All down jackets are puffy, in fact that’s exactly how down jackets provide you with warmth. Down is a material that lofts extremely well, and that space that is created by the loft is what keeps you warm. So the better the down inside the more of a puffy down jacket you will have, and the warmer you will be without adding any more weight to the jacket. The quality of the down, or the loft it provides is expressed like 700+ fill down. 900+ fill down, however, will loft a lot better, and be a lot more puffy, than 700+ fill down.
Puffy Down Jacket
What to look for when you want a puffy down jacket.- Down Quality – As alluded to above, the quality of the down is what matters it comes to how lofty, or how puffy your down jacket will be. So if you want a good, puffy down jacket that will also compress down in to a small package when you need to pack it away, you need the highest quality down you can find.
- Water Resistant – If you want your down jacket to stay puffy then you need to keep the down itself dry. Wet down clumps, and when it clumps it wont loft up and get puffy like it used to, at least not until you let it dry out. So if you want your down jacket to stay puffy, you need to keep the down inside dry, and a water resistant exterior on the jacket will help.
Best Puffy Down Jacket
Some of the best puffy down jackets for both men and women.- Mont Bell Alpine Light Down Parka (Women's) - First up, the 2011 Backpacker magazine Editor's Choice award winner. This is a fantastic technical down jacket. It has a great hood plus a few hand pockets to keep your extremities warm when things get chilly out. It uses 800 fill down, plus a durable water repellent treated shell to keep the down dry, which keeps you warm. This is a fantastic down jacket with plenty of puff to keep you warm when things get cold out.
- Patagonia Hi-Loft Down Sweater (Women's) - If you're not looking for something especially technical, then the Hi-Loft option from Patagonia makes an ideal choice. It uses 800 fill down and a durable water repellent shell, and while it has plenty of down inside to keep you warm, it's missing features like a hood that you might want for extreme weather. So a fantastic puffy down jacket for around town, or more casual outdoor pursuits.
- Canada Goose Expedition Parka (Women's) - If you really want to stay warm, there's nothing better than Canada Goose. This particular jacket, for instance, has been the jacket of choice at the McMurdo research station in Antarctica for the last 20 years or so, to give you an idea of just how warm it is. It uses good quality, 625+ fill duck down, and a whole lot of it to make it a very puffy jacket. Other features, like a few fleece lined pockets for your hands, plus a fur lined hood for your head will help ensure that you stay warm in any and all weather. When things get cold and you need a puffy down jacket to stay warm, your best choice is Canada Goose.
