Why We Chose It: Excellent warmth-to-weight, good eco efforts
Price: £275
Weight: 490g

This retro-looking down jacket is in fact modelled on a jacket that Fjällräven’s founder created to keep warm on his bivouacking adventures way back in the 1970s. That logo you can see in the pictures is actually the one the brand used when it first started out. 

Fortunately, the features are all modern. It’s a fairly high spec down jacket actually, one that I’ve found to be a cosy and reliable insulation piece. 

What Is The Expedition Pack Down Hoodie Best Suited To?

Despite being listed as part of Fjällräven’s ‘Polar’ range, this is better described as a mid-weight down jacket. It’s not one that’s going to be your main insulation piece on an expedition to the North Pole but it’ll certainly do the job during an autumn wild camp in the Lake District or as part of a layering system during a Scottish winter. 

The Eco Credentials

Here at Outdoors Magic, we’ve come to regard Fjällräven as one of the leading brands out there when it comes to sustainability. In fact, unlike many brands these days, the eco-conscience has been there right from the start. In the case of this jacket, nice eco-friendly touches you can expect include a fully recycled polyamide face fabric and lining, a fluorocarbon-free water resistant coating and ethically-sourced down fill that’s fully traceable. 

Construction and Performance

The main fill used here is 110g of goose down with a fill power of 700, all contained within stitched through baffles. 700 isn’t the most thermally efficient out there by any means but it’s not to be sniffed at either – it certainly feels very lofty and cosy. I’ve been kept warm by this during a couple of autumnal hikes in the Welsh hills and found it particularly good at keeping cold wind out, though on a really wintry day I think I’d want to have a good baselayer plus a decent fleece under it. The resistance to light rain was good to start with but it is starting to deteriorate and will require some Nikwaxing soon I think. That’s pretty much a given with down jackets though.