Micro Puff vs Down Sweater: Latter is warmer (FW23 Update)

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In FW23, Patagonia revised both of Micro Puff and Down Sweater. See updates:

Highlights of the Down Sweater update:

Fill weight is increased from 104 grams to 150 grams (main update),
Number of internal drop-in pockets has been increased from 1 to 2,
Outer fabric is now NetPlus (recycled waste) shell.

Highlights of the Micro Puff update:

Number of internal drop-in pockets has been increased from 1 to 2,
Outer fabric is now NetPlus (recycled waste) shell.

There has also been small changes made in the colors, fit and hood sizes.

FW23 Down Sweater (Men's - Women's). Probably one of the greatest and most popular casual down jackets out there.

Patagonia's Down Sweater and Micro Puff are both light, packable, warm and fantastic all-doer casual jackets. Depending on the weather, they both can be used as mid-layers or stand alone pieces. They're pretty much identical in terms of best use.

Their main difference lies in their methods of insulation: Down vs Synthetic.

Down Sweater is warmer than the Micro Puff, but since down loses insulating power under wet conditions, only consider it for dry areas. Micro Puff, on the other hand, is more weather resistant (owing to its synthetic insulation), lighter and more packable than the Down Sweater.

Additionally, if you're planning to perform high output activities more than, say, once every two weeks, then neither of these jackets would cut it for you - even the Micro Puff (fragile outer fabric and mediocre breathability).

So, in that case, consider getting Patagonia DAS Light Hoody (Men's - Women's) and Patagonia Nano Air (Men's - Women's).

Links:

Also check out their temperature ratings below.

