The Best Men's Puffer Jackets for Your Suddenly Cold, Shivering Torso

Every year, you wait until January to buy a legitimately warm winter parka. Not this time.
23 Best Men's Puffer Jackets 2023 Patagonia The North Face Moncler and More
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The best men's puffer jackets are harder to find than you'd think. Sure, in the dead of winter, puffer jackets are everywhere you look: slung on the backs of office chairs, draped on barstools, piled high on restaurant banquettes, scurrying across snow-covered streets. But consider the myriad ways to go wrong with a puffer. Too puffed up and you’ll look like you're wearing George Costanza’s infamous Gore-Tex coat. Too bare-bones and you'll be wishing you'd sprung for a jacket with more down filling. And even if you get the right fit, most drab winter jackets fail the Kondo test: They inspire literally zero joy.


The Best Puffer Jackets Shopping Guide


But the best men's puffer jackets are antidotes to the schlubby, formless sleeping bag you probably already have in your closet. They come in unique silhouettes, they're made with innovative fabrics, and they flaunt some eye-catching colors that will actually make a winter fit instead of sabotaging it. If you play your cards right, they can also be the best piece of outerwear you own, balking at cold weather well past hibernation season. But first, a little helpful information…

Down Fill, Explained

Once you've sussed out the vibe of a puffer jacket, you may have clicked into its product details only to find way too many numbers than you were prepared for. 500-fill? 650-fill equivalent? These refer to something called Down Fill Power, a numerical rating that denotes the quality of down insulation. Essentially, the higher the number, the better the insulation. High-fill powers tend to be 700 and above. But just because you have a 900-fill power jacket doesn't necessarily mean it will be the warmest. The amount of down insulation a jacket contains also matters. While a lightweight jacket might contain 900-fill down insulation, a 600-fill jacket with twice the amount of down would actually be warmer.

But not all down is created with actual down feathers. Down alternatives, like recycled polyester and natural kapok, have become increasingly popular among more earth-conscious and animal-welfare conscious consumers. While friendlier options are welcomed, it also makes the rating system more confusing. Because there are so many different materials used as down alternatives, each one has different insulating properties which don't often translate directly to a down fill power rating. Some brands will label their jackets with a ‘down fill equivalent’ to approximate the level of warmth to the more conventional system. (You can think of this like comparing wattages between LED bulbs and incandescent bulbs.)

Sometimes, you'll also get a temperature rating that will tell you how cold the jacket is rated for. That can be helpful in some ways, but you should know that these ratings are based on lab-controlled environments. In the real world, other factors come in to play, like level of physical activity and whether you run hot or cold.

Other Details to Look Out For

DWR coating: A DWR coating, or Durable Water Repellent coating, helps to keep clothing water-resistant. In the throes of winter, you could encounter rain and snow, which could instantly negate any warming properties your jacket may have had.

Waterproof Seams: Even with the best DWR coating, seams and zippers provide opportunities for water to enter. So jackets with heat-sealed seams and waterproof zippers improve a puffer's weatherproofness considerably.

Congratulations, you've just been inundated with big brain-level knowledge on puffer jackets. Whether you choose to use that information is up to you, but you can't go wrong with any of the below.


The Best Puffer Jacket Overall

The North Face

Retro Nuptse 700 Fill Jacket

When it launched in 1992, the Nuptse was the first puffer to ever use what’s called “baffle construction”—which kept the down in place and made a warm thing exponentially warmer. And while they tweaked it slightly in 1996, it’s basically been King of the Mountain (and the commute) ever since it showed up on racks. Boasting a micro-ripstop nylon outer, 700 fill and a packable hood, you could absolutely try to beat the Nuptse, but your time would be better spent on other things.

The Best Budget Puffer Jacket

Uniqlo

3D Seamless Down Parka

Winter jackets can put a big dent in your bank account if you don't know where to look. But if you're a GQ reader, you do know where to look: Uniqlo. The ‘Qlo is an old faithful for frugal fashion that actually looks pretty good, so you can reliably default to the brand whether or not you’ve got a tight budget. And if you're looking for the most bang for your small bucks, the Uniqlo 3D seamless down parka is the best affordable puffer jacket of the bunch. Thanks to its DWR coating, waterproof zippers, knit cuffs and waist, and seamless design, this parka is water-resistant and windproof enough to tackle most winter climates. The fit is generous enough to pile on some thick layers underneath and it comes in a range of colors to match any closet. At about half the price of most other worthy puffers on this list, it's a no-brainer. (And you don’t have to worry about taking it to the bar.)

The Best Eco-Conscious Puffer Jacket

Patagonia

Reversible Silent Down Fleece Jacket

Patagonia, a.k.a fashion's preeminent gorp lords, do a lot to make sure their products are as harmless to the environment as possible. Although this jacket uses real down, it gets it from reclaimed down products. Not only that, the fleece shell is made with 100% recycled polyester while the smooth, quilted shell is made with 70% recycled polyester and features a PFC-free DWR coating and four-way stretch. And the fact that you get both a fleece jacket and a puffer jacket in one garment means that it could easily take top honors in the Best Fleece Jackets category, too.

The Best Designer Puffer

Moncler

Diya Down Bomber Jacket

As noted above, you don't have to spend a fortune on a puffer coat to get a great puffer coat. Despite existing at the “Investment” end of the closet spectrum, there are options at basically every pricepoint tranche that punch above their weight and offer those wearing them essentially everything they were hoping for. With that being said, there are few wearable items as luxurious as a Fancy Puffer, and no one does a Fancy Puffer quite like Moncler, known for their glossy outers and oft-duped patch. But in the era of Quiet Luxury, this (relatively) understated bomber-ish jacket—satin-lined with beefy quilt panels—just might be the best of their bunch.

