By Michael Lanza
While sleeping bags have temperature ratings, with down jackets and other insulated jackets, there exists no easy way to determine how warm any specific garment will be without wearing it outside. But despite the absence of a precise metric for gauging the warmth of down and synthetic puffy jackets, there are ways to assess a specific jacket’s relative warmth before you even see it, using simple metrics. This article will explain how to do that.
Even though down and synthetic-insulation jackets don’t have ratings like sleeping bags (which, by the way, were not uniform for many years, though there is now a uniform bag-rating system; learn more in my “Pro Tips For Buying Sleeping Bags“), you can judge warmth using numbers easily available online. Over more than 25 years of testing and reviewing dozens of insulated jackets (and other gear and apparel), including the 10 years I spent as the lead gear reviewer for Backpacker magazine and even longer running this blog, I have found those indicators very reliable in helping me anticipate how warm at down jacket will be before I ever wear it.
The down fill weight is one way to tell, though it’s not strictly a measure of a jacket’s warmth—it’s only a measure of the total weight (in ounces or grams) of the down in the jacket. How much insulation is in the garment is obviously an important factor in warmth, but not the only one, because down comes in a range of quality ratings. And of course, various types of synthetic insulation have different weights and warmth-per-weight ratios.
The down fill rating (not to be confused with the down fill weight) is basically a quality metric, not an indicator of warmth. The fill rating refers to the volume, in cubic inches, that one ounce of that down fills; in other words, an ounce of 800-fill down will occupy 800 cubic inches of volume. Down feathers and other insulation keep you warm through trapping heat from your body in tiny air pockets within the insulation, so higher fill ratings mean more trapped air, which translates to more warmth per ounce of down.
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See “The 12 Best Down Jackets.”
Thus, if two jackets contain identical amounts of down feathers by weight, the jacket with the higher fill rating will very likely be warmer. But there are ultralight 800-fill jackets that obviously aren’t as warm as 700-fill jackets that have more ounces of down in them. You will usually pay more for higher fill ratings.
Consider the weather conditions in which you’ll use your puffy jacket. Standard down feathers lose their ability to trap heat once wet, making down insulation less practical in wet environments. Today, there are water-resistant (hydrophobic) treatments for down feathers that greatly improve the ability of those feathers to repel water, dry faster, and continue to trap heat when damp.
Nonetheless, a wet synthetic jacket is still probably going to keep you warmer than a wet puffy stuffed with hydrophobic down feathers.
In the real world, most of us rarely put ourselves in circumstances where our puffy jacket gets soaked; but consider that attribute of down and synthetic puffy jackets if you think there’s a possibility of facing that circumstance—or even a possibility of your puffy jacket getting damp and not having much opportunity to dry out. On a multi-day trip with rain or wet conditions every day, moisture from the air and your body can slowly accumulate in insulation, enough to cause down feathers to lose some loft and compromise the jacket’s warmth.
Similarly, while synthetic insulation traditionally was not as lightweight, compactible, and durable as down, some modern synthetic insulation materials, like one of the better ones, PrimaLoft, have a warmth-to-weight ratio that competes with down, and are more packable and lightweight.
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They’re also constructed in a way that’s likely to make them more durable than older synthetics, although down mostly retains the edge there: I owned one down sleeping bag (from Western Mountaineering) for about 25 years, using it on innumerable trips, and it did not noticeably lose any loft before I eventually sold it through a consignment shop (simply because I had replaced it with newer bags). I wouldn’t be surprised if someone’s still using that bag.
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Having a hood certainly keeps you warmer and is worth the nominal additional weight and cost. I consider a hood mandatory in cold temperatures (near and below freezing), but less important on milder trips, when I may pack a hoodless, ultralight puffy jacket to reduce pack weight and because I’m almost always bringing a light hat, anyway.
The way in which a jacket is sewn matters. In short, so-called “sewn through” construction stitches the outer, shell fabric to the inner, liner fabric, creating pockets of down, but also creating cold spots at seams where there’s effectively no insulation. This method reduces a jacket’s weight and often its cost, and is practical in ultralight jackets made for cool but not cold temps (think: summer in the mountains).
The more-expensive method of creating so-called box baffles eliminates those cold spots and makes a jacket look puffier, but adds weight and usually cost. Look for that type of construction in puffy jackets designed for temps near and below freezing.
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With down jackets, I generally simplify it to the following standard, which applies to my body (I don’t get cold easily) and will apply differently to other people, depending on how easily they get cold:
• For summer trips, when I’m trying to backpack ultralight and I expect temps no lower than the upper 30s or higher, I bring a down/puffy jacket weighing 8 to 10 or 11 oz. (total weight), and I supplement with my other layers or get in my bag when necessary.
• For trips when the temp could dip below freezing, I want a jacket that’s 12 to about 16 oz.
• For colder trips/winter, my jacket weighs 16 to around 20 or 22 oz.
I find occasional exceptions to those general weight guidelines, when a jacket is remarkably warm for its weight, usually because of the use of lighter materials, such as shell fabric, and construction methods that reduce weight.
See my review of “The 10 Best Down Jackets” and all of my reviews of puffy jackets at The Big Outside. And don’t miss my picks for “The Best Backpacking Gear” of the year.
You might also be interested in my review of “The Best Gloves for Winter,” which includes three-season gloves, and my “12 Pro Tips For Staying Warm Outdoors in Winter,” which offer products and tips that are also applicable to three-season backcountry trips.
I just bought a down jacket from Eddie Bauer with 650 fill power, but only 2.89 weight. Is that going to be warm enough for Zion in March? With layering of course. Thank you.
