Top 15 Warmest Synthetic Insulation of 2020

That was informative and educational.  Thanks for listing products that use the insulation.

Interesting that LL Bean offers an affordable jacket with your #1 voted insulation product.  I know Eric B. will like that.

Nicely done.  I enjoyed your two jacket reviews as well.

Thank you John. Glad you found it informative. I’m hoping to check out both L.L. Bean jackets at my local store, especially the Packaway jacket using the #1 ranked insulation.

Thank you Stephen. Glad you enjoyed it as well as the other 2 reviews. Will be reviewing some hi-loft belay jackets in the next few weeks.

Aerogel has long promised amazing insulation abilities based on performance in the lab and in space… but every outdoor product I have read about (and several I have tried) were a disappointment. It would be great if this material actually provided real world performance.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/119860?page=mens-primaloft-packaway-jacket-mens-regular

Hi Mark. For the Aerogel products you have tried, were any of them using either PrimaLoft Gold Aerogel Insulation Aerogel (as used in many Outdoor Research gloves) or PrimaLoft Gold Insulation with Cross Core Technology (as used in the L.L. Bean Packaway jacket)?

Hi Daryl. Thanks for the link for the non-waterproof version of the L.L. Bean Packaway jacket. It’s still on sale! Too bad there is a lot of quilting and therefore potential cold spots in the areas of the seam.

The Aerogel I tried pre-dated Primaloft Gold.  One was a sleep pad from Pacific Outdoors.  Another was shoe inserts from ???, I am pretty sure there was a third..maybe gloves.  I am not saying that Primaloft Gold Aerogel isn’t any good…. just that I will be skeptical and would wait for multiple long term reviews before I would pull the trigger.

Interesting Video, thank you!

Are there any alternatives to the Packaway jacket? Or are there any reviews that compare the Packaway to other popular synthetic jackets?

Hi Christoph,

The Dynafit FT Jacket uses 100G (I believe they mean 100 g/m2) of PrimaLoft Gold Insulation with Cross Core Technology, along with PrimaLoft Silver Insulation ThermoPlume with Cross Core Technology.

https://www.dynafit.com/ft-insulation-men-jacket-08-0000071228

In terms of comparisons with the L.L. Bean Packaway, here’s a comparison with the closest rival, the Patagonia Nano Puff.

https://gearpatrol.com/2018/11/12/ll-bean-packaway-jacket-deal/

Thanks a lot! I might give it a try

Does anyone maybe know the weight of the Packaway Jacket?

With all the insulations available these days, the OP’s focus on Primaloft  troubles me.  However, if you rely on the video, the Primaloft Gold Crosscore with Aerogel “technology” is far warmer than Primaloft Gold.  Daryl’s link above is to a current LL Bean jacket that uses the Crosscore – just under $200.

An alternative might be the Montbell with Exceloft insulation, also less than $200.
https://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=3205&p_id=2301300

The Patagonia and Black Diamond synthetic fill jackets I could find use the Primaloft Gold “Eco”, not the Crosscore with Aerogel “technology,” – around $200 – 260:
https://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-nano-puff-jacket/84212.html

Most of these light jackets have many sewn through seams, in checkerboard or other patterns. So the insulative value of the raw batts tested by the OP is provided in these jackets primarily by the technology related to thin insulations, not by loft.  The OP’s Gear Patrol link is to an older Bean’s jacket not using Crosscore insulation and is out of stock at Bean’s.  The weights run around 8-10 oz, and are shown on the websites.

Wearing a nylon hooded shell over a beanie and a zip-neck wicking fleece top is what I use for cold winter hiking/snowshoeing, with a fleece sweater in the daypack in case the temp plummets.  If I wore one of these jackets under the shell, WBP or not, I’d expect to be sweat soaked, and I perspire less than average.  But each to their own.

Hi Sam,

Thanks for your comments.

The reason PrimaLoft dominated the Top 15 list, was only due to the available info I could find on the clo/oz/yd2 values that was publicly available, as mentioned in the 3rd point in the review around the 0:56s mark. I do also list some Climashield Insulation products that made the Top 15, as Climashield info is also publicly available, though as shown in the video, had lower clo/oz/yd2 values in general in comparison to PrimaLoft.

Would you happen to know any spec sheets publicly available for other insulation? If so, I will post a “revised” version of the list, assuming the info provided for other insulation bumps the ones posted off the Top 15 list.

Regarding the Gear Patrol link I posted, I believe it is using the PrimaLoft Gold Insulation with Cross Core Technology, as the Gear Patrol Reviewer states:

“And while love and loyalty keep me true to the Nano Puff, I will admit that the addition of Cross Core insulation does give the Packaway one-up over Patagonia’s jacket.”