Related Data Set: Temperature ratings of Patagonia jackets

Name	Est. Temp (F/C)	Review	Pit venting?	Stuffs into itself?	Two way zipper?	Type	Activity	Fit	Weight
Arc'teryx Alpha (Men's - Women's)	-18/-28	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Down	Climbing	Regular	805 g / 1 lb 12.4 oz
Feathered Friends Khumbu	-17/-27		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	960 g / 2 lb 2 oz
Arc'teryx Ceres SV (Men's - Women's)	-15/-26	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	880 g / 1 lb 15 oz
Mountain Equipment K7 (Men's)	-13/-25		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	820 g / 1 lb 13 oz
Rab Positron Pro (Men's)	-13/-25		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	740 g / 1 lb 10 oz
Arc'teryx Therme SV (Men's)	-11/-24	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.072 kg / 2 lb 5.8 oz
Patagonia Grade VII (Men's)	-11/-24		No	No	Yes	Down	Around Town	Regular	743 g / 1 lb 10.1 oz
Arc'teryx Firebee AR (Men's - Women's)	-10/-23	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	680 g / 1 lb 8 oz
Mountain Equipment Exo (Men's)	-10/-23		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	770 g / 1 lb 11.2 oz
Arc'teryx Thorsen (Men's)	-7/-22	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.1 kg / 2 lb 5.4 oz
Patagonia Frozen Range (Men's - Women's)	-6/-21	Review	No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.253 kg / 2 lb 12.2 oz
Mountain Equipment Li. Ec. (Men's - Women's)	-5/-20		No	No	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	822 g / 1 lb 13 oz
Arc'teryx Patera Long (Women's)	-2/-19		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.1 kg / 2 lb 6.8 oz
Rab Neutrino Pro (Men's - Women's)	-2/-19		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	585 g / 1 lb 8.6 oz
Arc'teryx Dually Belay (Men's)	0/-18	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	Around Town	Regular	705 g / 1 lb 9 oz
Arc'teryx Centrale (Women's)	0/-18	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	885 g / 1 lb 15.2 oz
Arc'teryx Camosun (Men's)	0/-18	Review	No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Trim	960 g / 2 lb 1.9 oz
Arc'teryx Cerium SV (Men's)	0/-18	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	415 g / 14.6 oz
Arc'teryx Revet (Men's)	2/-17		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	755 g / 1 lb 10.6 oz
Arc'teryx Piedmont (Men's)	3/-16		No	Yes	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	515 g / 1 lb 2.2 oz
Arc'teryx Fission SV (Men's - Women's)	3/-16	Review	No	No	Yes	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	890 g / 1 lb 15.4 oz
Arc'teryx Alpha Lightweight (Men's)	3/-16		No	Yes	Yes	Down	Climbing	Regular	540 g / 1 lb 3 oz
Outdoor Research Sup. Alp. (Men's - Women's)	3/-16		No	No	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	825 g / 1 lb 13.1 oz
Arc'teryx Alessa Long (Women's)	3/-16		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.015 kg / 2 lb 3.8 oz
Patagonia Tres 3-in-1 (Men's - Women's)	3/-16	Review	No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.307 kg / 2 lb 14.1 oz
Arc'teryx Radsten Parka (Men's)	3/-16		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	745 g / 1 lb 10.3 oz
Rab Electron Pro (Men's - Women's)	5/-15		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	525 g / 1 lb 2.5 oz
Arc'teryx Therme Parka (Men's)	5/-15	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	991 g / 2 lb 3 oz
Arc'teryx Macai (Men's)	5/-15	Review	Yes, zips	No	No	Down	Ski/Snowboard	Regular	1 kg / 2 lb 4 oz
Arc'teryx Nuclei SV (Men's)	5/-15	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	Climbing	Regular	600 g / 1 lb 5.2 oz
Patagonia DAS Parka (Men's)	5/-15		No	Yes	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	555 g / 1lb 3.6 oz
Arc'teryx Patera (Women's)	5/-15	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Trim	867 g / 1 lb 14.6 oz
Black Diamond Access Down (Men's - Women's)	7/-14		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	442 g / 15.6 oz
Arc'teryx Kappa (Men's)	7/-14	Review	No	No	Yes	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	755 g / 1 lb 10.6 oz
Arc'teryx Prema Down Coat (Women's)	7/-14		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	794 g / 1 lb 12 oz
Arc'teryx Radsten Insulated (Men's)	7/-14		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	715 g / 1 lb 9.2 oz
Rab Microlight Alpine (Men's - Women's)	7/-14		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	466 g / 1 lb 0.5 oz
Arc'teryx Thorium (Men's - Women's)	7/-14	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	517 g / 1 lb 2.2 oz
Feathered Friends Eos	8/-13		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	306 g / 10.8 oz
Arc'teryx Thorium AR (Men's - Women's)	8/-13	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	490 g / 1 lb 1.3 oz
Patagonia Macro Puff (Men's - Women's)	8/-13	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	435 g / 15.3 oz
Arc'teryx Macai LT (Men's)	8/-13		Yes, zips	No	No	Down	Ski/Snowboard	Regular	855 g / 1 lb 14.2 oz
