Finest Winter Jackets of 2023-2024

Our team has spent many seasons sifting through the winter jacket market in search of the best and warmest styles. After extensive trial and error in frigid Rocky Mountain and Midwestern climates, we’ve selected our choices for the best men’s winter jackets of 2023-2024.

From style-forward thigh-length coats to purely practical expedition-weight parkas, there are many kinds of winter jackets. Each design has its own features and purpose. With this list, we’ve organized our selections into distinct categories to help you make an efficient and informed decision.

Check out our pick for the best budget winter jacket, if you’re looking to prioritize affordability and value. Or scroll to our most stylish selection if looking good is most important.

The winter jacket market is stuffed with innovative designs, cutting-edge insulation, and high-tech materials. To help you decide which men’s winter jacket is best for you, make sure to read our buyer’s guide and frequently asked questions for helpful tips. Also, have a look at our comparison chart to help steer your decision-making.

Editor’s note: Our team updated this Buyer’s Guide on November 17, 2023 with the addition of the newest member of Mountain Hardwear’s Stretchdown collection, the Popover Hoody.

The Best Winter Jackets of 2023-2024

Winter Jackets Comparison Chart

How We Tested the Best Winter Jackets

Many of the folks behind GearJunkie’s testing team dwell in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, and the frozen midwestern plains of Minnesota. We live, work, and play in regions known for seriously cold winters, and we put each of these winter jackets to the test in many of the same conditions that you might face. From sub-zero temps with bitter winds to full-on white-out blizzards, to those damp, bone-chilling days that hover right around the freezing point, our teams have tested the best winter jackets in the worst types of weather.

During our systematic testing process, we paid careful attention to overall warmth and insulation quality, fit and comfort, weather protection, functionality, and style. From daily commutes in Minneapolis to mountaineering in the Tetons, to hiking and plowing snow in Lake Tahoe, we’ve put dozens of men’s cold-weather jackets through the wringer.

The most recent contributor to this Buyer’s Guide is year-round Lake Tahoe resident Nick Bruckbauer. Nick grew up in the great state of Wisconsin, where it’s not uncommon to see cars driving on frozen lakes in the winter, nor is it out of the question to get a freak blizzard in May. After living in Santa Barbara, Calif., for over 10 years, he decided he’d had enough sunshine and paradise, and moved to Lake Tahoe in late 2020, just in time to experience Tahoe’s snowiest season on record in 2022-2023.

Nick spends his winters skiing, shoveling and plowing snow, walking the dog, and sitting by the fire, and spends his summers swimming, paddling, running, hiking, and splitting wood to prepare for winter. His favorite winter jacket is the Patagonia Stormshadow Parka, thanks to its puffy down insulation, waterproof GORE-TEX shell, and reasonably light weight.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Best Men’s Winter Jacket

The term “winter jacket” is very broad and should really be divided into a few key subcategories depending on your climate and intended use. In this Buyer’s Guide, we focused primarily on winter jackets ideal for everyday use in cold to moderately cold climates. We also included a few lighter-weight pieces that are more specific for active uses or milder climates.

Types of Winter Jackets

Everyday Use

Winter jackets made for everyday use are ideal for casual daily wear in cold climates, and can be used for low-intensity activities like commuting to work or school, running errands around town, walking the dog, or going out to dinner. Typically, these jackets have plenty of insulation and are made from heavier materials that prioritize warmth, protection, and features. Because of this, they are more likely to restrict dynamic movement and are less likely to breathe well, making them poor choices for high-output activities like running or hiking.

Everyday winter jackets often include plenty of comfort-oriented features like cozy wrist cuffs, draft collars around the neck, fleece-lined hand pockets, and adjustable hems and hoods. They also typically have plenty of pockets to carry your wallet, keys, phone, or other necessities. These features inevitably add a little bit to the jacket’s weight, but for casual everyday use, the benefits of the added comfort and convenience definitely outweigh any minor additional weight.

One of our favorite winter jackets for everyday use is the Mountain Hardwear Nevadan Down Parka. This versatile down puffy is warm, surprisingly lightweight (1 pound, 14.7 ounces), much more stylish than most puffy jackets, and comes at a reasonable price. It also has a very impressive feature list, boasting a two-way front zipper with dual storm flaps, hood and hem adjustments, and eight total pockets that include zippered chest pockets, internal stash pockets, unique external “bevvy” pockets that hold bottles or cans, and the most comfortable fleece-lined hand pockets that we tested.

Of course, most of the other winter jackets we tested are also ideal for everyday use. Our top-ranked winter jacket — the Patagonia Stormshadow Down Parka — is very warm and puffy with plenty of 700-fill down insulation and boasts a waterproof GORE-TEX shell. It also has a clean and classic style that makes it great for daily wear around town, and is light enough that it could be used for more technical uses like cold-weather camping or hiking. The North Face McMurdo Down Parka is very warm and has a classy urban style, making it another nice pick for everyday wear.