Hi Melanie,
Do you mean the jacket is almost 3 lbs.? That would be rather heavy and probably quite warm but I can’t really answer your question without knowing more about the jacket.
Hi — I have a ten year old down jacket that did me great on the Colorado Trail and a bunch of trips since, and I’m considering whether to replace it for a CDT hike this summer. It’s heavily worn, but I haven’t seen a lot of down escape, and it doesn’t have any holes. Any ideas on testing its warmth or getting a sense of how it would compare to a new model? It’s an Eddie Bauer First Ascent FWIW.
Hi Michael,
Based on your description of its condition, I’m not sure why it would have lost much of its warmth. I would just consider whether you want a jacket that weighs less while still being warm enough and compare its weight, down-fill rating, and features to a new jacket.
Thank you for writing this article. This has been an incredibly helpful as I do my research for buying a new winter jacket/parka. Didn’t realize there was so much and it has helped me steer away from some jackets. Thank you!
You’re welcome and good luck, Dani.
I purchased a Mammut down jacket with 110 grams of 900 fill rating down. Is it ok to wear in temperatures ranging below 0 degrees centigrade.
I also found that RAB Positron to contain 300 g of 800 fill rating down fill. Its is better but adds 300 grams more weight.
Could you tell me in what cases I could not use the Mammut jacket. Would it be warm?
Hi Ram,
Thanks for the question. I’m taking a guess here, but did you buy the Mammut Meron IN Hooded Down Jacket, by chance?
As I explained in this blog post, there’s no hard measure of warmth, and some people get cold easily while others don’t. But based on that Mammut jacket’s weight and its highest-quality down feathers, I would expect most people to find it warm enough for temperatures just above freezing, and some would be fine in it in temps just below freezing, and the hood certainly helps.
The Rab Positron has about three times as much down weight as that Mammut jacket, so it’s certainly going to be substantially warmer, intended for wintry temperatures well below freezing, and too warm for typical three-season camping. At that weight and with considerably more bulk, even though it’s also made with high-quality down, I would only consider packing it into the backcountry for extreme cold, well below freezing.
I hope that helps. Good luck.
Because of so many variables, I have to say that like so many other things in backpacking, experience will tell you more than anything. This post is about 3 years old so you have probably figured it out by now. Some variables, besides individual bodies, are what you wear for a base layer and if your shell layer fits easily over the down.
For example, when I hike this winter (say 32 deg. F) I might start with a nice base layer, a fleece sweater and only add my down to that when I stop. (“My-Trail” hoodie, 15.4 ounces, 800 fill power down). If things get colder than I like, I can add my shell layer (Patagonia NO-2) that fits over my insulation layers.
Hi Jim,
Just to clarify, I first posted this story several years ago and have updated it numerous times since. Yes, your basic observations about layering are correct. Thanks.
Mike,
You so totally rock. I searched this question after a lengthy conversation with a retailer about how to tell which down jackets are warmer, short of buying a bunch and subsequently returning them (which is how I’ve generally had to do it in the past). Low and behold, your article popped up immediately, and I couldn’t have been happier when I saw your photo in the sidebar. I’ve been trying to compare down jackets online and was feeling a little frustrated until I found this; you answered all the questions I had. I knew your advice would be the best. Now that I’ve found your blog, I’ll be checking it often. Hope you and the family are doing well!!
Cheers,
Pam Omohundro
Hey Pam, thanks and it made me smile to see your name pop up on a comment. I’m glad you found my blog. It was fun skiing with Luke and the boys again last winter. Hope your whole gang is doing well. Keep in touch! Comment on a story or drop me an email anytime I can answer a question for you.
How can I, if possible, estimate the comfort zone of a down sleeping quilt that’s been modified with more down?
I bought a 850 FP grey goose down quilt to replace my down sleeping bag. This quilt is rated for 5°C. I then took a small goose down comforter and had the fill removed and placed in the quilt. I haven’t yet slept using the quilt outside as the temps here are still in the upper 30s to 40s.
Is there a way to estimate its warmth value now that more down was added?
Hi Jeffery,
That’s a good question. The temperature rating of sleeping bags and quilts is set using a standardized method; see my “Pro Tips For Buying Sleeping Bags” (https://thebigoutside.com/pro-tips-how-to-choose-a-sleeping-bag/) for more explanation about that. Estimating a temperature rating without using that method would be like estimating the width of a doorway without using a measuring tape; you’re likely to be off by a bit.
But the quilt’s warmth will depend on how much down you added to it, of course. You’d measure the weight of the down added and compare it against the amount of down the quilt had prior to modifying it (which is often available in manufacturer descriptions of a product online). You could also have measured the quilt’s total weight prior to and after modifying it, and subtract the weight of the quilt’s fabric from those numbers (calculate the fabric’s weight by subtracting the weight of the down in the original quilt from the quilt’s original total weight). Did you increase the amount of down by a fairly small fraction, or by as much as 50 percent, or by some other value? That would begin to give you an idea of how much warmth you added.
A quilt’s warmth is also affected by its design, and the fact that it doesn’t seal up as completely as a sleeping bag. There’s a limit to its ability to trap body heat.
My advice: If you had not used the quilt before modifying it, don’t make any assumptions about how warm it’ll be now; just experiment with it in temps around its original rating or slightly lower than its original rating. Have some warm clothes to wear to supplement the quilt when you start experimenting in temperatures that may test the limits of the quilt. How warmly you naturally sleep is another variable that can’t really be calculated.
I hope that’s helpful. Good luck.