Arc'teryx Seyla (Women's)	8/-13		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	507 g / 1 lb. 1.9 oz.
Patagonia Fitz Roy (Men's - Women's)	8/-13		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	632 g / 1lb 6.3 oz
Arc'teryx Koda (Men's)	8/-13		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	720 g / 1 lb 9.4 oz
Patagonia Vosque 3-in-1 (Women's)	10/-12	Review	No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.360 kg / 3 lb
Patagonia City Storm Down (Men's - Women's)	12/-11		No	Yes	No	Parka	All Round	Regular	468 g / 16.5 oz
Patagonia Jackson Glacier (Men's - Women's)	12/-11	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	880 g / 1 lb 15 oz
Arc'teryx Sensa (Women's)	14/-10		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Relaxed	785 g / 1 lb 11.7 oz
Patagonia Hi Loft Down (Men's - Women's)	14/-10	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	540 g / 1 lb 3 oz
REI Magma 850 Hoodie 2.0 (Men's - Women's)	14/-10		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	340 g / 13.75 oz
Arc'teryx Beta Insulated Coat (Women's)	16/-9	Review	No	No	Yes	Synthetic	Around Town	Regular	600 g / 1 lb 5.2 oz
Arc'teryx Atom AR (Men's - Women's)	18/-8	Review	Yes, mesh	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	475 g / 1 lb
Patagonia Downdrift (Men's - Women's)	18/-8		No	No	No	Down	Around Town	Regular	1.014 kg / 2 lb 3.8 oz
Arc'teryx Magnus (Men's)	19/-7		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	690 g / 1 lb 8.3 oz
Arc'teryx Agrium (Men's - Women's)	21/-6		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	365 g / 12.9 oz
Patagonia AlpLight Down (Men's - Women's)	21/-6		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Slim	270 g / 9.5 oz
Arc'teryx Beta Insulated (Men's - Women's)	21/-6	Review	Yes, zips	No	Yes	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	680 g / 1 lb 8 oz
Patagonia Topley (Men's)	23/-5		No	No	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	1.133 kg / 2 lb 8 oz
Arc'teryx Alpha IS (Men's)	23/-5		No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	Climbing	Regular	610 g / 1 lb 5.5 oz
Rab Xenon 2.0 (Men's - Women's)	23/-5		No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	385 g / 13.6 oz
Patagonia Down Sweater (Men's - Women's)	23/-5	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	428 g / 15.1 oz
Arc'teryx Ralle Parka (Men's)	25/-4		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	735 g / 1 lb 9.9 oz
Patagonia Silent Down (Men's - Women's)	26/-3	Review	No	No	No	Down	Around Town	Regular	585 g / 1 lb 4.7 oz
Arc'teryx Therme Insulated (Men's)	26/-3	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	Around Town	Regular	960 g / 2 lb 1.9 oz
Arc'teryx Cerium (Men's - Women's)	26/-3		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Trim	335 g / 11.8 oz
Mountain Hardwear GW/2 (Men's - Women's)	28/-2		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Trim	250 g / 8.8 oz
Arc'teryx Cerium LT (Men's - Women's)	28/-2	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Trim	305 g / 10.8 oz
Arc'teryx Nuclei FL (Men's - Women's)	32/0	Review	No	Yes	No	Synthetic	Climbing	Trim	325 g / 11.5 oz
Patagonia DAS Light (Men's - Women's)	34/1		No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	Climbing	Regular	320 g / 11.3 oz
Patagonia Micro Puff (Men's - Women's)	36/2	Review	No	Yes	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	298 g / 10.5 oz
Patagonia Isthmus (Men's)	36/2		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	895 g / 1 lb 15.6 oz
Arc'teryx Proton LT (Men's - Women's)	37/3	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	Climbing	Trim	375 g / 13.2 oz
Patagonia Nano Puff (Men's - Women's)	37/3	Review	No	Yes	No	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	363 g / 12.8 oz
Arc'teryx Norvan SL Ins. (Men's - Women's)	39/4		No	Yes	No	Synthetic	Running	Trim	270 g / 9.5 oz
Patagonia Nano Air (Men's - Women's)	41/5	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	318 g / 11.2 oz
Arc'teryx Atom LT (Men's - Women's)	43/6	Review	Yes, mesh	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	375 g / 13.2 oz
Arc'teryx Cerium SL (Men's - Women's)	43/6	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Trim	215 g / 7.6 oz
Arc'teryx Proton Hybrid (Men's - Women's)	46/8	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	365 g / 12.9 oz
Arc'teryx Proton FL (Men's)	48/9	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	Climbing	Trim	323 g / 11.4 oz
Arc'teryx Atom SL (Men's - Women's)	52/11	Review	Yes, mesh	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	245 g / 8.6 oz
REI Stormhenge Hybrid (Men's - Women's)	Testing		Yes, zips	No	No	Down	All Round	Regular	900 g / 1 lb 15.75 oz
Arc'teryx Monitor Insulated (Women's)	Testing		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Oversized	645 g / 1 lb 6.8 oz
Arc'teryx Coelle (Women's)	Testing		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	460 g / 1 lb 0.2 oz

