 2-liter bottle or growler. Although this isn’t a jacket to stash for just-in-case scenarios and then forget, you wouldn’t want to, given all of the additional features and fill weight. The Hometown coat also doesn’t come in as wide a range of sizes (they’re limited to XXS–XXL for women’s and XS–XXL for men’s) as our budget pick. We also heard complaints from our readers and online reviewers about Stio’s customer service team; at times, they can be slow to respond or even unavailable during regular business hours. We didn’t experience any issues with customer service during testing.
Fitted for active use, this jacket—insulated with a synthetic alternative to down—can handle rugged wear and tear. But, as with most Arc’teryx gear, the fit is narrow.
This is the men’s version of the same excellent synthetic-fill jacket.
If you’re the accident-prone friend no one lends gear to because of your tendency to shred equipment, or you live in or are headed to a damp area, the Arc’teryx Atom Jacket (available in both women’s and men’s sizes) is for you.
It’s the toughest. This jacket is as durable as they come—it didn’t show any signs of wear, even after we play-wrestled with a 1½-year-old pit bull puppy. This is just one of the advantages of choosing synthetics. Some of our testers are avid rock climbers; their go-to jackets are earlier variations of the Atom Jacket because of how well it breathes, fits, and holds up to abuse. Even if you stand too close to a bonfire and embers burn holes into this jacket, no filling will come unstuffed. (Yes, we’ve tried this.)
It has convenient features for outdoor activities. Features include one inner zipper pocket at chest level: For anyone with a tendency to become hangry during or shortly after high-intensity aerobic sports like trail running, being able to comfortably stash a Clif Bar in the inner chest pocket will prove invaluable. This coat also has buttery YKK zippers as well as two fleece-lined hand-warmer pockets and stretch cuffs, which make for very comfortable and warm wrists. But the Atom Jacket is synthetic, which means it’s less warm than our other picks because it does not contain down. If you’re headed somewhere cold, you’ll probably want down.
This jacket has a narrower fit. The Atom Jacket will not work for all body types, and the size range isn’t as inclusive as we’d like. (For a more size-inclusive synthetic option, try the L.L.Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Jacket.) It can also be hard to layer under this jacket (beyond a base layer) because of the narrow fit. But the jacket cinches around the waist to keep warm air in and cold air out as well as possible.
The breathability is impressive, but it means you lose out on some warmth. The goal of this jacket is not so much extreme warmth as it is breathability. Stretchy, breathable side panels allow for easy movement and made the Atom Jacket our favorite option for winter trail runs and alpine climbs. It’s lined with Coreloft insulation, which we found dries much more quickly than down. So if you’re looking for a super-warm winter jacket, look elsewhere. But if your goal is to wear one layer and be comfortable running errands, exercising, and commuting to the office, this jacket is fantastic, with the bonus of venting appropriately. Arc’teryx offers a limited lifetime warranty program for its gear.
If you’re looking for a long-lasting jacket with similar warmth and features to our top pick, but in a different fit or style, we have a few options for you.
If you want more color options than our top pick, but a similar fit: Consider the Patagonia Down Sweater (in men’s and women’s sizes). The recycled nylon felt smooth, and we liked the Down Sweater’s elastic cuffs that we could easily roll up. It also comes with more color options (including some patterns) than our top pick, but it still has well-made zipper pulls and a waist cinch. You can buy it in a hooded model (men’s and women’s), too. It’s pricier than our top pick, though.
If you want more color options and a boxier fit: The Cotopaxi Fuego Hooded Down Jacket (men’s and women’s) is similar to the Patagonia Down Sweater, with a comparable price, a slightly heavier weight (14 ounces to the Down Sweater’s 12 ounces), and 800-fill-power down. But it’s boxier in fit and the down moved between the baffles slightly more than in our top pick, the Montbell Alpine Light Down Jacket. Still, Cotopaxi is known for its bold color schemes.
If you’re looking for a more flattering fit: Look at the Outdoor Research Helium Down Jacket (which comes in men’s and women’s styles, men’s and women’s hoodies, and plus sizes). It’s stylish and well fitted with a flared waist and enough room for layering. It’s attractive enough to wear in town, but it also performs well during icy-cold mountain adventures. The quality of the jacket is similar to that of the Patagonia Down Sweater, with a comparable price and durability level. The main difference is the fitted style, which was polarizing among our testers. We’ll keep testing it over the course of the winter.
If you’re looking for extended sizing for wet, active adventures: Consider the L.L.Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Jacket (available in both men’s and women’s sizes), a synthetic option that packs down beautifully and comes in women’s petite and plus-size ranges. Compared with our also-great synthetic choice, though, the Packaway jacket didn’t provide as much warmth, and it was tough to layer under or over, given its boxy shape.
