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Stay Warm this Winter with a Goose Down Puffer Jacket

Updated on January 1, 2011

Puffer Jacket, my Favorite Winter Jacket

With my puffer jacket I am ready for winter this year, and good thing to as it has hit early! I actually have several. I have a reletively cheep puffer jacket for work, a fitted Rab puffer jacket for going out on the town and a big extra warm Puffer for extreme outdoor type activities.

With my extreme and even my work puffer I have managed to stay warm in the coldest weather. Take for instance a camping trip right on the coast, literally walking distance from the beach, a week before christmas. I should have froze my toes off! We had snow that year and only crazy people camp during the winter right? Well we managed to stay toasty warm!

If you live somewhere that gets cold winters, or is starting to get cold winters you really need a good warm puffer jacket! Read on if you want to know what qualities to look for in choosing a good puffer jacket or just go on and find one in your price range! You will love your puffer if you get a good one! Just be sure to get a down filled puffer, that is the most important thing to a warm puffer.

Down Filled Winter Puffer Jackets

My down filled puffer jackets range from low end to high end. When I say low end I am simply referring to the cost/quality ratio. My low end work puffer is made from heavy materials and while it keeps me as warm as my mid range puffer it is very heavy. This would not be suitable for outdoor activities beyond work of course.

My mid range jacket is very light weight, it uses a very lightweight outer material and goose down, as opposed to duck down. The warmth to weight ratio is what makes good goose down so much better the duck down. With a good goose down filling I have a very light weight jacket that has a nice fitted shape and is great to keep me warm around town when I would rather not look like the Michelin Man.

My high end puffer is equally as light as my mid range jacket but is very very warm and when temperatures really drop. This jacket is not fitted but it does have a larger volume of down feathers and that is why it is so wonderfully warm.

If things get really cold I can actually wear my  mid range puffer under my high end puffer and I will likely over heat! As a woman the very idea of overheating in sub zero temperatures is a lovely one indeed! I have actually overheated in my work puffer at work because I was wearing a cheep pair of skiing trousers as well (I work outdoors in my day job, year round too).

What to look for in a Puffer Jacket

When looking for a puffer jacket to keep you really warm in bad weather (especially if you cannot stay warm and snug indoors) there are a few things to consider.

One big thing to consider is the outer material. With a puffer jacket you do not want the jacket to get soaking wet and will want something that is at least water resistant. No point in having a warm jacket and then getting wet and having the water leach all your bodies heat away from you! This also includes the need for breathe ability, if you start to sweat in your puffer and the moisture does not have anywhere to go it will stay on your skin, and will leach the heat away from your body. I simply will not buy most synthetic puffer jackets for this reason, synthetic materials are notorious for their lack of breathe ability.

The next thing to consider with a puffer jacket is the fill. You can get goose down or duck down, you can also get a mix of both. Lets say you want to take an expedition to the south pole, can't get much colder then that, you will want more then just goose down, you will want a lot of goose down! This is often measured in what is called a 'fill power' or something similar. My husbands down jacket has a fill power of 850 and his jacket is sold for polar expeditions (it was quite expensive) and around town he will not zip it up and will wear a t-shirt underneath. 

The last thing I consider, and I think it is quite important, is how durable will your jacket be? My first puffer was on sale and was a name brand one, it took no time at all for holes in the outer material to appear, the feathers where coming out all the time! I think that puffer lasted one winter season only and that is just no good, not even for the cheep price I paid. I still have the jacket but only so I can keep the feathers and maybe use them to sew my own puffer vest (when I actually have the time to do so!).

I ask you, would you pay £50 (or dollars) for a jacket that wont last for longer then one winter or pay £100+ for a jacket that will last years? If you are unsure let me just say that in 2 years you will have spent the same as if you had bought a good quality jacket and in 3 years you will be going into the negative, even for a basic low end work jacket. Your health and comfort are worth investing in in my opinion.

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