These are the approximate lowest temperatures you can wear each jacket without feeling uncomfortably cold, assuming:

you only have a shirt under and no shell over,
during daily use (strolls, power walks etc at most - no high output activities),
with just a little bit wind,
and in dry weather.

Read more about this chart here in my Insulated Outerwear Temperature Ratings Guide. Also my Best Patagonia Jackets post.

If you think you run warmer or colder than the average person, then shift temperature ranges accordingly.

Lastly - make sure to check out Patagonia.com Web Specials before you buy.

I've also talked to the Patagonia Customer Service about Micro Puff vs Down Sweater, and shared the screenshots here in this post.

The motivation behind trying to come up with a brand new insulation technique (which, ended up being synthetic insulation) was to defy the two strong disadvantages of down (used in Down Sweater):

Loss of insulating capability when it's wet/damp out.
Delayed warmth after putting it on.

Overcoming these disadvantages comes with its own costs and downsides - which eventually made up the disadvantages of synthetic insulation (used in the Micro Puff):

Fragile face fabric (specific to Micro Puff),
Loss of insulating capability after 3-4 years.

These are the 4 key points to consider.

Latest on the blog:

#A sidenote here: Patagonia.com's Web Specials discounts are GOOOLLLDDD. Highly recommend you to check it out before you buy.

The second point of Micro Puff is typically looked at as a disadvantage of sleeping bags and quilts with synthetic insulation, and often not so much of the clothing since (1) most of us tend to renew our casual wear wardrobe much more often than our outdoor gear and (2) the wearing out occurs each time the jacket is stuffed into its own sack - rather than occurring simply as the time passes.

That's why, if you're planning to use your Micro Puff or Down Sweater mostly casually when it's cold out in the neighborhood (which is what they are mostly designed for anyway), then I'd recommend you to forget about the second disadvantage of Micro Puff.

For a mostly dry weather use, Down Sweater can be a better choice since its down insulation will last years longer than the Micro Puff.

If, on the other hand, you're planning to wear them when skiing, traveling, hiking and/or camping for a fair amount of time, then I'd recommend you to keep this disadvantage in your minds as you read on since packability can't be completely overlooked in your case.

Warmth

For folks who are unaware of the basic working principle of Down Sweater's down insulation, here's a two sentence introduction first (this is important).

Down provides warmth by heating and holding on to the air cluster trapped within its vacant spots. Synthetic insulation in the Micro Puff basically tries and mimics this exact process of down - but via artificial, man-made equipment (65 grams of PlumaFill).

So, the higher the total volume of these empty spots inside the down, the more the air is going to be heated, and hence the provided warmth will be higher. Because the down's ability to loft gets lost as it gets wet, so does its ability to trap/heat more air.

Ultimately, its warmth will be impacted negatively.

This working principle is also why the fully extended volume of (dry) down is a crucial metric (referred to as FP) and determines the down's quality, warmth potential, durability and price tag.

800 FP down of our Down Sweater will feel much warmer, prove solid performance for more years and hence also be a more expensive pick than a 700 FP down.

To my knowledge, FP numbers start from 450 and goes up to 950. This makes the 800 FP down of Down Sweater one of the highest quality fills in today's world.

This doesn't mean that it's impossible to manufacture a clothing piece using a rather low quality (say, 500 FP down) and make it quite warm. You perfectly can - but you'd just have to stuff a bunch of it - quite a bit more than the amount it would take if you had used a 800 FP down instead.

