Instead of a shell for warmer days and heavier jacket for colder, you can use just one - and in many cases, skip layers. Niche performance outerwear company NuDown skipped such materials altogether and went straight to air: they offer a line of jackets and vests with built-in inflatable bladders that let you adjust the level of insulation whenever you need to, customizing the garment’s warmth over what the company claims is a flexible 40° range. What makes down, Primaloft and wool all so good for keeping you warm? They all trap air, which is the best insulator of all. Extras include an interior zippered chest pocket, an interior mesh pouch pocket, and zippered hand warmer pockets. The Wool Aire Matrix Hoody is likely the best for active cold-weather pursuits, a ski jacket style with stretchy woven wool fleece side panels for unencumbered freedom of movement during sports, a hood, and light but durable ripstop polyester (recycled) shell that has been treated for water repellency. All are insulated with 23 micron, U.S.-sourced, 100% wool fibers they’ve updated to be even softer, warmer and loftier. The company has three women’s jackets in their Wool Aire line, offering breathable, durable, lightweight warmth in an array of stylish, insulated outerwear. I have written here before about the many benefits of merino wool, my favorite active wear material, and have long owned and used many different Ibex products. Unlike down, it maintains most of its warmth even when wet. Wool has many benefits: it’s sustainable, quick drying, compressible, easy to care for and is a warm insulator. While it’s more typically found woven in layering pieces and sweaters, specialty merino wool companies like Ibex, Smartwool and Icebreaker use it in threads as insulation for winter jackets as well. ($300)Ī natural down alternative is wool. For additional protection from wet weather, it also has an abrasion resistant, waterproof, breathable shoulder overlay and helmet compatible hood, as well as waist drawstrings, zippered hand warmer pockets and zippered inside chest pocket. The SYNC Stretch Puffy’s unique shell material is also breathable and coated with an anti-microbial water repellent treatment. It uses lots of PrimaLoft Gold for a high level of thermal capacity that also maintains warmth when wet. Their Stretch Puffy jacket (shown above) is meant for on-mountain activity as well as in-town warmth and excels at both. SYNC fixes that with a proprietary stretchy knit fabric, Motion 360, for freedom of movement. While heavier “puffy” jackets keep you very warm, they typically are not great for active sports like skiing because of their restrictive fit.
SYNC is a small, high-performance company based in Vail, Colorado with roots in the ski racing industry. One way to shop for down alternatives is to simply look for the PrimaLoft tag, ideally Gold, but here are some notable specific suggestions and other alternatives to down.
PrimaLoft is now used by more than 500 brands worldwide, including active outdoor gear giants Patagonia, Helly Hansen and The North Face, among others.
MOUNTAIN DUCK ALTERNATIVE SERIES
PrimaLoft insulation is divided into three categories, black, silver and gold, with the Gold Series being the highest performing. The first commercially available PrimaLoft-insulated garment was an L.L. Army as a water-resistant, synthetic alternative to down. It was originally developed in the 1980s for the U.S. Most ski and outdoor active jackets use PrimaLoft, probably the best known proprietary synthetic insulating material. The most widely used materials are Thinsulate, FullRange, PolarTec Alpha and PrimaLoft. Most high tech synthetic insulation uses polyester strands with each brand varying size and shape.
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