Group Tests and Best Buys

Best Winter Coats of 2024 | Fully Tested and Reviewed

We’ve selected the season’s best winter coats for men and women to keep you warm, dry and comfortable while offering full protection from the elements

When temperatures drop, a dependable winter coat is the ultimate bit of outdoor kit. There’s nothing like hunkering down in the enveloping warmth of a down parka in the freezing cold. Or battening down the hatches in a fully-stormproof technical hardshell jacket when foul weather blows in. Those kind of conditions are when you really need one of the best winter coats around.

Luckily, whether you’re after a cosy belay jacket for winter climbing adventures or a warm yet stylish overcoat for the morning commute, we’ve got you covered. These outer layers will protect you from biting wind and lashing rain or snow, as well as any other kind of brutal winter weather. In fact, if you’re wearing one of these jackets, there’s really no excuse not to get out there.

The Best Winter Coats in Our Team’s Tests

Outdoor brands generally know one or two things about protecting you from the elements. After all, would you rather trust a company who have spent years fitting out mountaineers and outdoors types, or leave it to some high-end Italian fashion house? Yeah, thought so. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best winter coats from the leading outdoor brands for your consideration. This is kit that has been used and abused in some of the wildest, coldest and wettest places on earth.

Best Overall Winter Coat: Páramo Torres Smock
Best Value Winter Coat: Rohan EOS Insulated
Best Waterproof and Warm Coat: Jack Wolfskin Cyrox 2L
Best for Performance Use: Salomon Elixir Ultra Down
Best Expedition Jacket: The North Face Summit Pumori

The Expert

I’ve been reviewing outdoor gear for various outdoor magazines for over 10 years now and in that time I’ve served on juries for the ISPO Awards, the OIA Awards and the Scandinavian Outdoor Awards. When I’m not writing reviews, I’m out testing the gear. Long distance hiking is my passion and I’m always looking for new multi-day or even multi-weeks trails to take on.

How They Were Tested

I personally tested the majority of the gear that’s featured here and I curated the list out of the many jackets I’ve tried over the last couple of seasons. It’s only the women’s jackets that I didn’t try out and I left those to the members of our test team who you can see in the pictures on this page.

For me, a winter coat isn’t really something that I’d carry on one of my long distance walks as they tend to be heavy. Instead they tend to be worn from A to B, or for wearing all day in cold conditions. As such, that’s the context in which I’ve tested and assessed these jackets. Most of them were tested out during cold photoshoots in Bannau Brycheiniog, the Scottish Highlands and in North Wales, but they also saw plenty of use during autumn and winter dog walks and were worn on the walk to the pub and back.

Things I considered when I was making my choices for this list included the level of warmth, the material and build quality, the features and details and also things like value and sustainability.

1. Paramo Torres Smock

Best Winter Coat Overall: This gets our top pick from our tests

OM editor Will (who is 5 foot 10) wearing the Torres Smock in a size. Medium.

Price: £250
Weight: 1.6kg
Best for: Winter hiking or activities with long static spells
What we liked: Wet weather performance, built to last, protective hood
What we didn’t like: Heavy, bulky, not very packable

This swoops right in to claim the top spot in our round up of the best winter coats, knocking Rab off the top spot. It’s a jacket that provides a lot of cosy warmth while also serving as a reliable barrier against the elements too.

We’ve used this on lowland and upland hikes and it blocked out the wind reliably and also resisted pretty merciless rain too. It does have a threshold in very heavy rain but, still, it takes a long time to reach it. It’s also very fast drying too. We found we could hike all day in the rain in it, hang it up on a hook in our porch and find it bone dry the next morning.

It has a hood, which can be rolled away to form a collar. It’s also mouldable and adjustable, providing excellent coverage. There are plenty of pockets and you can cinch in warmth at the cuffs and at the hem. We also found that we could wear it over other thick layers of insulation too – though that does mean that it’s a little on the boxy side in terms of its fit and cut.

Unisex / Waterproof?: highly water resistant / Insulation type: synthetic

Read our full Paramo Torres Smock review.

Buy The Páramo Torres Smock: £250 at Paramo-clothing.com

2. Rohan EOS Insulated

Best value winter coat: Our best for balance of performance and price

Will wearing a size M version of the Rohan EOS Insulated in the Scottish Highlands

Price: £135
Weight: 570g
Best for: winter hikes, casual wear
What we liked: lofty down, well insulated hood, longer cut
What we didn’t like: a little boxy, not the best performer in wet weather

This down jacket has a very lofty feel and really impressed us for its warmth to weight ratio. During our tests, we found it to be warm enough for use right through the winter in the UK, bringing protection from the wind and a touch of water resistance to the table too. On one notable occasion while testing it, we wore it through a serious autumn storm in Scotland and it kept us nicely warm despite the cold winds and it saw off light rain too.

