8 Best Down Jackets of 2024 (Tested and Reviewed)

Whether you want a hood on your jacket is a personal preference feature.  We suggest choosing a hooded jacket for extreme weather to maximize weather protection. On the other hand, when you use jackets in the front country or around town, hoods can get in the way. That&#;s why our pick for Best Around Town jacket (see above) comes without a hood. 

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Another reason to be hood-skeptical is that, like hats, they may not always accommodate all hairstyles. Pro-tip from Treeline Review writer Amanda Jameson: Look for hoods designated &#;helmet-friendly.&#;

Still, not all hoods are created equal. We like hoods with some adjustability level to keep the hood snug, like a drawstring or velcro tab. We prefer hoods that won&#;t form a gap or blow off in the wind. Lastly, we want a hood that allows you to wear a hat or even a helmet underneath.

Can down jackets get wet? Are down jackets waterproof?

It depends. Down jackets usually don&#;t maintain their insulating ability while wet - but a wet jacket doesn&#;t mean it is ruined forever. Some down jackets use hydrophobic down (read more about that here) and Durable Water Repellent (DWR) on the fabric shell. Durable Water Repellent isn&#;t a full waterproofing, but it can cause mist and tiny droplets to bead on top of the fabric. A down jacket should be fine if you expect a drizzle or little moisture once in a while. However, in general, we think that a synthetic insulated jacket would serve you better. See our guide to Best Synthetic Insulated Jackets for our recommendations.

Should I get a hybrid synthetic down jacket?

Hybrid jackets may be great options for folks who want one winter coat that will work for various conditions and activities. Because synthetic insulation will stay warmer when wet, the Agrium LT or Cerium jacket are good options if you live in a moist climate or plan to encounter inclement weather on your trips. 

Both the Agrium and Cerium layer well under more waterproof layers, like a rain jacket, as it is less likely to &#;wet out&#; than other down jackets. (Wetting out is when down becomes too moist to stay lofty and warm up the air, thus becoming an ineffective insulation material). Compared to the Cerium, the Agrium is better for layering as you can wear a mid-layer, fleece, or heavier base layer underneath. 

When should you wear a down jacket?

Down jackets are great for staying warm in cold, dry temperatures. They&#;re also highly packable, making them a go-to for adventures where space is an issue. The downside of down (ha!) is that it doesn&#;t quickly dry once it&#;s wet. Water-resistant down is an option, but those jackets are pricey and still don&#;t perform as well as synthetic filling during rainy outings.

What's the difference between goose down and duck down?

The primary difference between goose and duck down is the size of the clusters, as well as the fill power. This is because goose feathers and duck feathers are not the same size. Goose down is used for a higher fill power and is generally a more quality option. Some folks even notice a slight odor with duck down.

Are down jackets ethical and sustainable?

As far as ethics goes, some folks don&#;t love the impact harvesting down has on animals, as it involves the killing of geese and ducks. Anyone prioritizing vegan clothing would not want to invest in a down jacket. However, there are relatively ethical and sustainable practices for producing down garments and gear. With ethically-made down, the animals are not plucked when they are still alive and come from animals that were raised for meat. If you are vegan or prefer something made without down, we recommend checking out our Best Synthetic Insulated Jackets for puffy jacket options made without down.

Since down jackets tend to last longer than their synthetic counterparts, they are arguably more sustainable option since it means, hopefully, fewer products in a landfill. Additionally, many synthetic insulated jackets are made from petro-chemicals, whereas untreated down is biodegradable.

What is the expected lifespan of a down jacket, and how can I extend it?

Down jackets can last a long time&#;longer than synthetic jackets&#;and with proper care can last even longer than average. Some folks will have a beloved down jacket for upwards of 20 years, though it&#;s important to understand if it&#;s frequently stuffed down, say, at the bottom of a pack, it will lose loft and thus lose warmth. If the jacket is washed properly and stored somewhere the loft isn&#;t crushed or smashed down, you could add years to the jacket&#;s life. See our guide on How to Clean and Repair Down Jackets for step-by-step instructions on how you can care for your jacket at home.

