Patrik Orcutt 02.03.23
I was walking around downtown Bozeman in various outdoor-gear shops when I stumbled into Schnee’s Boots, Shoes. If you are ever in Bozeman I highly recommend visiting this establishment as it has many high-quality outdoor brands. After feasting my eyes on all of the Mystery Ranch backpacks I walked past a small kiosk of Multicam jackets. I pulled one off the racks and was immediately impressed with the feel of this garment. I looked at the label to see who produced it and was stumped when I had never heard of this particular brand before. Duckworth was the name on that label and they are a true-blue Montana brand that was founded on a local ski hill in between runs down the mountain. Their mission was to create versatile Merino Wool products made exclusively in the USA with Montana-grown wool. They would use only the best wool from company co-founders and fourth-generation sheep farmers like the Helle family in Dillon, Montana. Duckworth feels its obligation to produce a superior performing product with stewardship, sustainability, and American-made craftsmanship at the front of its mind. So, today we will be reviewing a Duckworth WoolCloud Jacket to see how it performs in our travels.
Duckworth sent me out one of their Woolcloud Jackets back in November and I had a few good cold months in New England and Iceland to put it to the test. In full disclosure, I will be returning this jacket to Duckworth at the conclusion of my review. No money was exchanged for this review.
Specs – Duckworth Woolcloud Jacket
- Weight: 14 Ounces
- MSRP: $339
- Country of Origin: Made 100% in America
- Color Options: Black, Green, Coyote Brown, Multicam
Construction and Materials – Duckworth Woolcloud Jacket
The exterior of the Woolcloud is constructed of a 100% Nylon ripstop that is both light and DWR treated. In light showers, you can expect water and moisture to bead up on the exterior of this jacket. The nylon is incredibly soft and does not constrict movement at all making this a good layer for skiing in the backcountry. The interior nylon is also soft while not having the ripstop to improve comfort and breathability.
Before I continue this review I must disclose that I have tested two versions of this jacket. The initial review copy I was sent had some issues where there was some tearing on the interior of the jacket around the armpit area. I felt that this was not at all in line with the quality of the rest of the jacket and reached out to Duckworth to see if I could get a replacement copy to continue my review. While Duckworth is still a small company in the outdoor world, I really appreciated their timeliness in getting me another Woolcloud in a matter of days. I bring this up for two reasons. First, Duckworth recognized an issue with their product and instead of pointing a finger at me, they did the grown-up thing and fixed it as soon as they could. Second, This shows how much they care about making a quality product that when something does fail, they will fix it.
Moving forward, the insolation of this jacket is certainly the main draw for a few good reasons. Typical goose-down insolation offers an incredible amount of warmth for its weight but comes with a few caveats. It loses its insolation properties over time and when its wet not to mention some people think the harvesting of the feathers is not ethical. So if you don’t like traditional down you can go with a synthetic alternative right? While synthetic down is usually cheaper than down, it’s heavier and offers less insolation when compared to mother nature’s insolation.
In steps wool, the undisputed king of outdoor fabrics in my opinion. Wool fiber is the original wicking fiber, and wool fabrics can absorb up to 30% of their weight without feeling heavy or damp. To put that into perspective, cotton fabrics begin to feel damp after 15%. The fibers ‘breathe’ by absorbing moisture away from the body and releasing it into the air. Wool is also incredibly light. The Woolclloud weighs 14 oz in total in the size small I tested.
As stated before, Duckworth grows all of their wool in Montana on a sustainable family farm and that’s exactly what you can find in the Woolcloud Jacket. While Duckworth claims that since their wool is grown in Montana where temperatures range from -40 to over 90 degrees Fahrenheit annually this requires their sheep to grow a natural fleece for adapting to all the variable weather elements that arrive across all four seasons. While some wool is harvested in Australia and New Zealand, these locations lace the variety in climate resulting in wool that lacks the same unique thermoregulating properties that Duckworth has.
Features – Duckworth Woolcloud Jacket
Overall, the Woolcloud is “light” on features but that helps keep the weight down. There are two front-hand pockets that are much warmer than I anticipated considering they are non-insolated. When I first picked up this jacket I thought that was a huge miss by Duckworth for not insolating these pockets but in practice, they are much warmer than you would think. While that is not toasty warm they block the wind but with that being said id like to see them add insolation here in a future update.
The interior features two large mesh pockets for holding gloves or maps. This jacket is hooded and thanks god they added insolation to this part of the jacket. Speaking of the hood, it has nice elastics around the exterior face to keep everything tight and so do the cuffs of the arms. Zippers are all ZKK and function flawlessly but I did have the hand pocket zippers get snagged on the fabric of the jacket a few times but nothing I couldn’t fix without a Leatherman.
Performance – Duckworth Woolcloud Jacket
On a very cold and windy day, I conducted a test between three of my favorite jackets to see which one was the warmest. The contenders included the Woolclound, the Arc’tyrex Atom LT, and the Patagonia Nano Puff jackets. After standing outside in the wind with just a t-shirt and jeans in sub-30 degree Fahrenheit weather I can definitely say the Woolcloud was the warmest. The wool does an incredible job keeping you warm while not overheating the user if your walking or hiking. I also took this jacket to Iceland for a week in December of last year and was impressed with how well it stood up to the wind in multiple locations.
Competitive Options – Duckworth Woolcloud Jacket
Likes
- Super lightweight at 14oz
- Made in America and supports Montana Farmers
- Incredibly warm
Dislikes
- The sizing is off, runs one size larger than what you normally wear
- No zipper Pulls
- Pockets should be Insolated more
Wrap-Up – Duckworth Woolcloud Jacket
Overall, I think this is an incredibly well-made jacket with a few quirks I’d like to see fixed in a gen 2 version. It’s incredibly comfortable and warm while not sweating you to death if your hiking with it on. I will be sad when I have to return to jacket back to Duckworth because they have crafted a truly special and unique product in the American outdoor industry.