If you’re looking for a cheap down jacket that’s more fitted than our budget pick: Consider the men’s Eddie Bauer CirrusLite Down Jacket, which comes in regular and tall sizes and was another favorite budget option among our testers. In most ways, it was comparable to our budget pick, though slightly more expensive: It has simple, wide baffles, large inner and outer pockets, and a narrower profile, which makes it more stylish but still easy to layer under. The 650-fill-power down is warm, but as with our budget pick, feathers quickly started emerging from the seams, indicating a lack of long-term durability. The women’s version didn’t perform as well as the men’s.
If you want an incredibly warm, puffy jacket with all kinds of perks for the coldest temperatures: Try the Rab Neutrino Pro Down Jacket (men’s and women’s). It comes with a visor, cinched hood, and 800-fill-power down, with a waterproof shell, lined cuffs, a visor that keeps the snow out of your eyes, and solid zippers—and it’s super cozy, to boot. That said, it doesn’t pack down small, it’s more expensive than our upgrade pick from Stio (which is nearly as warm), and it’s nearly double the weight of many of the other jackets we tested. Still, we’ve found that the extra warmth really is worth the price and weight during major snowstorms, the coldest ski days, and mountain adventures where you want intensive protection.
If you’re headed out on a long, cold, ultra-light backpacking trip, consider the Arc’teryx Cerium Jacket (men’s, women’s, men’s hoodie, women’s hoodie) has always been a model we want to love. In 2023, they redesigned the women’s style to allow for a roomier fit in the chest. The men’s and women’s models got new zippers and pulls, too, for “improved durability.” But despite it being one of the most expensive jackets we tested, it lacked many of the features we liked in our upgrade pick, including no lined cuffs, only basic pockets, a not-great zipper, and a simple drawstring hood. But, the 850-fill-power down was, indeed, warm. And the 7.6-ounce weight for the women’s small jacket (which was slightly heavier than the weight listed on the Arc’teryx website) made it the lightest option in the bunch. During an overnight in 40 °F, this was the jacket we liked best.
The synthetic-fill Patagonia Nano Puff Jacket, available in men’s and women’s sizes, is popular and widely accepted as setting the standard in fit. It allows unconstricted motion without bunching or binding, and the shoulder seams and sleeve lengths fall to appropriate lengths, so you can order your standard US size with confidence in fit. But unfortunately this option remains underwhelming in warmth when compared with the competition, and it’s not as flexible or comfortable as our also-great synthetic-fill pick.
The women’s Eddie Bauer CirrusLite Down Jacket leaked moisture through the seams, even in a light rain shower. The down clumped when it got wet and didn’t recover, and the jacket fabric was nearly see-through, allowing for an oddly unbalanced look with the clumpy down. The cuffs aren’t lined, and the coat felt restrictive across the chest and shoulders—even for our petite testers—which made layering difficult. That said, we like that it comes in widely varying sizes, from petite to tall to plus.
The Mountain Hardwear Stretchdown Hoody (in men’s and women’s) was stylish but less warm than many of its similarly priced competitors. The 700-fill-power down—matched with a weight of more than 15 ounces and the fact that it didn’t pack down small—put it lower on the list than we’d hoped.
The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer/2 Jacket (in men’s and women’s plus men’s and women’s hoodies) is much more expensive than our top pick and its other competitors, with an impressive 8.8-ounce weight and 800-fill-power down. But it feels less warm than other jackets we loved, like our top pick from Montbell, and it’s missing key features, such as lined pockets. If you’re looking for an ultra-light option, go with the Arc’teryx Cerium Jacket instead.
Beautifully fitted, the Helly Hansen Verglas Down Insulator Jacket (men’s, women’s) is exceptionally warm for its weight and easily packs into its own hand-warmer pocket. Those pockets function beautifully as hand warmers, but they didn’t have adequate room for storage—even a cell phone and car keys fit uncomfortably. Some of our readers also noted down escaping after just one season of wear.
The Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody (men’s, women’s) is a good attempt at solving the age-old issue of light, packable warmth versus waterproofing. This jacket does manage to serve the same functions as the Nano Puff—at a fraction of the weight—and we found it to be almost waterproof (thanks, DWR!). Unfortunately, the stitching seams that hold the PrimaLoft insulation in place are still, at the end of the day, stitched. This means that water was able to bead through at each of these holes. Our testers also took issue with the crinkly feel of the outer material.
The Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody (men’s, women’s) proved there is such a thing as too warm. Day-to-day functions caused testers to overheat, fluctuating between sweating and freezing. The Fitz Roy Down Hoody is not intended for indoor or commuter use.
The Uniqlo Ultra Light Down Jacket was a previous budget pick in this guide, before the REI Co-op 650 Down Jacket. The brand changed the jacket again, though, so we’ll try it out during our next round of testing.
This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.
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