3 Best Down Sweaters for the Fall
The chill is in the air. In the mountains, you could feel it at the end of August. This made us start to think about our favourite pieces of clothing for the coming cold season, and down sweaters are high on the list. Light, packable, and extremely warm for weight ratio, it’s one item of clothing that’s hard to go without in the colder months.
A down sweater is a great investment. They are very warm for their weight, pack very small and if cared for properly will serve you well many years, in the mountains and in the city, too. These jackets are quite expensive, so you want to be careful when you make your selection. Pick a jacket you like with the proper fit and the colour that you’ll like to wear season after season. Be choosy. To help, we’d like to share a list of the best jackets out there.
Here is a list of our favourites.
Patagonia Down Sweater
Why we like it
This jacket is made from 800 fill down and is very packable. The jacket is made from 100% recycled ripstop nylon and has a water repellant finish. It is down, however, so you want to avoid getting caught in the rain with this jacket. It is very windproof. It weighs in at 12.2 ounces, or 345 grams. The jacket comes in a hooded version and one with no hood. The version with no hood packs smaller, but in very cold weather, and especially windy and snowy weather, a hood is a very nice thing to have.
We like Patagonia also for social/ethical reasons: they use recycled materials and use ethical down – all the down in their garments is traceable to the factory.
Retail Price
The suggested retail price is around $200, but if you watch and wait, most retailers will discount these jackets in discontinued colours by about 50% a couple of times a year. They come in a huge swath of colours which changes on a constant basis. New colours are added and older ones retired constantly.
The North Face Thermoball
Why we like it
We did say top three down sweaters – however this one performs like a down jacket and you get extra benefits in damp or wet environments. We know that down does not perform well when wet, so the Thermoball technology tries to overcome this with synthetic fill in looks and acts like down clusters, that makes the jacket warm and lightweight. It compresses like down so you can pack the jacket with you anywhere.
The North Face hooded insulated jacket is made of synthetic fill, which means it can withstand moisture better than down, and will not loose it’s loft when wet. The jacket has a great active cut and fit, and is made with nylon ripstop for great abrasion resistance.
Also very light at only 12.7 ounces – this is under half a kilogram at 360 grams.
The Thermoball is a synthetic fill jacket that performs like 600 fill down. Read our article to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of down and synthetic fill.
Retail Price
The retail price on this jacket is around $199 with no hood and $219.95 with a hood. This jacket often goes on sale, so you can usually get a good deal on it, especially if you are not too picky about colour. This jacket is sometimes available for under $100. This jacket is a great value.
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer
Why we like it
The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer is made of very high loft, 800 fill and is very resistant to moisture due to it’s treatment with Q-Shield. This allows it to resist moisture and retain it’s critical loft, even when wet. We love the low profile quilt pattern which holds the down in place, and the buttery soft jersey cuffs which keep the cold out. It’s very light, for example the jacket with no hood weighs in at 7 ounces – that’s 200 grams!
The jacket packs down to the size of your fist easily, so you can take it with you everywhere. In fact, it’s one of the recommended items to have in your backpack in case of emergency. This jacket packs down the smallest in the jackets on this list. It’s actually one of the most packable down jackets out there. It’s also windproof.
Retail Price
Because of it’s light weight, great loft, and packability, the jacket is more expensive than many others. The retail price on this jacket is around $319.95 – 349.95. It’s occasionally on sale, and if you’re not picky about colour you can usually get a good deal (around 40% off) to make it under $200. A very good buy if you can get this jacket on sale.
The jacket comes in men’s and women’s cuts, in a variety of colours, and is available with or without a hood. The women’s version also comes as a parka, which is useful for the city in the winter.
Where to buy
These jackets are popular brands and available at most specialty retailers. To get the best price and to check for sale items use our outdoor gear price checker.
- How to experience the world while isolated at home - April 21, 2020
- How to prevent and treat hypothermia - February 21, 2019
- How to layer with your down jacket - November 28, 2018