How to Keep a Down Jacket White

When you're sifting through winter gear, one jacket that's an essential is the down puffer.down jacket white This versatile jacket can serve as a warm midlayer under a hardshell or be worn on its own in milder conditions. It's also lightweight, making it the ideal choice for backpacking and hiking. The key to choosing the right down jacket is understanding a few important details. For example, the fill power and fill weight are two key factors that affect warmth and durability. Additionally, how the down is distributed—sewn through or in box baffles—plays a role as well. The jackets in this guide offer a range of these features, from ultralight designs to heavyweight parkas.

Feathered Friends doesn't make splashy marketing campaigns, but this independent down specialist does command a lot of respect in the alpine community (check out their flagship store in Seattle across from REI).down jacket white Their jackets are incredibly lightweight—even the hoodies—and feature some of the highest-fill-power down on the market. They also use recycled shells, which add durability and reduce their environmental impact.

The best down jackets have a high fill power rating, which measures how many tiny clusters of down are in each square inch.down jacket white The higher the number, the more dense and therefore warmer the down is. This also helps the down retain its warmth when wet, which is important for cold-weather hiking and backpacking. As a rule of thumb, the best down products have a fill power above 800.

While down is the primary insulation material in these jackets, some of them also feature feathers to augment warmth and durability.down jacket white Feathers are softer than down and have a stronger stitching pattern, but they're not as breathable or as compressible. If you're concerned about the environmental impact of using feathers, check out a jacket with synthetic down instead.

The Norma Kamali "sleeping bag jacket" made the puffer into a fashionable wardrobe item in the 1970s, and it stayed popular as an outdoor winter fashion staple throughout the 1980s and 1990s.down jacket white Today, designers are experimenting with new shapes and colors to keep the puffer looking fresh.

A few years ago, Mountain Hardwear debuted its Stretchdown line—a series of down jackets featuring soft and stretchy shell fabrics with welded seams and a comfortable fit. The company's goal was to combine the warmth and flexibility of a down jacket with the mobility and durability of a softshell. The Stretchdown jackets succeed in this regard.

To see how a jacket performs, reach out to the seller and ask about its fill power and fill weight, as well as the down to feather ratio. If you're unable to contact the seller, touch the jacket to see how it feels: A good down jacket should feel soft and fluffy to the touch. A prickly jacket indicates poor quality down or feathers.