Best Ultralight Puffy Jacket 2024 Packable & Lightweight
Last Updated: January 8, 2024
By Jaeger Shaw
Packable, high warmth-to-weight ratio synthetic insulated puffy jackets for backpacking
Hikers and backpackers shopping for an ultralight puffy jacket are in luck! This round-up of synthetic insulation is the lightest on the internet, averaging just 10.2 oz per garment, and conservatively 30% less than competing buyer’s guides. In general, synthetic puffy jackets are heavier and bulkier than their down-insulated equivalents, which is why focusing on the packable lightweight and ultralight end of the spectrum is extra important. Choose the wrong jacket and it will eat up all of the space in your backpack.
Our selection is grounded in warmth-to-weight ratio, and confirmed by a mixture of statistical comparison, meta analysis, and backcountry testing. Among synthetic insulators, we define an ultralight puffy jacket as weighing less then 10 ounces, whereas a lightweight puffy jacket weighs 10-12 ounces. Our preferred models have 40-60gsm of insulation, and 10-20d shell fabric. And every single one is warm, lightweight, weather-resistant, breathable, compressible, packable, quick-drying, and warm-when-wet.
Don’t miss our guide to lightweight down jackets, which have an even higher warmth-to-weight ratio, but are slightly more expensive. For truly frigid conditions, we recommend a lightweight down parka and down pants.
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Packable Puffy Jacket Quick Picks
Ultralight Puffy Jackets (8-10 oz)
- Ultralight: Enlightened Equipment Torrid Pullover (Editor’s Choice)
- Ultralight: Outdoor Vitals Vario
- Ultralight: Montbell UL Thermawrap
Lightweight Puffy Jackets (10-12 oz)
- Lightweight: Patagonia Micro Puff (Editor’s Choice)
- Lightweight: Outdoor Research SuperStrand LT
- Lightweight: Rab Xenair Alpine Light
- Lightweight: Patagonia DAS Light
Lightweight & Ultralight Puffy Jacket Comparison Table
| Price ($) | Weight (oz) | Insulation (gsm) | Shell | |
| EE Torrid Pullover | 200 | 8.7 | 67 | 10d |
| Outdoor Vitals Vario | 210 | 9.0 | 40 | 20d |
| Montbell UL Thermawrap | 219 | 9.3 | 40 | 12d |
| Rab Xenair Alpine Light | 225 | 10.3 | 60 | 20d |
| Patagonia Micro Puff | 329 | 10.5 | 65 | 10d |
| OR SuperStrand LT | 235 | 10.9 | 60 | 12d |
| Patagonia Das Light | 349 | 11.3 | 65 | 10d |
Best Lightweight Puffy Jacket
Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody
10.5 oz | $329
The Patagonia Micro Puff is likely the most popular and award-winning lightweight puffy jacket on our list. It’s warm, comfy, sustainably manufactured, good looking, and generally great all-around. The insulation is discontinuously baffled to reduce cold spots. It features two hand pockets (one of which doubles as a stuff sack), and two interior drop-in pockets.
- 65 gsm PlumaFill 100% recycled polyester insulation
- 10d Pertex Quantum NetPlus, made from 100% recycled fishing nets
Compared to other puffy jackets in this guide, it has above average warmth, average weight, average wind-resistance, average breathability, average durability, and above average price.
Outdoor Research SuperStrand LT Hooded Jacket
10.9 oz | $235
We’ve been wearing the Outdoor Research SuperStrand LT Hoody to great success. It’s lightweight, warm, and breathable thanks to 60gsm of Vertical SuperStrand insulation, set into a non-continuous quilting pattern for cold-spot reduction. OR claims this insulation is as lofty as 700-800 fill power down, which we have no way of verifying, but sounds about right for a top tier synthetic batting.
- 60 gsm VerticalX SuperStrand, 100% polyester insulation
- 12d rip stop nylon shell
Compared to other puffy jackets in this guide, it has average warmth, average weight, average wind-resistance, average breathability, average durability, and below average price.
Rab Xenair Alpine Light Jacket
10.3 oz | $225
We’ve been featuring more and more Rab in our buyer’s guides lately, and the Xenair Alpine Light is another banger from the Brits. What makes this lightweight puffy jacket special is the hybrid-mapped insulation for stop and go itineraries. You’ll find warm-yet-breathable PrimaLoft Gold Active+ 60gsm in the front, back, top of sleeves, and collar, with a more breathable 40gsm built into the sides, underarms, spine, and top of hood. It has one interior chest pocket, which doubles as stuff sack, and two hand pockets.
- 60/40 gsm PrimaLoft Gold Insulation Active+ (55% recycled)
- 20d Pertex Quantum Air Nylon shell
Compared to other puffy jackets in this guide, it has below average warmth, average weight, average wind-resistance, above average breathability, above average durability, and below average price.
