Wantdo Packable Down Hoody Review

The Wantdo Packable Down Hoody costs less than half as much as the second most affordable down jacket we tested. This alone makes it worth considering. It's not particularly warm, weather resistant, or breathable, but it is light and packable enough to throw in a suitcase, daypack, or even carry on a summer backpacking trip.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

The Wantdo Hoody is warm enough for mild winter days or as a supplemental just-in-case layer. It is stuffed with 90% duck down, has a hood, and hand warmer pockets.

The 20D nylon material with average baffles does a decent job of sealing in your body heat. However, the baffles aren't big enough or stuffed with as much down as the warmest down jackets. This jacket will keep you warm on its own in chilly conditions but not extreme cold.

It has a hood to seal in the heat around your head. The hood has an elasticized strip around the face opening, which helps to keep it in place. But it doesn't have any other hood adjustment features. If you're wearing this hood and a cold wind blows in your face, it could blow off.

It's thin enough that you can easily layer a hardshell jacket on top. It fits on the more snug side, but it isn't too tight to fit over a baselayer or thinner fleece mid-layer.

It isn't particularly long and stops just below the waist. It doesn't have a waist cinch cord to prevent heat loss from out the bottom of the coat, either. It fits tight enough that this isn't a huge issue, but we'd hesitate to rely on this coat in cold and windy conditions.

Comfort

The Wantdo Hoody is relatively comfortable but doesn't stand out in this category either. It has a slim fit that feels good with a thin layer underneath but is tighter than we'd want for layering over a thick sweater.

The lining material is relatively soft and feels comfortable against your bare skin. It has that slippery feel you'd expect from an inexpensive ripstop jacket, but it isn't the slipperiest fabric we've felt. When you sweat in this jacket, it gets pretty clammy, which isn't very comfortable, however.

This coat is very light, and we like how it doesn't seem to hang heavy on our shoulders. Warmer coats can sometimes feel like too much to wear all day. The Wantdo, on the other hand, is easy to forget you're wearing it at all.

The hood fits loose enough to wear over a beanie or other hats. It doesn't have any adjustment, which would make it easier to wear without impeding our vision when you try to look off to either side.

Some of our testers found the neck on this jacket to be a little too tight. If you're wearing it with only a T-shirt underneath, it's not so tight that it's uncomfortable. But if you're wearing this with a layer that also has neck protection, such as a hooded fleece, it's not very comfortable.

Portability

There isn't much you could do to make this jacket lighter without using even thinner material or even less down insulation. It has no adjustment points on the hood, waist, or anywhere else.

There is nothing extra on this model, and if weight is a top priority, that's what you want. But, we do worry about the durability.

It has some of the smallest zippers we've seen on the handwarmer pockets. These zippers are so small that they snag easily and often on the lightweight shell material. This hasn't caused a rip during several months of testing. But it's probably only a matter of time before one of these zippers snags the lightweight shell material and the material rips, the zipper breaks, or both.

Weather Resistance

The Wantdo Hoody is one of the least weather-resistant jackets we tested. The shell material has a slight amount of water resistance but not nearly as much as some other models.

Most down jackets aren't intended to be rain jackets, but this model is less wear-resistant than average. During our spray and rub waterproof test, the shell material wet out within 15 seconds. The baffle seams quickly soaked through to the inside of the jacket as well. We wouldn't want to rely on this in even the lightest rain or in wet snow.

Breathability

The Wantdo Hoody performs below average in breathability. It's not very warm, which helps it to be a bit more breathable. But as you start to sweat, this jacket quickly feels clammier inside than most.

It has small baffles with stitches that go through to the inside of the jacket, so you'd think all those holes would help this jacket breathe. However, they don't seem to help enough to make this jacket comfortable during high-output or even medium-output activities.

It has no ventilation features other than the front zipper and pushing up the sleeves. The sleeves are wide enough with a stretch cuff, so pushing them up isn't an issue. The front zipper is big enough to easily unzip as well.

Should You Buy the Wantdo Packable Down Hoody?

The Wantdo Hoody is the most affordable down jacket we've tested. It's not exactly a high-performance technical layer, but we didn't expect it would be, considering the price. It's very lightweight and packable, so this would be a good choice for a backpacking kit on a budget, an emergency winter layer in mild climates, or for anyone else who wants an inexpensive puffy jack to throw in a backpack or bring traveling.

What Other Down Jackets Should You Consider?

If you're looking for a lightweight and packable down jacket that performs better across the board and you can afford to invest more in a high-quality jacket, check out the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer. If you're looking for something that's still a good deal but has more warmth and features, check out the casual REI Co-op 650 Down or even the excellent Rab Microlight Alpine.