For a simpler and lighter-weight option that we really like for daily use when it’s not quite as cold, the Rab Cubit Stretch Down Hooded Jacket has a unique 3DWeave pre-woven baffle design that not only looks cool but also helps optimize down loft and thermal efficiency. Weighing only 18.7 ounces, it has a Pertex Quantum shell material that also does a great job at blocking the wind on those damp, bone-chilling days in the low to mid-30s, and is versatile enough for daily wear or more active use. The Mountain Hardwear Popover Down Hoody has a similar woven baffle construction with a more casual popover hoody design, but our testers prefer the more streamlined fit of the Rab to the boxier fit of the Mountain Hardwear.

Performance Use

While everyday winter jackets prioritize warmth, protection, and convenient features, performance-oriented winter jackets will often balance warmth and protection with a lighter weight design and more specific technical features aimed at active uses like running, hiking, or cross-country skiing.

These jackets will often have loftier down and lighter shell materials in order to save weight and make them more compressible for stuffing into a duffel bag or backpack, and will usually have a more fitted style that allows more body movement with less restriction.

Most everyday winter jackets and parkas use 600- to 700-fill-power down insulation and burly 75- to 150-denier shell materials, while performance-oriented winter jackets will often use loftier 800- to 1000-fill-power down or high-tech synthetic insulation, and will have thinner 7- to 30-denier shell materials.

Performance jackets often have fewer pockets, but will include features like dual zippers to accommodate wearing a climbing harness, and either a fitted hood to wear under a climbing helmet, or an oversized helmet-compatible hood.

Performance use jackets typically have very breathable materials designed to dump extra heat and dry quickly, so you don’t have to remove the jacket during vigorous activity. Many will have synthetic insulation that breathes a little better than down and will retain its insulating properties even when wet from external moisture or perspiration. These jackets will usually have a water-resistant finish but will not be fully waterproof, so most people will also bring along a thin, non-insulated waterproof shell jacket.

The Arc’teryx Atom Heavyweight Hoody weighs just 16.6 ounces with its lightweight and breathable 30-denier nylon shell and Coreloft synthetic insulation, making it ideal fast paced activities like cross-country skiing or hiking.

We also like the Rab Cubit Stretchdown Hooded Jacket (18.7 ounces) and the Outdoor Research Coldfront Down Hoodie (20.6 ounces) as versatile choices that blur the line between daily wear and technical use. Both of these jackets are warm enough for daily use in milder winter weather (down to about 20 degrees fahrenheit), but also have simple, lightweight designs that also make them suitable for more active use.

And while they are both insulated with 700-fill down, they both have features to help protect against moisture. The Cubit Stretch has its down protected by a Nikwax hydrophobic finish, and the Coldfront has VerticalX ECO synthetic insulation in body areas that are more prone to moisture.

Shell Jackets

Shell jackets are designed to protect you from harsh weather conditions. Like wearable shields that defend against wind and rain, hard shells are meant to be your outermost layer. Skiers, climbers, and mountaineers hard shells for their windproof and waterproof protection, and will usually wear a shell as part of a multilayer system that may include a base layer, an insulated mid layer, and a waterproof out shell. Depending on where you live, a burly hard shell may be the most sensible winter jacket option.

Many of the winter jackets that we tested include a waterproof outer layer, making an additional shell jacket unnecessary. The Patagonia Stormshadow Down Parka and the Arc’teryx Therme SV Parka both use down insulation shielded by a waterproof/breathable GORE-TEX. This combination provides the best blend of warmth and protection that is ideal for everyday use in cold climates, but is not as versatile as a multilayer system for changing weather conditions.

Other winter jackets like the REI Stormhenge Down Parka, the Patagonia Tres 3-in-1 Parka, and The North Face McMurdo Down Parka have proprietary waterproof shell materials made by their respective companies. While these materials provide waterproof and breathable protection, the performance of these materials isn’t as well-documented as that of GORE-TEX. For general daily use in normal winter conditions, we had no issues with the waterproof performance of these jackets.

Some models, like the Patagonia Tres 3-in1 Parka, include a removable inner insulated jacket and an outer waterproof shell jacket. Depending on the conditions, each respective jacket can be worn independently, or the inner jacket can be zipped and snapped into the outer jacket for the ultimate warmth and protection.

Warmth and Insulation

When considering a new winter jacket, overall warmth is obviously one of the most important factors to consider. All of the jackets that we tested contain either down or synthetic insulation, or both. It’s hard to definitely compare overall jacket warmth and comfort since these features are so user-dependent and can be influenced by the wearer’s gender, body type, and activity level, and whether they typically run hotter or colder.

