8 Best Down Vests In 2023

How To Choose The Best Down Vest – Buying Guide

If comfort and warmth are your main goals when buying, down-filled vests should be your choice. Compared to the alternatives, down vests are significantly lighter and much easier to pack. Perhaps their biggest upside is the versatility – they work as midlayers when layering for skiing, they keep your core cozy and warm on cold-weather hikes, and you can wear them casually on those slightly colder days. Finding the perfect vest is easy, as long as you know a thing or two about fill ratings, fill weight, features, and materials used. Take a look.

Down Fill Rating

When talking about down-filled clothing (including vests), one term keeps popping up – fill rating (power), which basically shows the quality. In order to explain it, we need to say a few things about down itself. Down is a natural undercoat found in birds (located underneath the outer harder feathers), with a function of keeping the bird warm. Goose and duck down are the most popular choices for clothing insulation because their down performs great in retaining warmth.

But how does down work? These very fine feathers have the ability to trap air in the air pockets between them, and these tiny air pockets work like insulation and retain warmth. Depending on its quality, down is more or less efficient in doing this. In order to measure this, we got fill power ratings.

The number you see when looking at a product represents the number of cubic inches one ounce of down can fill (in a plexiglass cylinder, under a small amount of weight). A higher rating means that the down is loftier (able to trap more air), and a better insulator compared to down with a lower rating.

The fill power for the products we reviewed ranges from 550 to 700, and over 850 for some of the best down vests (when talking strictly about warmth). Higher-rated down is more efficient in keeping you warm, making these vests lighter and less bulky. On the other hand, vests with a high rating also cost significantly more, and many people choose to go with moderate fill power and a bit higher weight.

Down Weight (Fill Amount)

One thing that is often overlooked is the fill amount, or the total weight of the down used in a vest. We already determined that 800-fill down is better than 500-fill down. However, a 500-fill vest can sometimes be warmer than an 800-fill vest, and this is where the weight comes in.

For example, 10oz of 500-fill down is going to be warmer than 5oz of 800-fill down, on the account that there’s more of it (compensating for the difference in quality). If the weight is the same, 800-fill would undoubtedly be warmer. However, most people don’t care about the total weight that much, but do mind the price tag.

Vests with a larger amount of down are not only heavier but also bulkier and more difficult to pack. Unless you are a hiking enthusiast who aims only for ultra lightweight down vests to keep in their hiking backpack, a few ounces shouldn’t be too big of a concern for you. We only wanted to show that the fill power is not the only deciding factor for warmth and that you shouldn’t shy away from lower fill vests if they are well made.

Type of Down

Depending on the manufacturer and the particular vest, different types of down are used. First of all, it can be sourced from ducks or geese. Goose down is generally better in quality and has a higher fill power. It comes in larger clusters that are more efficient in trapping air.

However, goose down is also pretty expensive, so many manufacturers choose the alternative. Most vests you’ll come across are filled with duck down. While still pretty efficient, it’s not as expensive to make as goose down, so these insulated vests are affordable for a larger number of people.

One more thing worth mentioning is the method of acquiring the down (whether it is ethically sourced or not). More and more products come with an RDS-certified tag on them, which stands for Responsible Down Standard. This means that the birds were not live-plucked or mistreated in any way.

All down goes through some sort of a cleaning process before vests are filled. However, some manufacturers additionally treat the down to improve some of its properties. For example, treated hydrophobic down has improved water-resistance. Regular down loses all of its properties when wet, but treated down resists water better and dries faster. Furthermore, treated hypoallergenic down reduces the chance of an allergic reaction (even though down itself isn’t an allergen, as we’ll explain later).

Finally, we also want to mention the down to feather ratio. Many manufacturers use a combination of down and feathers for filling their vests because using only down is simply too expensive. However, this leads to a loss of quality, since feathers are not nearly as effective in retaining warmth. This is why you need to look at this ratio when selecting a vest – obviously, the best winter vests have a higher percentage of down and a lower percentage of feathers. Unfortunately, higher down percentage usually means a higher price too.

Shell Material

While the down filling is very important, you shouldn’t overlook the materials used in making the shell. To cut down on weight as much as possible, many manufacturers use thin and lightweight materials. While this sounds great in theory, you can easily tear the vest if you brush against a branch or something sharp.

So, unless you’re very weight conscious or you’re going to wear the vest under a hardshell jacket, we advise you get a vest with a higher Denier rating. Materials most commonly used are polyester and nylon. Both are good choices (if a stronger material is used), and will give the vest the strength it needs for everyday use.

On top of this, many products in our down vest reviews come with additional DWR (Durable Water Repellent) coating, that makes the vest more resistant to water. This protective layer makes water droplets form into beads when they come in contact with the surface, and instead of soaking into the fabric they just roll off. To further improve this, some models even have reinforcements in the shoulder area.

All this being said, there are still significant differences between water-resistant and waterproof, and a truly waterproof down jacket doesn’t exist. So, if you get caught in a shower wearing only the vest, you can count on it getting soaked and losing all of its insulating properties.

Fit and Size

A great thing about vests is that it’s very easy to find a good fit, especially when compared to down jackets. Since there are no sleeves, you don’t have to worry about how the arms are going to fit, and you can concentrate only on the fit around your torso.