Understanding total warmth, and warmth-to-weight using down volume

When comparing down jackets, warmth-to-weight and total weight are the best indicators of performance. An insulative jacket&#;s primary job is to (1) keep you warm, and (2), not weigh down your pack. Thus the warmth-to-weight ratio is king.

To understand a jacket&#;s total warmth and warmth-to-weight ratio, you should begin by knowing its total volume of uncompressed down. This can be found by multiplying the fill weight (measured in oz) times the fill power (measured in cubic inches). Our top pick, the Zpacks Goose Down Jacket has cubic inches of uncompressed down stuffed into its baffles.

Another jacket, the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer, has only cubic inches of down crammed inside its baffles. So we know that the Zpacks jacket has about 33% more down and thus is approximately 33% warmer.

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We can take that a step further to calculate an approximation of warmth-to-weight by dividing total cubic inches of uncompressed down by the total weight of the garment.

This statistic correlates very closely with warmth-to-weight, but does not give an actual warmth-to-weight since we are not measuring thermal barrier efficiency nor how insulative properties of the fabric factors in. But roughly speaking, the higher the uncompressed down volume per ounce of garment weight, the better the warmth-to-weight ratio should be in theory.

Comparing Zpacks to Ghost Whisperer again, we see that Zpacks has 475 cubic inches of down per ounce of jacket weight, where as Ghost Whisperer only has 274 cubic inches per ounce of jacket weight. Thus we can infer that the Zpacks jacket delivers a whopping 73% higher warmth-to-weight ratio. 

Focus on down insulation over fleece and base layers

For hiking and backpacking in cold weather, down is the most weight-efficient insulator you can carry into the backcountry. As such, we prefer to maximize our use of down and minimize our use of fleece and merino wool (or similar) base layers. A merino base layer and fleece top will weigh almost twice as much an an ultralight down jacket.

For best results in cold weather camping, it&#;s critical that you have head-to-toe insulated-wear, including a hooded jacket, pants, and booties. Since down does 80% of the insulating, we aren&#;t very particular about fancy winter base layers or fleece. Even summer-weight base and mid-layers will do the job, so long as you have a good lightweight down jacket.

Lightweight down jacket insulation vs moisture

Experienced backpackers basically never allow their down to get soaked. Over the past ten years, we&#;ve spent hundreds of nights in the backcountry and toughed out some really gnarly weather. Not once has our down apparel or sleeping bag gotten soaked. It has occasionally gotten damp, but it&#;s a myth that down does not insulate when lightly or moderately wet, or that it&#;s constantly getting soaked on every hiking trip.

What&#;s more, basically every down garment now uses hydrophobic plumes which have been coated in DWR to ensure that they don&#;t clump up or de-loft in wet conditions. In short, we think manufacturers are trying to instill a fear of moisture to help sell their synthetic insulation layers.

While synthetics do perform slightly better than down when wet, it is better to focus on keeping the entire system dry than worrying about what happens if it does get wet. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. What&#;s more, synthetics are definitely no joy to wear when wet either.

Stretchy down jackets and hyper breathable synthetic insulation are overrated

Many brands are now manufacturing insulation layers with stretch and ultra breathable synthetic insulation. While that&#;s great for mountaineering and specific trips with unusually challenging day-time weather, we feel that those supposed benefits matter very little for the typical backpacker. And in fact they come with a severe cost. Stretchy and super breathable insulation is typically heavier, more expensive, and less warm.

Over the course of an average backpacking season, the typical down jacket will spend about 99% of its time either in your backpack, or worn at camp. Since it&#;s basically never worn while actually hiking, stretch and breathability are hardly beneficial at all.

What&#;s more, the nylon fabrics commonly used in down jackets are rather slippery, which means they will move with you, thus mitigating some of the need for stretch. Hyper breathable synthetic insulation layers forfeit some of their warmth-to-weight to allow warm moist air to escape. That&#;s great when you&#;re on the go, but like we said, down jackets are mostly not worn on the go in nearly all backpacking scenarios.

Why we prefer a hooded lightweight down jacket

Given our druthers, we will always choose a lightweight down jacket with a hood over one without. This is because we prefer to camp with ultralight hoodless quilts, rather than traditional sleeping bags, and our down jacket hood adds redundancy to the system when additional head insulation is required. 

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