Down jackets are great for keeping you warm, but unlike many other kinds of jackets, down jackets usually come without a hood. But a hooded down jacket is a great piece of gear to have. Your head is one area of the body where you lose a large amount of heat, and so a hood can keep a lot of body heat from escaping. And when you’re too hot, you can put the hood down and allow a lot of body heat to escape, which allows you to cool down.
Hooded Down Jacket
What to look for when reviewing hooded down jackets.- Water Resistant – It’s often a good idea to get a down jacket that is water resistant, so that if you get a bit of rain you don’t have to immediately go digging for a rain jacket. Down, for those that don’t know, loses most of its insulating power when wet, and you definitely don’t want the down inside your down jacket to get wet.
- Down Quality – This is an especially important one for hikers, campers and backpackers. Higher quality down, like 900+ fill down, will give you the same amount of warmth that 700+ fill down would, but for less weight. The 900+ fill down will also pack down smaller, for stuffing in to your backpack.
Best Hooded Down Jacket
Some of the very best hooded down jackets to choose from, for both men and women.Men's Hooded Down Jacket
- Patagonia Ultralight Down Hoodie Jacket - If you want something to stuff in to a backpack, this ultralight option from Patagonia is perfect. It uses high quality 800+ fill down for warmth, and a DWR, or durable water repellent finish, to protect that down from the moisture of the outside world. It's form fitting, with a low profile, and two hand pockets, plus one chest pocket, but not much else. But at just 9 ounces, or 255 grams, minimalism is definitely the point.
- Canada Goose Expedition Down Parka - If you need something to keep you warm in just about any conditions, Canada Goose is an excellent choice. Despite the name this jacket actually uses duck down, not goose down, but the difference is negligable, and this will still keep you very warm. Features like fleece lined pockets, a fur lined hood water resistant exterior and a snow skirt all help to keep you warm and dry. This jacket has been the choice of the National Science Foundation at Antarctica's McMurdo Station research facility for the past 20 years, and with good reason.
Women's Hooded Down Jacket
- Patagonia Ultralight Down Hoodie Jacket - Similar to the Patagonia jacket above with the same name, but with a woman's cut. It uses a combination of 800+ fill down and a water repellent finish to keep you warm and to keep the down dry. It has a low profile, and not much in the way of features, besides two hand pockets and one chest pocket. But that's kind of the point, because at 9 ounces, or 255 grams, it lives up to the ultralight name.
- Canada Goose Expedition Down Parka - This is a hooded down jacket for when you really, really need to stay warm. Features like a snow skirt, fleece lined pockets and a fur lined hood will all keep you very warm. It actually uses duck down, despite the company name, but you wont notice any difference in terms of quality or warmth. And a water resistant outer shell will keep all that down dry, so you never stop being warm. A high quality jacket for when you really need to stay warm.