However, you still need to pay some attention when looking for the right fit. One of the things you need to consider is how you’re going to use the vest. If you plan to use it as a midlayer, you can go with a slimmer fit since you’re probably only going to wear a baselayer under it. On the other hand, if you’re going to use it for hiking or camping, it needs to have a looser fit so you can wear a shirt and other layers under it.

Unfortunately, vest sizes differ from one brand to another. Because of this, you need to be careful when choosing, and not go straight for the size you usually buy. Many products tend to run larger or smaller, and this can be a problem once your package arrives.

The best solution is if the manufacturer provides a sizing chart so you can compare the measurements. Another good idea is to go through user reviews and see what others had to say about how the vest fits them. Both warmth and a great fit contribute to overall comfort while wearing the vest, so pay attention to this when buying.

Design Features

Now that we have the main things covered, let’s talk a bit about the design. All down-filled vests and jackets come with baffles, which are separate shelves or pockets of space that keep the down in place and prevent it from moving around. All vests we featured have horizontal baffles, so the down inside the vest is spread equally top-to-bottom and there are no cold spots.

Baffles come in different shapes and sizes, and we’re not going to go into unnecessary details here. The main thing you need to know is that they are usually wider on jackets with higher fill weight (to accommodate all the down), and narrower on jackets with a higher fill power and lower fill weight.

Another thing you should check before buying a vest is the hem design. To make the vest most effective in retaining your body heat, you need a way to tighten the hem so that the heat doesn’t escape. Unfortunately, many vests come with an open hem that you can’t tighten. While this reduces weight, it compromises the vest’s performance. Better models either have an elastic hem that sits tight against your body or comes with a cinch cord so you can tighten it if you want to.

Since vests don’t come with sleeves, you will be losing a certain amount of heat through the armholes. However, having elastic armholes can really help with this and create a tighter fit. Of course, you still have totally free arm movement, which is one of the things that makes vests so attractive in the first place.

All of the models we featured come with a raised collar, which gives you additional protection and keeps your neck warm and cozy. Some vests also come with a neat zipper garage, which allows you to zip the vest all the way up without the zipper chafing your chin.

Of course, a great vest couldn’t go without well-placed pockets. Most models come with two outer handwarmer pockets, but the design is different from one model to the other. It’s a plus if they close with a zipper that will keep the content safe and dry, and even better if there is a flap on top to keep dirt and water out.

In addition to these, some models come with an outer chest pocket, which is convenient for some smaller and less bulky items such as cards or money. However, a vest with an internal pocket is your best bet for keeping your valuables safe, especially if it comes with a zipper.

A feature that we really like is that the mentioned internal pocket can double as a stuff sack to pack the vest. This is possible on The North Face and Marmot vests we featured on our list. Even though most down vests can be packed very compact, it’s very convenient if their own pocket can double as a bag so it takes less space in your ski backpack. As we mentioned earlier, vests with a higher fill rating weigh less and pack smaller, so keep this in mind if you need to save space when packing.

Warmth

How warm your vest is going to depend on a combination of things we talked about so far. Two of the most important factors are certainly the fill power and down weight. Down with higher fill power is more efficient at trapping air and is a better insulator, and it makes perfect sense that more down equals more warmth (but also more bulk and weight).

The type of down also plays a role here (duck or goose), as well as the percentage of feathers a filling has (more feathers equals less warmth). Still, when it comes to warmth of your hiking vest, down is far superior to other and synthetic insulation systems. On the other hand, it falls behind in terms of breathability and keeping you dry. Don’t forget that you can also feel too warm in a vest. If you live in a moderate climate, a 900-fill vest can be too much – you will spend a large amount of money on it and won’t be comfortable wearing it.

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Durability

When buying a new piece of clothing of any kind, durability ranks very high. With this in mind, you need to be particularly careful when buying down vests, and other down clothing in general. In order to maximally reduce the weight, manufacturers use ultra-lightweight materials to make the shell. While this is certainly great for packing and saving space, it may be a problem if you expect your vest to withstand some wear and tear.

Unless you are highly conscious about the weight of your gear, don’t shy away from buying a vest that is a few ounces heavier – it may go a long way in terms of longevity. As we mentioned in the materials section, top-rated down vests have shells with a higher denier rating, which this means that the fabric is stronger and won’t get teared easily. However, if you accidentally tear your vest, make sure to learn a thing or two about down clothing repair – it may be much cheaper than buying a new one.

FAQs

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Down vests are above all competition when it comes to warmth, coziness, and comfort. They are more convenient to wear than a full jacket, especially as an underlayer or when you need unrestricted arm movement. As you had the chance to see, there are different things that make a good vest, mainly the type of down used, shell material, and additional features.

We hope that you’ve found the information helpful and that we’ve made your choice a bit easier. Take some time to read all the numbers and info included in the specs, because this will show you what you can expect from the best hiking vests in the long run. As we mentioned earlier, you don’t always have to get the most expensive or warmest vest – it’s best to find a piece best suited for your activity. If you follow this advice, we’re sure you’ll get the best lightweight down vest and you’re going to love every step of the way.

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