Shopping for winter hiking jackets is a minefield. And I say this as someone who actually feels like they have a reasonable amount of knowledge and a good idea as to what they like and don’t like.
But there are so many things to consider. For a start, you could spend as little as £40 or as much as £500 (more if you really wanted to). What’s the difference at those price points?
You need to consider style, how easily it packs away, how water resistant it is, whether to go hooded or not, how many pockets you might want and the list goes on.
But actually, I think one of the single most important decisions you make when buying a winter hiking jacket is whether to go for synthetic insulation or natural down.
So, let’s have a look at both and which might work for you depending on how you plan to use the jacket.
Synthetic Insulation vs Down – What Are the Differences?
Let’s first take a look at the key differences between the two.
| Natural Down | Synthetic Insulation | |
| What is it? | Feathers. They’re essentially the softer, smaller and fluffier feathers found underneath the tough exterior feathers of ducks and gees | Man made insulation material usually made primarily from polyester |
| How warm is it? | Very. Its “warmth for weight” value is higher than synthetic insulation | Warm for sure. But not as warm (for weight) as down |
| How water resistant is it? | Not very. Once wet, it doesn’t work as well to keep you warm and it takes forever to dry | Still continues to work when wet and dries more quickly |
| Main advantage | Warmth for weight is unrivalled and doesn’t rely on man made materials which can be bad for the environments | Performs in wet conditions and dries quickly |
| Main disadvantage | Does not perform in wet conditions | Not as warm as down and relies on synthetic materials which can be harmful for the environment |
So, in short, both synthetic and natural down have their pros and cons for use in winter hiking jackets.
Synthetic vs Down – Cost
Generally, synthetic insulation is cheaper than natural down. This can be a perk!
What Happens if Your Winter Jacket Gets Wet?
Most synthetically insutated winter hiking jackets are filled with insulation material that has been treated to give it some water resistance.
This means it ultimately does not stop working when wet.
On the flip side, natural down clumps when it is wet and this renders it ineffective at keeping you warm.
Furthermore, natural down takes much longer to dry.
Washing and caring for natural down jackets, therefore, can be much more complicated.
So Which is Best for Winter Hiking in the UK?
Winter hiking in the UK can be incredibly cold, of course (hi, mountains of Scotland). But it can, more than that, be very wet a lot of the time.
Given that down is totally useless when wet, I generally always opt for synthetic insulation for my winter hiking jackets.
Of course, I perhaps give a little there in terms of synthetic jackets not usually packing down as small (given warmth for weight is better with down).
But personally, I just wouldn’t want to risk down getting wet while I’m on a mountain and then essentially being completely useless to me!
But I do think there’s a degree of personal preference in this too!
Many Brands Offer BOTH Synthetic and Down Jackets
Rab offer a synthetic Alpine Cirrus jacket in both men’s and women’s and that’s what I’ve just picked up for this winter (I won’t report back or review until I’ve actually tried it for a few weeks though):