Having said that, three jackets that we tested stand out for their exceptional warmth: the Patagonia Stormshadow Parka, the Arc’teryx Therme SV Parka, and The North Face McMurdo Down Parka. Each of these jackets has a large amount of down insulation protected by a waterproof shell material, provided the ultimate combination of warmth and weather protection. Both the Stormshadow and Therme SV are pretty pricey, so if you’re looking for luxurious warmth without breaking the bank, the McMurdo is a great option.

Down Insulation

Made of goose or duck plumage, down is the warmest, lightest, and most compressible type of insulation on the planet. Almost all of the winter jackets that we tested for this Buyer’s Guide are insulated with down. When considering the warmth-to-weight balance, down continues to be better insulation than any human-made alternative. However, due to a few key drawbacks, down does require careful ownership and handling.

Down insulation works by trapping warm air in the small spaces between the down feathers. However, down insulation does not repel water, and it loses its fluffy loft — and thus loses most of its insulation properties — when it gets wet.

To combat this, many down jackets treat the down with a hydrophobic coating, or add a waterproof or water-repellant outer shell fabric. Some models also will strategically replace the down with synthetic insulation in specific areas of the body — like the shoulders or arms —that are prone to moisture from your body.

Synthetic Insulation

Synthetic insulation is designed to replicate the lightweight insulation down and retain its performance when wet. The quality of synthetic insulation is constantly improving, but it still generally lags behind down in its overall warmth-to-weight ratio. Synthetic insulation is typically not as compressible as down, and can lose its loft or fluffiness over time. For those on a budget, synthetic insulated jackets are usually more affordable than down.

The main benefit of synthetic insulation is that it’s far more resistant to moisture than down. Even when synthetic insulation does become wet, it still provides a reasonable percentage of its ultimate warmth. Synthetic insulation also dries quickly, especially when exposed to wind and sun. This makes synthetic insulation popular for performance-oriented winter jackets where an active user will likely be producing a lot of heat and potential moisture from sweat. The Arc’teryx Atom Heavyweight Hoody is insulated with synthetic Coreloft insulation and is a great choice for active pursuits.

If you know you’ll be wearing your winter jacket in soggy environments such as the Pacific Northwest, consider purchasing a synthetic-filled jacket instead of down.

Fill Power and Fill Weight

The overall warmth of a down jacket is generally a function of the fill power and the fill weight of the down insulation that is used. Fill power represents a volume to weight ratio (expressed in cubic inches per ounce), and fill weight represents weight (in ounces). By multiplying the fill power by the fill weight, you can get an overall volume of insulation.

Keep in mind that other factors like jacket materials, fit, and baffle shape, size, and construction can also impact the overall warmth of a jacket.

Fill Power

Fill power is a technical specification that generally refers to the quality or loftiness of down insulation. This is determined by a standardized lab test that calculates the volume (in cubic inches) taken up by one ounce of down. A higher fill power number means that the down has greater loft (meaning it’s fluffier or puffier), which means that it will have better thermal efficiency and provide a better warmth-to-weight ratio.

Keep in mind that a higher fill power does not automatically mean that a jacket will be warmer. It just means that it uses loftier down insulation that will be able to provide better thermal efficiency and warmth at a lighter weight.

Most down jackets — including all of the winter jackets that we tested for this Buyer’s Guide — will have a fill power rating somewhere between 600 and 900. Casual-wear down jackets generally have a fill power rating between 600 and 750, while high-end performance jackets will have a fill power rating of 750 to 900 or higher.

Of the winter jackets that we tested for this Buyer’s Guide, the REI Co-op Stormhenge has the highest fill power rating at 850, and The North Face McMurdo has the lowest fill power rating at 600. However, the McMurdo is warmer overall than the Stormhenge, but weighs almost a pound and a half more. The McMurdo weighs 3 pounds, 8.8 ounces, compared to the Stormhenge at 2 pounds, 3.2 ounces.

Some ultralight down jackets today use insulation with a fill power rating of 1000. Keep in mind that this value only represents a warmth-to-weight ratio and not the overall warmth of a jacket. Jackets with a fill power rating between 900 and 1000 will typically weigh 10 ounces or less and are intended for fast and light technical pursuits. These down jackets will not be nearly as warm as any of the winter jackets in this Buyer’s Guide, but will be much lighter and more packable.

Fill Weight

As its name suggests, fill weight refers to the total weight of the down insulation inside a jacket. While fill power is often marketed more prominently than fill weight, both are equally important to the performance of a jacket.

All other factors being equal like jacket materials, fit, and baffle construction, a jacket with 5 ounces of 700-fill-power down (total volume of 5 x 700 = 3,500 cubic inches) will likely be warmer than a jacket with 3 ounces of 900-fill-power down (total volume of 3 x 900 = 2,700 cubic inches), but it will weigh more and be less compressible.

