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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
- The Best Puffer Jacket Overall: The North Face 1996 Nuptse Packable Down Jacket, $330
- The Best Budget Puffer Jacket: Uniqlo 3D Seamless Down Parka, $160
- The Best Eco-Friendly Puffer Jacket: Patagonia Reversible Silent Down Jacket, $329
- The Best Designer Puffer Jacket: Moncler Diya Down Bomber Jacket, $1675
- The Best Not-So-Puffy Puffer Jacket: Arc'teryx Veilance Node Down Jacket, $1400
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
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
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, 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
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
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
RRL
Barrett Nylon/Sherpa Jacket
Mountain Hardwear
Ghost Whisperer UL Jacket
Buck Mason
Buck Mason Coyote Cascade down expedition jacket
Thisisneverthat
Pertex Recycled Down Jacket
The Very Warm
Realtree EDGE Hooded Puffer
Prada
Re-Nylon Down Jacket
and wander
Diamond Stitch Packable Down Jacket
Patagonia
Diamond-Quilted Bomber Hoody
Ostrya
Sapwood Down Jacket
