Our decide
This jacket is one of the best at offering ample heat for many out of doors excursions, and it has sufficient pockets to comfortably tote the requirements of day by day life. It’s our go-to insulator for commuting or backcountry adventuring.
Matching the standard and efficiency of the ladies’s mannequin, in a taller and barely broader model, this extremely packable go-to insulator frequently rose to the duty, irrespective of the context.
For over 4 years, the Montbell Alpine Mild Down Jacket (obtainable in girls’s and males’s sizes) has been our decide for one of the best down jacket. This jacket is light-weight however has a excessive quantity of 800-fill-power down, which saved our testers heat. Our testers additionally appreciated this jacket’s additional luxurious options, reminiscent of its microfleece-lined hand-warmer pockets and collar, a drawcord hem for an adjustable match, sturdy YKK zippers, giant inside drop pockets, and an included cinch sack. The Alpine jacket is wind resistant and packs down smaller than any of our different picks. And it has a sturdy water-repellent (DWR) coating, which can assist preserve you dry even while you’re strolling via socked-in, super-wet alpine zones. In 2023, Montbell up to date the ladies’s jacket so as to add horizontal baffles, which match the lads’s, and new colours. It’s simply as heat and comfy because it was earlier than. Sadly, this jacket doesn’t are available in prolonged sizes (however we now have a decide that does).
Price range decide
In contrast with different low-cost puffy jackets, this girls’s REI choice is hotter, with well-lined cuffs and a match that’s supreme for layering. It is available in a variety of sizes, too, together with plus sizes.
The jacket affords the identical heat (with out the additional options of our different picks) in males’s sizes. It additionally is available in tall sizes, including simply over 2 inches of additional top.
Our testers discovered the REI Co-op 650 Down Jacket (which is available in males’s and girls’s sizes) to be one of the best low-cost choice. In contrast to the makers of different price range jackets, REI truly lists down-fill-power numbers—and the 650-fill jacket performs properly in reasonably chilly climates. The jacket additionally is available in a variety of sizes, is straightforward to layer below, and appears enticing. For individuals who dwell in climates that don’t require you to seem like the Michelin Man to outlive, this jacket is ideal for just-in-case situations while you want additional heat. And on account of this coat’s sturdy stitching, it lasts for no less than a number of seasons. It additionally packs down small. The associated fee financial savings exhibits up within the type of sometimes-sticky zippers and huge baffling that began shedding down pretty rapidly.
Extra vulnerable to rips and tears due to its less-durable nylon taffeta shell, this jacket isn’t puppy-proof, however it’s able to brushing in opposition to undergrowth and backpack straps with out noticeable put on. The jacket additionally has a DWR coating, which helps preserve you dry for a short while, however it isn’t totally waterproof. It’s the one considered one of our picks that is available in a wider vary of sizes, together with girls’s plus and males’s tall sizes.
Improve decide
This down jacket has a lot of cozy options—like graduated wrist cuffs and a cinch wire on the hood—that set it other than the remainder. Plus, it feels as tender as butter.
With the identical glorious options as the ladies’s model, this down jacket units the bar for heat and performance.
Each sq. inch of Stio’s Hometown Down Hooded Jacket (obtainable in males’s and girls’s sizes) has been fastidiously constructed for a trifecta of heat, sturdiness, and efficiency. The eye paid to ending particulars—reminiscent of a cinch wire that means that you can alter the hood to accommodate peripheral imaginative and prescient—actually makes a distinction. The coat’s 800-fill-power down retains you heat on lengthy chairlift rides, while you’re constructing snowmen, or whilst you’re watching hockey or determine skating. And the DWR coating helps to stave off most moisture. The true kicker is the jacket’s ripstop nylon cloth, which looks like butter. Sadly, it’s not supplied in prolonged sizes.
Additionally nice
Fitted for lively use, this jacket—insulated with an artificial various to down—can deal with rugged put on and tear. However, as with most Arc’teryx gear, the match is slender.
That is the lads’s model of the identical glorious synthetic-fill jacket.
For individuals who tend to play exhausting, the Arc’teryx Atom Jacket, in girls’s and males’s sizes, is as much as the duty. For those who’re allergic to down or desire to keep away from animal merchandise, or should you’re headed to an setting the place you’re more likely to sweat closely or hit a spot of damp climate, a synthetic-fill jacket is the suitable alternative. And this one additionally has a DWR end to assist shield you from gentle rain. With its stretchy facet panels, the Atom Jacket enhances lively movement in all types of situations, making this coat supreme for alpine climbing and path operating. Nonetheless, the slender Arc’teryx match isn’t proper for each physique form, the jacket doesn’t are available in a broad vary of sizes, and it’s not the warmest choice of our picks.