We found that the fit is quite long, with the jacket coming covering down to cover your backside. It’s also quite spacious inside, offering enough room to accommodate a thick fleece on those extremely cold days.

Available in men’s and women’s versions / Warmth rating: 7.5/10 / Waterproof?: no / Insulation type: down

Read our full Rohan EOS Insulated review.

Buy The Rohan EOS Insulated: £135 at Rohan.co.uk

3. Salomon Elixir Ultra Down

Best Winter Coat For Active Use: This is our choice for the best winter coat for things like hillwalking and ski touring

Cat Nicol, our tester, wearing a women’s size M.

Price: £360
Weight: 402g
Best for: hiking, winter sports
What we liked: good warmth-to-weight, sustainable efforts in design
What we didn’t like: could be a little more durable, longer cut might not be to everyone’s taste, quite expensive

Our team tested this down-filled jacket out during a wintry trip to the Cairngorms National Park. During our tests, it proved to be very warm and cosy but also lightweight too. One thing that stood out on the women’s model was its length; it has a slightly longer cut than you tend to see on most down jackets and this, we found, brought that extra bit of warmth and protection.

Another thing that brought a bit of extra warmth is the internal lining. This is designed to reflect heat back to your body and is concealed within the baffles so you can’t see it, but you can certainly feel its effects.

Credit should also go to Salomon for using recycled materials throughout this and down that’s been ethically sourced too. We also liked some of the smaller details, including the gaskets on the cuffs that keep draughts out and warm air in, and the adjustment on the hood.

Available in men’s and women’s versions / Warmth rating: 7/10 / Waterproof?: no / Insulation type: down

Read our full Salomon Elixir Ultra Down Jacket review.

Buy The Salomon Elixir Ultra Down: £360 at Salomon.com

4. The North Face Summit Pumori

Best Expedition Jacket: Our pick if you’re looking for a serious, top of the mountain-style winter coat

Our tester Emma using the TNF Summit Pumori in the hills of Wales

Price: £378
Weight: 538g
Best for: belaying and mountaineering
What we liked: very warm but also light, loft fill
What we didn’t like: price, zip baffle is very small, expensive

This belay down feather jacket by The North Face is incredibly loft and incredibly warm – in fact it’s the warmest jacket in this round-up. It’s also light, weighing just 538g, and it will pack down into a very small bundle that’s about as small as a Nalgene bottle or a large grapefruit.

One thing we really liked about this during our tests was the women’s specific shaping (a men’s version is also available though). The lining also has a nice stretchiness to it, so you can wear the jacket over a bunch of layers or no layers at all and the jacket will still keep close to your body to trap heat in efficiently.

We had some initial concerns over the durability of the outer fabric during our tests but actually it ended up passing our tests well. Details include two large handwarmer pockets, an adjustable and helmet-friendly hood and there’s an internal hem cinch cord. Credit to TNF for using 100% recycled materials for the shell and a PFC-free water resistant coating.

Available in men’s and women’s versions / Warmth rating: 9/10 / Waterproof?: no / Insulation type: down

Selected for our Outdoor 100 list. Read our full The North Face Summit Pumori jacket review.

Buy The North Face Summit Pumori: £630 at Ellis-brigham.co.uk

5. Arc’teryx Thorium SV

Will using the Arc’teryx Thorium SV in Scotland. Will is 5 foot 10 and wearing a size M.

Price: 550g
Weight: 695g
Best for: cold hikes, casual use
What we liked: durable and protective fabrics
What we didn’t like: heavy, quite boxy

Most down jackets on the market can tend to be very light, to the point where they feel very vulnerable around pointy stuff like branches or trekking poles. This jacket, on the other hand, is beefed up and made like a suit of armour with reinforced panels not only designed to see off abrasion but also moisture as well. Across the upper torso, there’s a Gore ePE Infinium fabric which, while not waterproof, is highly water resistant. We’ve found we could confidently wear this in persistent drizzle without the down fill becoming saturated and losing its loft.

As expected from an Arc’teryx garment, the quality here is very high and there are smart touches, including microfleece lined pockets and a dump pockets for stashing your gloves. We also liked the fact that the baffles have a box wall construction, a design technique that reduces the risk of cold spots and maximises the down fill’s loft potential.

The downsides? We found this was a touch on the boxy side and quite short on the hem. There’s the price tag too – this thing doesn’t come cheap!

Available in men’s and women’s versions / Warmth rating: 9/10 / Waterproof?: highly water resistant / Insulation: down and zoned synthetic sheets

Read our full Arc’teryx Thorium review.