Patagonia DAS Light Hoody
11.3 oz | $349
Another great option from Patagonia is the DAS Light Hoody, which is like a more climbing-centric version of the Micro Puff. While both are constructed with 100% recycled, 65 gsm PlumaFill and 10d ripstop nylon, Das Light has an over-the-helmet hood, double separating front zip, zippered chest pocket, and harness-compatible zip hand pockets (left pocket doubles as stuff sack). In every sense, it’s meant to perform as a light-duty belay jacket. We also note the no-stitch baffling, which eliminates cold spots and gives this a slight edge in terms of warmth vs Micro Puff, even if its less aesthetically pleasing.
- 65 gsm PlumaFill 100% recycled polyester insulation
- 10d Pertex Quantum Pro ripstop nylon
Compared to other puffy jackets in this guide, it has above average warmth, above average weight, average wind-resistance, average breathability, average durability, and above average price.
Best Ultralight Puffy Jacket
Enlightened Equipment Torrid Pullover
8.7 oz | $200
Ah the Enlightened Equipment Torrid Pullover. This is our favorite ultralight puffy jacket, because it simply has the best warmth-to-weight ratio, even surpassing all but the best of the best down apparel. What’s more, it’s available in a pullover chassis with kangaroo pocket, the most optimal configuration. The pass-through marsupial pocket eliminates some zipper bulk/weight, creates an effective hand warming space, and double insulates the core. The CLIMASHIELD apex, at 67 gsm, is also one of the loftiest synthetic insulations we’ve tested, performs marvelously when wet, and has no sewn through baffles, which eliminates cold spots. An adjustable shock cord waist and hood cinch allow you to seal out the wind.
- 67 gsm CLIMASHIELD APEX insulation
- 10d ripstop nylon
Compared to other puffy jackets in this guide, it has above average warmth, below average weight, average wind-resistance, below average breathability, average durability, and below average price.
Outdoor Vitals Vario Jacket
9.0 oz | $210
We really like the Toray 3DeFX used to insulate the Outdoor Vitals Vario Jacket. This synthetic insulation utilizes coiled fibers to loft the garment, allowing for stretch and rebound without degradation. What’s more, it’s made with 50% recycled materials! The 20d shell fabric is soft to the touch, lightly stretchy, and durable. This ultralight puffy jacket is very comfy on the move thanks to ventilated under-arm gussets. It has two hand pockets, a hem cinch, and no other features, which is keeps the weight an ultralight nine ounces in the men’s medium. The only downside is that it’s built with 40gsm insulation, instead of 60 gsm like most other jackets in our guide. As such, this is more of a summer-weight puffy jacket.
- 40 gsm Toray 3DeFX Insulation
- 10d ripstop nylon
Compared to other puffy jackets in this guide, it has below average warmth, below average weight, average wind-resistance, above average breathability, above average durability, and below average price.
Montbell U.L. Thermawrap
9.3 oz | $219
The Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Parka is another great ultralight puffy jacket weighing less than 10 oz. What’s more, it also has great stretch and rebound for ease of movement and long-lasting loft durability. This is also one of the only ultralight puffy jackets with a zippered chest pocket in addition to two zippered hand pockets.
- 40 gsm EXCELOFT Insulation
- 12d/15d Ballistic Airlight nylon ripstop
Compared to other puffy jackets in this guide, it has below average warmth, below average weight, average wind-resistance, above average breathability, average durability, and below average price.
Ultralight Puffy Jacket Comparison Using Insulation GSM
Virtually every brand claims that their formulation of synthetic lofted insulation is the warmest, most breathable, most stretchy, most durable, quickest drying, etc. So how do you separate the truth from hyperbole? Honestly, without an industry-wide lab test or standardized metric like R-Value for sleeping pads, it’s impossible.
As such, we operate on the assumption that all of these brands are using high performance materials, and that no one insulation is any more than marginally superior to the others. Thus, aside from backcountry testing which is subjective, all we have to quantifiably determine relative warmth is the weight of the insulation used, measured by gsm (grams per square meter). This is imperfect because it does not measure for volume, nor does it even attempt to address thermal insulation performance. But assuming that each insulation is otherwise approximately equal, then it gives the only objective way to numerically compare warmth, and thus is our north star for warmth-to-weight ratio.
Our analysis presumes that an ultralight puffy jacket built with 60 gsm insulation is 50% warmer than if the same jacket were to utilize 40 gsm. We approximate that a 60gsm jacket is considered three season weight, and that a jacket built with 40 gsm is more of a summer weight. All of this analysis assumes a 10-20d nylon shell.
Lightweight Puffy Jacket Conclusion
We hope this guide has matched you with your next favorite lightweight or ultralight puffy jacket for hiking, backpacking, and travel. We’re absolutely confident that this assortment is lighter weight, and has a higher warmth-to-weight ratio, than any other puffy jacket buyer’s guide on the internet. We purposefully excluded a number of popular, well-reviewed midweight jackets, simply because they’re not good enough from an ultralight perspective. Trust us, weight-savings are more important than bells and whistles.
Thanks for reading our guide, and happy hiking to you and yours! Please drop us a line in the comments if you have any questions.
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