The higher the fill power (quality or loftiness), the less fill weight is needed to create the same relative warmth. This is because the higher-loft down takes up more volume per ounce and is able to trap more air and warmth than a lower fill-power down.

A jacket with 4 ounces of 900-fill-power down (total volume of 4 x 900 = 3,600 cubic inches) and a jacket with 6 ounces of 600-fill-power down (total volume of 6 x 600 = 3,600 cubic inches) should have about the same warmth, but the 900-fill-power down jacket will be lighter, more compressible, and likely more expensive.

Down jackets are typically available with anywhere between 4 ounces and 20 ounces of fill weight. Comparing fill weight is most useful when all jackets in question have a similar fill power rating.

Weather Protection

While warmth is typically the top consideration when looking for a winter jacket, protection from the elements is also vital. Cozy down or synthetic insulation will help keep you warm, but a wind or waterproof outer shell, a sufficient length, and a protective hood will help seal out cold wind, rain, and snow.

For wet conditions such as rain and sleet, prioritize a jacket with a waterproof shell. Waterproof jackets come with taped seams and heavy-duty exterior material. Jackets in this category are also great for wind protection. The Arc’teryx Therme SV stands out here for its waterproof GORE-TEX shell, its adjustable insulated hood, and its extended length that almost reaches the knees.

If you plan to wear your jacket in freezing conditions where it’s more likely to snow than rain, or you’ll be in a dry cold, a fully waterproof shell may not be necessary. Many highly insulated jackets, while not completely waterproof, come with a quality DWR treatment that sheds light moisture.

Features

Useful features can be the difference between a good jacket and a great jacket. Comfortable hoods, handwarmer pockets, and cuff closures are some of the winter jacket features we consider to be the most valuable. When combined, these design details add significant warmth, versatility, and protection from cold conditions

Hood

Winter jacket hoods come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. During stormy weather, a protective hood is mandatory. Well-designed hoods offer ample customization and adjustability. Additional hood features such as a fur lining and a stiff brim are also worth seeking out.

One of our favorites is actually the simple and cozy hood design of the Rab Cubit Stretch Down. This jacket has a fitted hood with no adjustment cords or straps except for an elastic brim around the wearer’s face. While this hood won’t fit over a climbing or ski helmet, we appreciate the simplicity and comfort of the snug fit.

On the other end of the spectrum, most of the winter jackets we tested have well-insulated hoods with two front and one rear adjustment cords. This allows the user to dial in a more customized fit, and often allows the hood to be worn over a ski or climbing helmet.

We’d also like to note that the Patagonia Tres 3-in-1 has a non-insulated hood since it is part of the outer shell jacket, and the Eddie Bauer Superior Down Parka is the only model we tested for this Buyer’s Guide that includes a removable faux fur ruff.

Two-Way Zippers

Two-way zippers allow you to open the front of your jacket from both the bottom and the top. In extra-long and thigh-length jackets, two-way zippers are essential for enabling leg mobility while sitting or stepping into a vehicle. On more technical jackets, a two-way zipper makes it easier to where a climbing harness while wearing the jacket.

Most of the jackets we tested have a two-way zipper. The Arc’teryx Therme SV is the longest parka that we tested, and we’re thankful that it has a functional two-way zipper.

Pockets

All of the jackets we tested have a varying assortment of pocket designs, ranging from handwarmer pockets to external gear pockets to chest pockets to internal zippered or stash pockets. More fully featured parkas like the Mountain Hardwear Nevadan or the Eddie Bauer Superior Down Parka typically have the most varied and useful pockets, but this also adds to the weight of the jacket. Lighter weight jackets like the Outdoor Research Coldfront or the Rab Cubit Stretch Down might be limited to handwarmer pockets and maybe an accessory pocket or two.

Hand pockets probably have the biggest impact on comfort and convenience, but not all hand pockets are created equal. Some — like the Mountain Hardwear Nevadan and the Outdoor Research Coldfront — have cozy fleece-lined hand pockets that are at just the right angle to rest your arms. But others — like the Eddie Bauer Superior Down — have oversize pockets that are at an awkward angle and aren’t as comfortable.

Cuff Closures

Cuff closures allow you to create a seal around your wrist that prevents wind and snow from entering through your sleeves, and typically include a Velcro strap or snap attachment point. Jackets can also include interior wrist gaiters for extra warmth and soft, cozy protection. Wrist gaiters can be difficult to wear with a wristwatch or bracelet but definitely help the overall comfort.

The Eddie Bauer Superior Down Parka has some of the coziest wrist cuffs. Theirs is a soft internal gaiter that feels like a cozy sweater, and an adjustable Velcro strap on the outer cuff.

Other models have more simple cuff designs, like an elastic band that helps keep a snug fit around the wrist. This design is usually sufficient for lighter weight jackets, but isn’t as versatile as an elastic cuff.

Frequently Asked Questions