Buy The Arc’teryx Thorium SV: £550 at Ellis-brigham.co.uk

6. Jack Wolfskin Cyrox 2L

Best Waterproof and Warm Coat: Our pick for full protection from the elements

Will using the Jack Wolfskin Cyrox in the Cairngorms.

Price: £390
Weight: 885g
Best for: Hiking, day-to-day winter use
What we liked: Warm and waterproof, high-spec materials
What we didn’t like: hood feels like an after thought – very simplistic

We tested this out in the Scottish Highlands recently and became very endeared by it. Not only is it warm and cosy, but it’s waterproof too, and, as we found out during our tests, this makes it the kind of jacket that can get you through some really nasty conditions.

Related: Best Backpacking Tents
Related: Best Portable Water Filters

Waterproof and warm jackets can often tend to feel a little bit clammy as soon as you start to exert yourself by, say, climbing up a hill. Fortunately with this, Jack Wolfskin have addressed this issue by adding big venting pit zips under the arms, so you can open up the jacket to dump out any moist air.

The handwarmer pockets are nice and big and very comfortable. There’s also a zipped pocket on the inside of the jacket that we found to be ideal for stashing a phone inside. We also liked the gaskets at the cuffs which help to trap in that extra bit of warmth.

Available in men’s and women’s versions / Warmth rating: 8/10 / Waterproof?: yes / Insulation type: 700 fill power RDS down and PrimaLoft Black Rise insulation

Here’s our full Jack Wolfskin Cyrox 2L review.

Buy The Jack Wolfskin Cyrox 3L £270 at Jack-wolfskin.co.uk

7. Mountain Equipment Triton

OM tester Jordan wearing the Triton while bouldering in Snowdonia

Price: £343
Weight: 774g
Best for: Hiking
What we liked: Waterproof, technical details, athletic cut
What we didn’t like: nothing

This jacket will keep you warm and dry, no matter what conditions you’re out in – and it has excellent eco credentials too. Virtually every part of the jacket is made from recycled materials. The 50-denier Drilite outer is recycled and PFC-free, as well as durable and completely waterproof, while warmth is provided by 700+ fill power down which is 100% recycled. The baffle construction helps optimise warmth distribution and everything else you need is present: close-fitting hood with stiffened brim, central zip stormflap, four pockets and adjustable cuffs and hem.

Available in men’s and women’s versions / Warmth rating: 7/10 Waterproof?: yes / Insulation type: 700 fill power down, 100% of which has been recycled

Buy The Mountain Equipment Triton: £343 at Alpinetrek.co.uk

How to Choose a Winter Coat

When choosing a winter coat, it’s important to consider the kind of conditions or the scenarios you’ll be wearing it in. A winter coat made specifically for long spells out in cold and wet conditions is going to look and perform very differently to a winter coat that’s made for nipping between the train station and the office.

In this article, our focus is on winter coats for bad weather and therefore we’ve selected coats that really prioritise protection and that are going to be worn for long spells rather than moving in and out of your backpack depending on how the conditions change. Here’s what we tend to look for.

A Winter Coat for Cold Weather

For very cold conditions, down filled coats tend to be very reliable. This type of insulation offers excellent levels of warmth without a weight penalty – that’s why it’s the choice for most Everest mountaineers. The down side to down, however, is that it doesn’t always offer great resistance to rain.

You might also want to consider a wool lined jacket for cold weather. Wool is very warm and quite water resistant too, but it can make for a very heavy coat.

A Winter Coat for Cold and Wet Weather

If you’re not going to be out in the elements for too long, then you don’t necessarily need a fully waterproof winter coat. A synthetic insulated or wool insulated jacket with a water resistant fabric, like waxed cotton or a DWR-treated polyester/nylon shell, will serve just fine for short spells.

If you’re going to be exposed to heavy or prolonged rain then you’re going to want a winter coat that has a waterproof membrane. This will guarantee that the insulation is kept dry and you’re kept warm. Gore-tex is one of the most well-known types of membrane, but there’s also eVent, Futurelight, H2No and also lots of own-brand fabrics too.

Essential Things to Look For

Our advice is to always check the functionality of a hood when choosing a winter coat. If there’s not enough adjustment, you might find that the hood won’t hold to your head in strong winds or stay close enough to it to provide any insulation. If there’s three-point adjustment, you can count on the hood being up to scratch.

Check the zip’s protection too. This is a common flash point where water can creep in. If the zip is laminated or has a storm flap inside or outside (or on both sides!) then it should offer enough protection.

Maintaining a Winter Coat

It’s always worth making sure to maintain your winter coat to ensure it remains water resistant or waterproof. Brands like Nikwax make some excellent solutions for maintaining your coat at home, include technical detergents for waterproof jackets and spray on waxes for jackets made from waxed cotton.