Related Data Set: Temperature ratings of Patagonia jackets

Name	Est. Temp (F/C)	Review	Pit venting?	Stuffs into itself?	Two way zipper?	Type	Activity	Fit	Weight
Arc'teryx Alpha (Men's - Women's)	-18/-28	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Down	Climbing	Regular	805 g / 1 lb 12.4 oz
Feathered Friends Khumbu	-17/-27		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	960 g / 2 lb 2 oz
Arc'teryx Ceres SV (Men's - Women's)	-15/-26	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	880 g / 1 lb 15 oz
Mountain Equipment K7 (Men's)	-13/-25		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	820 g / 1 lb 13 oz
Rab Positron Pro (Men's)	-13/-25		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	740 g / 1 lb 10 oz
Arc'teryx Therme SV (Men's)	-11/-24	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.072 kg / 2 lb 5.8 oz
Patagonia Grade VII (Men's)	-11/-24		No	No	Yes	Down	Around Town	Regular	743 g / 1 lb 10.1 oz
Arc'teryx Firebee AR (Men's - Women's)	-10/-23	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	680 g / 1 lb 8 oz
Mountain Equipment Exo (Men's)	-10/-23		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	770 g / 1 lb 11.2 oz
Arc'teryx Thorsen (Men's)	-7/-22	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.1 kg / 2 lb 5.4 oz
Patagonia Frozen Range (Men's - Women's)	-6/-21	Review	No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.253 kg / 2 lb 12.2 oz
Mountain Equipment Li. Ec. (Men's - Women's)	-5/-20		No	No	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	822 g / 1 lb 13 oz
Arc'teryx Patera Long (Women's)	-2/-19		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.1 kg / 2 lb 6.8 oz
Rab Neutrino Pro (Men's - Women's)	-2/-19		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	585 g / 1 lb 8.6 oz
Arc'teryx Dually Belay (Men's)	0/-18	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	Around Town	Regular	705 g / 1 lb 9 oz
Arc'teryx Centrale (Women's)	0/-18	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	885 g / 1 lb 15.2 oz
Arc'teryx Camosun (Men's)	0/-18	Review	No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Trim	960 g / 2 lb 1.9 oz
Arc'teryx Cerium SV (Men's)	0/-18	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	415 g / 14.6 oz
Arc'teryx Revet (Men's)	2/-17		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	755 g / 1 lb 10.6 oz
Arc'teryx Piedmont (Men's)	3/-16		No	Yes	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	515 g / 1 lb 2.2 oz
Arc'teryx Fission SV (Men's - Women's)	3/-16	Review	No	No	Yes	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	890 g / 1 lb 15.4 oz
Arc'teryx Alpha Lightweight (Men's)	3/-16		No	Yes	Yes	Down	Climbing	Regular	540 g / 1 lb 3 oz
Outdoor Research Sup. Alp. (Men's - Women's)	3/-16		No	No	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	825 g / 1 lb 13.1 oz
Arc'teryx Alessa Long (Women's)	3/-16		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.015 kg / 2 lb 3.8 oz
Patagonia Tres 3-in-1 (Men's - Women's)	3/-16	Review	No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.307 kg / 2 lb 14.1 oz
Arc'teryx Radsten Parka (Men's)	3/-16		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	745 g / 1 lb 10.3 oz
Rab Electron Pro (Men's - Women's)	5/-15		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	525 g / 1 lb 2.5 oz
Arc'teryx Therme Parka (Men's)	5/-15	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	991 g / 2 lb 3 oz
Arc'teryx Macai (Men's)	5/-15	Review	Yes, zips	No	No	Down	Ski/Snowboard	Regular	1 kg / 2 lb 4 oz
Arc'teryx Nuclei SV (Men's)	5/-15	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	Climbing	Regular	600 g / 1 lb 5.2 oz
Patagonia DAS Parka (Men's)	5/-15		No	Yes	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	555 g / 1lb 3.6 oz
Arc'teryx Patera (Women's)	5/-15	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Trim	867 g / 1 lb 14.6 oz
Black Diamond Access Down (Men's - Women's)	7/-14		No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	442 g / 15.6 oz
Arc'teryx Kappa (Men's)	7/-14	Review	No	No	Yes	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	755 g / 1 lb 10.6 oz
Arc'teryx Prema Down Coat (Women's)	7/-14		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	794 g / 1 lb 12 oz
Arc'teryx Radsten Insulated (Men's)	7/-14		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	715 g / 1 lb 9.2 oz
Rab Microlight Alpine (Men's - Women's)	7/-14		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	466 g / 1 lb 0.5 oz
Arc'teryx Thorium (Men's - Women's)	7/-14	Review	No	Yes	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	517 g / 1 lb 2.2 oz
Feathered Friends Eos	8/-13		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	306 g / 10.8 oz
Arc'teryx Thorium AR (Men's - Women's)	8/-13	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	490 g / 1 lb 1.3 oz
Patagonia Macro Puff (Men's - Women's)	8/-13	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	435 g / 15.3 oz
