Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody - Women's Review

The Patagonia Down Sweater is like an old friend; always reliable, in a variety of situations. This jacket is not optimized for any specific use, making it a decent all-rounder or general-purpose insulating jacket.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

The Down Sweater is toasty warm. It's roomier than our award-winning jackets, which translates to a bit more airspace. The higher loft and larger baffles, however, make up for this, and it boasts an exceptional amount of warmth for its size and weight.

The outer fabric is windproof, which helps keep cold gusts from giving you the chills. The hood is well designed and fuzzy fleece, where the jacket meets your face, adds significant warmth. We ordered a size small for our lead tester and found that this model is sized bigger than other brands, which allows us to comfortably add layers underneath.

Weight

The Down Sweater weighs 13 ounces; this is a bit on the heavy side, having increased in weight in recent years. As such, this is not our technical go-to for backcountry trips, where every ounce counts, but rather a more casual, comfortable jacket well suited to daily wear and camping trips.

Compressibility

The Down Sweater is made of 800 fill power Advanced Global Traceable goose down, which is highly compressible. It stuffs into an internal chest pocket and has a loop that can be clipped to the back of a harness.

It is not the smallest in this review, but is undoubtedly a decent choice for backpackers, hikers, rock climbers, and mountaineers who want a good, durable, warm jacket that is light and compressible enough to stuff into a pack or clip out of the way to the back of your harness. The Down Sweater is highly compressible for its size and weight due to the high quality down.

Features

First, we appreciate how Patagonia has led the charge in setting a new standard for the ethical use of down in outdoor jackets. Several years ago, Patagonia was the only manufacturer advertising their ethical sourcing practices—now, more and more of the jackets we researched boast responsible sourcing. (That's awesome.) Patagonia was competitive with its simple features on the Down Sweater, which include an adjustable hood, internal zippered chest pocket, an adjustable hem, and two handwarmer pockets.

Durability

Boasting 20D and 30D recycled polyester ripstop fabric, the Down Sweater is durable. Not only that, but it is inspiring in this metric, and we had no qualms about scuffing it up against rocks here and there. This is a jacket meant to be used, abused, and well-loved. And don't worry, that patched down jacket look? It's totally in vogue: Heart-shaped contrasting patches desirable.

Water Resistance

Like most jackets in this review, the Down Sweater features a durable water repellent (DWR) finish, which helps prevent the down from wetting out when you get unexpectedly caught out in a storm. This will buy you some time while you scramble to get your shell jacket on over your down jacket, but ultimately you will want to be sure you have a shell over this jacket in rainy weather or otherwise wet conditions.

Value

Patagonia is never the cheapest option out there, but as we know, you often get what you pay for. With Patagonia, you also can feel good about your purchase because the company consistently paves the way to new ethical standards, raising the bar for other outdoor manufacturers to follow, and that's awesome. That said, this jacket is still a great deal for the high-quality craftsmanship and durable design, as well as the versatility. It may not have gotten an award this time, but we're sure you'll love it for a long time to come.

Conclusion

Patagonia's Down Sweater never disappoints. It is a comfortable, warm, versatile jacket with many applications, but it is not the highest scorer in any one particular category. It's a great layer for cold-weather rock climbing, and an exceptional choice for mountaineering and ski touring in milder climates - when used in conjunction with a heavier fleece or other insulating layers. The Down Sweater is highly adaptable and always comfortable. And due to the street credibility of Patagonia, we think you'll look pretty cool sporting this jacket around town, too.