Micro Puff vs Down Sweater: 4 Key Points [2019-20]

Micro Puff is better suited for wet weather due to its synthetic insulation.

The differences between Patagonia's Micro Puff and Down Sweater come down to the difference in their insulation methods: Synthetic vs down.

This affects almost everything, which is why I recommend you to make your decision based on this difference and their styles to your taste. I'd look at everything else as details.

In summary, unlike Down Sweater, the Micro Puff won't lose its insulating capability when it gets wet and hence is more suitable for areas with damp winters. For a mostly dry weather use, Down Sweater can be a better choice since both of its 800 FP down and face fabric is more durable than the Micro Puff in the long term.

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

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.

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 850. 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.

Which brings me to my next point...

Down Sweater is NOT filled up with a lot of 800 FP down. It doesn't fall short by any means either, but it just isn't filled up to a point where it's impossible for a synthetic insulator to mimic this warmth without ending up being ridiculously heavy.

In the end, Micro Puff provides the same warmth the Down Sweater does.

In fact, technically speaking, it even EXCEEDS it; but you likely won't notice a difference in practice.

Results

I'd say, generally speaking, when it's dry out, with only a long sleeved shirt under and without a shell on top, with a mild wind and a very low to no activity level...

The approximate lowest temperatures where an average person can wear these jackets without feeling cold can be listed as:

25 deg F (-3 deg C) for Down Sweater and 20 deg F (-5 deg C) for Micro Puff.

As you see, in dry weather, the difference is almost non-existent and I'm pretty sure none of you will notice a difference in practice.

When it's wet out, though; keep in mind that the warmth of Down Sweater will suffer and drop significantly.

If you think you run hotter or colder than the average person, mentally shift these temperatures accordingly.

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.

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

Weather resistances of Down Sweater and Micro Puff are comparable - but the difference is reflected to their warmth.

They're both coated with DWR, which helps with the rain.

What's 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.

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.

Breathability

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

Stuff Sack

Down Sweater is stuffed into its own sack just a little larger than the Micro Puff - but the difference is minimal:

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

Micro Puff weighs almost half of Down Sweater {9.3 ounces (264 grams) vs 15.1 ounces (428 grams)}. This is a HUGE difference.

Micro Puff offers an exceptional level of warmth to weight ratio.

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.

I don't agree with him (or her?) here and there.

Patagonia Micro Puff vs Down Sweater Rep Chat 1

Patagonia Micro Puff vs Down Sweater Rep Chat 2

Patagonia Micro Puff vs Down Sweater Rep Chat 3

Patagonia Micro Puff vs Down Sweater Rep Chat 4

What about the alternatives?

I'd recommend the Nano Puff as the alternative to the Micro Puff. Here you can check out my post about their comparison. As some of you know, these two hoodies take part in my top Arc'teryx & Patagonia synthetic insulation picks, although they're the last two.

If you're looking for an alternative to the Down Sweater, I'd recommend you to check out my posts about Arc'teryx's Cerium LT and Thorium AR.

Conclusion

If you'll be using them as outer layers (standalone pieces):

Micro Puff (synthetic insulation) is more suitable for areas with damp winters. For a mostly dry weather use, Down Sweater can be a better choice since its down insulation is likely to last years longer than the Micro Puff.