Arc'teryx Macai LT (Men's)	8/-13		Yes, zips	No	No	Down	Ski/Snowboard	Regular	855 g / 1 lb 14.2 oz
Arc'teryx Seyla (Women's)	8/-13		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	507 g / 1 lb. 1.9 oz.
Patagonia Fitz Roy (Men's - Women's)	8/-13		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	632 g / 1lb 6.3 oz
Arc'teryx Koda (Men's)	8/-13		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	720 g / 1 lb 9.4 oz
Patagonia Vosque 3-in-1 (Women's)	10/-12	Review	No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	1.360 kg / 3 lb
Patagonia City Storm Down (Men's - Women's)	12/-11		No	Yes	No	Parka	All Round	Regular	468 g / 16.5 oz
Patagonia Jackson Glacier (Men's - Women's)	12/-11	Review	No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	880 g / 1 lb 15 oz
Arc'teryx Sensa (Women's)	14/-10		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Relaxed	785 g / 1 lb 11.7 oz
Patagonia Hi Loft Down (Men's - Women's)	14/-10	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	540 g / 1 lb 3 oz
REI Magma 850 Hoodie 2.0 (Men's - Women's)	14/-10		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	340 g / 13.75 oz
Arc'teryx Beta Insulated Coat (Women's)	16/-9	Review	No	No	Yes	Synthetic	Around Town	Regular	600 g / 1 lb 5.2 oz
Arc'teryx Atom AR (Men's - Women's)	18/-8	Review	Yes, mesh	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	475 g / 1 lb
Patagonia Downdrift (Men's - Women's)	18/-8		No	No	No	Down	Around Town	Regular	1.014 kg / 2 lb 3.8 oz
Arc'teryx Magnus (Men's)	19/-7		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	690 g / 1 lb 8.3 oz
Arc'teryx Agrium (Men's - Women's)	21/-6		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	365 g / 12.9 oz
Patagonia AlpLight Down (Men's - Women's)	21/-6		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Slim	270 g / 9.5 oz
Arc'teryx Beta Insulated (Men's - Women's)	21/-6	Review	Yes, zips	No	Yes	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	680 g / 1 lb 8 oz
Patagonia Topley (Men's)	23/-5		No	No	Yes	Down	All Round	Regular	1.133 kg / 2 lb 8 oz
Arc'teryx Alpha IS (Men's)	23/-5		No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	Climbing	Regular	610 g / 1 lb 5.5 oz
Rab Xenon 2.0 (Men's - Women's)	23/-5		No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	385 g / 13.6 oz
Patagonia Down Sweater (Men's - Women's)	23/-5	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Regular	428 g / 15.1 oz
Arc'teryx Ralle Parka (Men's)	25/-4		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	735 g / 1 lb 9.9 oz
Patagonia Silent Down (Men's - Women's)	26/-3	Review	No	No	No	Down	Around Town	Regular	585 g / 1 lb 4.7 oz
Arc'teryx Therme Insulated (Men's)	26/-3	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	Around Town	Regular	960 g / 2 lb 1.9 oz
Arc'teryx Cerium (Men's - Women's)	26/-3		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Trim	335 g / 11.8 oz
Mountain Hardwear GW/2 (Men's - Women's)	28/-2		No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Trim	250 g / 8.8 oz
Arc'teryx Cerium LT (Men's - Women's)	28/-2	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Trim	305 g / 10.8 oz
Arc'teryx Nuclei FL (Men's - Women's)	32/0	Review	No	Yes	No	Synthetic	Climbing	Trim	325 g / 11.5 oz
Patagonia DAS Light (Men's - Women's)	34/1		No	Yes	Yes	Synthetic	Climbing	Regular	320 g / 11.3 oz
Patagonia Micro Puff (Men's - Women's)	36/2	Review	No	Yes	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	298 g / 10.5 oz
Patagonia Isthmus (Men's)	36/2		No	No	No	Parka	Around Town	Regular	895 g / 1 lb 15.6 oz
Arc'teryx Proton LT (Men's - Women's)	37/3	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	Climbing	Trim	375 g / 13.2 oz
Patagonia Nano Puff (Men's - Women's)	37/3	Review	No	Yes	No	Synthetic	All Round	Regular	363 g / 12.8 oz
Arc'teryx Norvan SL Ins. (Men's - Women's)	39/4		No	Yes	No	Synthetic	Running	Trim	270 g / 9.5 oz
Patagonia Nano Air (Men's - Women's)	41/5	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	318 g / 11.2 oz
Arc'teryx Atom LT (Men's - Women's)	43/6	Review	Yes, mesh	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	375 g / 13.2 oz
Arc'teryx Cerium SL (Men's - Women's)	43/6	Review	No	Yes	No	Down	All Round	Trim	215 g / 7.6 oz
Arc'teryx Proton Hybrid (Men's - Women's)	46/8	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	365 g / 12.9 oz
Arc'teryx Proton FL (Men's)	48/9	Review	No	No	No	Synthetic	Climbing	Trim	323 g / 11.4 oz
Arc'teryx Atom SL (Men's - Women's)	52/11	Review	Yes, mesh	No	No	Synthetic	All Round	Trim	245 g / 8.6 oz
REI Stormhenge Hybrid (Men's - Women's)	Testing		Yes, zips	No	No	Down	All Round	Regular	900 g / 1 lb 15.75 oz
Arc'teryx Monitor Insulated (Women's)	Testing		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Oversized	645 g / 1 lb 6.8 oz
Arc'teryx Coelle (Women's)	Testing		No	No	Yes	Parka	Around Town	Regular	460 g / 1 lb 0.2 oz

