Lightweight Warmth
Mid and heavyweight layers might be optional, but no matter where you winter, you’ll need a lightweight layer in your quiver. Whether your winters are mild or you’re hyper-active and constantly needing to shed to prevent boiling over, these super versatile layers help manage sweat and regulate temps without all the extra bulk of a bison-like heavyweight.
Best Men’s Jacket
Black Diamond
Deploy Down Hooded Jacket
This jacket features 1000 fill-power goose down insulation for an optimal warmth-to-weight ratio, making it perfect for trekking in cold conditions. The adjustability of the hood and cuffs lets you personalize the air flow getting in and out of the jacket. The internal stow pocket allows you to pack the jacket up small and throw it into your bag, so it’s there whenever you need it.
Best Women’s Jacket
Rab
Microlight Alpine Down Jacket
Rab is known as the masters of insulation, and they’re showing off that skill in spades with the super light Alpine Down Jacket. If you’re going for an alpine climb, skiing in the backcountry, or commuting across town, the Pertex Microlight face fabric is warm and durable, and the nylon lining prevents those valuable feathers from poking out and losing efficiency.
Gearhead® Top Picks
Our picks don't feel perfect for you?
Here are a few top contenders for lightweight layers.
Warm Accessories
Midweight Warmth
Once the mercury drops to a certain level, it’s tough to gauge how cold is “cold.” For those dog days of winter, we reach for these do-it-all workhorse layers. Below, we’ve stacked up our favorite technical picks, along with a few options that will let you rotate your winter look for those special, off-mountain days.
Best Men’s Jacket
Backcountry
Peale Primaloft Baffle Stretch Jacket
Warm and versatile enough layering for off-the-grid adventures and cool enough for any frosty urban outing. The Peale Stretch Jacket has a nylon and spandex blended fabric for durability and freedom of movement and is packed with Primaloft Silver Thermoplume synthetic insulation to bring you a lofty and warm jacket in a lightweight package. To top it off, it has a packable design and stuffs into its own pocket, so you can pack it in your bag and whip it out when needed.
Best Women’s Jacket
Backcountry
Waas ALLIED Down Hooded Jacket
The Waas Hooded Jacket’s lofty fill traps your core heat inside and the elastic-bound cuffs and hem drawcord block numbing gusts to help keep the cold air out. Its low profile makes it easy to fit under shells, making it the perfect layer for all adventures in the cold.
More Gearhead® Top Picks
Our picks don’t feel perfect for you?
Here are a few top contenders for midweight layers.
Warm Accessories
Best Kids’ Midweight Jacket
Best Toddlers’ Midweight Jacket
Patagonia
Reversible Tribbles Hooded Jacket
When winter weather flutters between light autumn rain and the expected chill, the kids stay cozy Pat’s ReversibleHooded Jacket. This four-in-one style is reversible and features a removable hood, providing juniors with a stylish fleece, a water-repellent shell, and the choice of keeping their noggins covered in cool or wet conditions.
Heavyweight Warmth
If you’ve ever seen a dramatic image of a bison covered in snow, thriving in sub-zero temps, you’ll know that winter doesn’t always give you a choice. So, if you’re living where winters are brutal or planning a freezing excursion, be like a bison and suit up with our favorite heavyweight layers that pack as much warmth as humanly possible into a silhouette that sometimes resembles a jacket.
Best Men’s Jacket
Rab
Mythic Ultra Jacket
Rab thoughtfully crafted this ultra-warm down insulator with 900-fill hydrophobic down insulation for unbeatable warmth at a minimal weight. Rab’s new Thermo Ionic Lining Technology—or TILT—sits between the down and the body, reflecting heat for maximum thermal efficiency. The Pertex Quantum face fabric keeps wind and weather at bay, and its amazingly packable, allowing you to fold the jacket to neatly pack into the included stuff sack.
Best Women’s Jacket
Mountain Hardwear
Phantom Alpine Down Hooded Jacket
At 800-fill the Phantom is all about high heat and low weight. The raglan sleeves ensure your range is limitless for a quick self-arrest on a slip and the adjustable hood can fit over a helmet without hindering your peripherals. With a two-way zip and a treated exterior, this puffy is built for technical ascents in cruel conditions, giving you easy access to your harness's tie-in points and shedding light snow, hail, and rain.
More Gearhead® Top Picks
Our picks don’t feel perfect for you?
Here are a few top contenders for heavyweight layers.
Warm Accessories
Best Kids’ Heavyweight Jacket
Patagonia
Down Sweater Jacket
From mid-winter resort laps to early-season climbing trips, Patagonia's Down Sweater Jacket keeps your little adventurer from shivering the stoke out of 'em. The windproof exterior and insulating fill shut out the cold, while the elastic bound cuffs and cinchable hem make sure drafts don't creep in. Built completely with recycled materials, this puffy keeps your grom cozy and our conscience clear.
Best Toddlers’ Heavyweight Jacket
The North Face
1996 Retro Nuptse Jacket
When youngsters join us on our adventures we equip them with the warm and comfortable The North Face 1996 Retro Nuptse Jacket. This jacket combines lofty down insulation with durable recycled nylon face fabric to keep young adventurers warm and covered while they learn about the world.
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