The Best Not-So-Puffy Puffer Jacket

Arc'teryx

Node Down Jacket

Don't let that slim, streamlined shell fool you. Veilance's Node coat is packed with all the cutting-edge, cold-busting technology you'd expect from Arc'teryx's highest-end division. We're talking a whole lot of trademarks, people: Down Contour™ technology! Down Composite Mapping™! Insulated StormHood™! WaterTight™ external zippers! Waterproof GORE-TEX® Pro exterior! What does all that really mean for you? It means you're getting an absurdly warm, absurdly advanced coat that won't restrict your movement or interfere with your minimalist tech ninja aesthetic.


Plus 18 More Puffer Jackets We Love

Columbia

Delta Ridge Down Hooded Jacket

Come for the lightweight, free-moving design, stay for that thermo-bonded baffling, which is both freaky looking and mad functional.

RRL

Barrett Nylon/Sherpa Jacket

Sure, the tech has gotten better since the trailblazing expeditions in the 1960s that directly inspired this jacket, but those jackets also did their job pretty well and you’re also probably not going to go on expeditions so your priorities are allowed to be a little bit different. And if they are a little different, you can get excited about the faux-fur lining, the thunder-blanket weight and a green pigment-dye that looks like it’s been on a mountain for decades.

Mountain Hardwear

Ghost Whisperer UL Jacket

One of the lightest has improbably got even lighter. Like sure, the sequential naming convention of the previous iteration would imply that this was the goal, but if you felt the Ghost Whisperer 2, it didn’t feel like there was much fat to cut—yet here we are. Oh, it’s also warmer, because of course it is. The super lightweight, super tough, DWR-coated recycled ripstop shell is now filled with 1000-fill down. And if that wasn’t enough, the hooded jacket still fits inside its own pocket, which means that it has a place in any tote bag.

Abercrombie & Fitch

Hooded Ultra Utility Puffer

The suede-y nylon fabric gives this classic puffer a bit of an unexpected workwear vibe—and in the tech’ed out world of puffers it makes for a welcome little curveball.

Rocky Mountain Featherbed

Rocky Mountain Featherbed down jacket

Cowboys get cold, too. Wear this with a solid pair of Wranglers, a flannel shirt, and a ten gallon hat.

Gramicci

Taion Edition Down Jacket

That collarless crewneck design is ideal for making your hoodie or turtleneck the star of the show.

Buck Mason

Buck Mason Coyote Cascade down expedition jacket

Straight out of the pages of a 1970s alpine magazine, Buck Mason's retro-inspired jacket is made with recycled nylon, 650-fill traceable duck down (+5 points for transparency!), and a water resistant coating, all of which amount to a winter-hardened jacket that will get you through the toughest tundra with ease. All you need now is some raw denim jeans, a cozy beanie, and some hiking boots.

Filson

Lightweight Down Jac-Shirt

Don't let the shirt-style design fool you—this thing is filled with 650-fill-power goose down which makes it lightweight and mega warm, because some people aren't down with the bloated Michelin man look.

Montbell

Ex Light Down Jacket

Montbell may be under the radar, but the gear speaks for itself. This pullover anorak is stuffed with 900-fill down for a lightweight piece of outerwear that doesn't sacrifice warmth.

Thisisneverthat

Pertex Recycled Down Jacket

South Korean label Thisisneverthat pumps out some of the coolest street-influenced goods around (and at some pretty great prices). This super puffy puffer features recycled down and rain-ready Pertex fabric to keep the elements at bay. Wear it with your double-knee pants and beefy boots or some thick corduroy trousers and Birkenstocks—trust us.

The Very Warm

Realtree EDGE Hooded Puffer

True to the name, The Very Warm's collection of insulated outerwear is toasty. That's thanks to the REPREVE down-alternative fill which is a water-resistant down-alternative insulation equivalent to 500 fill power. And with a removable hood, chill-blocking knit cuffs and plush fleece hand warmer pockets, you can bet that you'll stay cozy all winter long.

Prada

Re-Nylon Down Jacket

Back in the '80s and '90s, Miuccia Prada's pioneering designs helped turn practical, techy nylon into something worth lusting over. Now, she's pulling the same trick for recycled materials, by fashioning Prada's iconic nylon goods—like this understated puffer with a cheeky triangle pattern—from repurposed ocean plastics.

Marmot

Guides Down Winter Jacket

Handwarmer pockets, cushy down filling, and a moisture-resistant shell. What more could you need?

Nike

Windrunner PrimaLoft Storm-FIT Hooded Parka Jacket

Bring them inside temps with you everywhere you go.

and wander

Diamond Stitch Packable Down Jacket

The specs on this sound like part of the Bond franchise, but “ALLIED down” and “Pertex® Quantum nylon” are certified bangers in the world of puffer components and everything packs down to a size that seems like it was engineered for a fictitious MI:6 agent, so maybe it’s all kind of appropriate.

Goldwin

Packable Down Jacket

An absolute unit of a jacket that’s also packable, making “dressing for the weather” kind of an afterthought.
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Patagonia

Diamond-Quilted Bomber Hoody

As much of a zip-hoodie as it is a puffer, but somehow the math comes to well over 50% of each piece. It’s understood that that’s not how math works, but that’s what the scratch pad says and the proofs check out and it’s wind- and waterproof and quilted, yet very low-profile, so ¯_(ツ)_/¯.

Ostrya

Sapwood Down Jacket

Coated with DWR for weather-resistance, outfitted with exactly as many pockets as you need and equipped with a hood that can actually fit over a helmet (if that’s something you need), this two-tone, featherweight jacket also happens to work just as hard in a mid-layer role as it does on the outside.