These are the approximate lowest temperatures you can wear each jacket without feeling uncomfortably cold, assuming:

you only have a shirt under and no shell over,
during daily use (strolls, power walks etc at most - no high output activities),
with just a little bit wind,
and in dry weather.

Read more about this chart here in my Insulated Outerwear Temperature Ratings Guide. Also my Best Patagonia Jackets post.

If you think you run warmer or colder than the average person, then shift temperature ranges accordingly.

Lastly - make sure to check out Patagonia.com Web Specials before you buy.

Delayed warmth

As grueling as it sounds, this entire process of the down heating and holding on to the air cluster... takes time. Longer than the synthetic insulation.

This makes up one of the two disadvantages of the Down Sweater laid out above. You don't get to feel the cozy warmth the moment you put on your Down Sweater.

With the Micro Puff, though; it doesn't take that much until the maximum potential warmth is achieved. The difference is noticeable.

Center back length

The Down Sweater is extremely short, which affects its warmth. This can be a disadvantage if you aren't planning to insulate your legs, so keep that in mind.

Links:

Durability

And this, is the disadvantage of Micro Puff.

I know I've kept saying that the insulating power of Down Sweater can last for decades (much shorter for the Micro Puff), and that's true; but there's one more parameter there:

How often are you going to be stuffing them into their own sacks?

The quicker loss of Micro Puff's insulation capability doesn't occur when these jackets are simply at rest.

Instead, it occurs each time you stuff the Micro Puff into its own sack and then release it back. The more you do this cycle, the quicker it'll get old.

For the Down Sweater, on the other hand, it doesn't really matter, since its insulation is very durable. So you can stop worrying about it and instead use the stuff sack freely (which you'll also do with the Micro Puff anyway... so it'll get older quicker).

Regardless of the insulation, face fabric of Micro Puff is also fairly fragile.

Weather Resistance

Micro Puff is more weather resistant than Down Sweater. Not only does it stand better against wind and precipitation, but its warmth also doesn't decrease when the jacket gets wet (which, as mentioned earlier, isn't the case with Down Sweater).

The difference isn't huge, by the way, but definitely is noticeable.

By the way, they're both coated with DWR.

What is DWR by the way?

DWR is a coating.

It's basically sprayed on to the surface of these jackets as a finish. It stands for Durable Water Repellent - which means that water will be repelled under wet conditions instead of soaking into the fabric.

DWR also decreases dry time.

It's a good thing these jackets are coated in DWR, but pay attention to the fact that DWR is a coating - meaning that it will wear off over time.

Which is why you might want to invest in a DWR spray such as this one for after treatment.

As you see, there's a strong correlation between FP x FW and temperature ratings, but not more than, say, 80%. I explained why this happens here in this post of mine.

Yes, the DWR does help with preventing the rain drops from getting soaked into the internal surface of the Down Sweater, but doesn't help so much with its warmth.

Again, once the fill gets wet, its warmth will drop significantly. Depending on the precipitation, the water will get in, too.

Pockets

Both offer 2 internal drop-in pockets (large enough to fit 110 mm skins) and 2 external hand warmer pockets.

Breathability

Face fabric of Micro Puff (0.7-oz 10-denier shell and lining) breathes slightly better than the Down Sweater (1.4-oz 20x30-denier shell and 1.4-oz 20-denier lining).

But, neither of these jackets are designed to breathe and hence are terrible in this department. They're not equipped with pit zips either, so I'd recommend you to forget about getting these jackets if breathability is one of your expectations.

Check out Nano Air (Men's - Women's) in that case.

Style

To most people, Down Sweater looks prettier (especially this Carbon color is liked by many - including me).

Micro Puff... I don't know. Looks overly wrinkled and pretty bad. At least to me.

Weight and Packability

Micro Puff offers an exceptional level of warmth to weight ratio. This is a bit strange because you'd actually expect this from a down product first and synthetic product second.

Micro Puff is the lightest and most packable synthetic insulated puffy in Patagonia's line-up.

Links:

My discussion with the Patagonia Rep

Here are the screenshots I took. Reps can sometimes provide inaccurate information or even flat out incorrect "facts" every now and then - so take the info in this conversation with a grain of salt.

Patagonia Micro Puff vs Down Sweater Rep Chat 3

Patagonia Micro Puff vs Down Sweater Rep Chat 4

Product videos

Comments

Benoit says

April 19, 2020 at 11:28 am

Would you take the atom ar over the micro puff when you consider: style, fit, durability, weight to warmth and packability?
- Canberk says
  
  April 19, 2020 at 3:36 pm
  
  Thank you for your comment Benoit!
  
  When warmth to weight ratio and packability are a concern, it’s hard to beat the Micro Puff.
  - Benoit says
    
    April 19, 2020 at 6:45 pm
    
    I have a micro puff. But after a couple of months i am not happy with the fit ( to wide on the chest) and i cant get over the shiny fabric. I am worried about the durability over the years aswel. For now i use it for casual walks outer layer and as a midlayer when cold and wet. Or as a throw over jacket at camp for warmth.
    
    I am willing to let it go and get the atom AR instead, warmer and better fit i think. Okay its not as packable but i saw arcteryx promo film on how to pack it in the sleeve. I climb mount meru and kili in september and would use it as back up and to throw on at rest stops. For me its not weight thats an issue its the size of the ‘package’ .
    Does it ressemble?

Warmth

Delayed warmth

Center back length

Durability

Weather Resistance

Pockets

Breathability

Style

Weight and Packability

My discussion with the Patagonia Rep

Product videos

Reader Interactions

Comments