Winter Jacket Fabrics: Which Material Is Best for Staying Warm and Dry?
The best winter jackets for men and women are meant to keep you warm, and one of the key factors in their ability to do that is jacket material. Additionally, winter jackets can also be responsible for keeping you dry during a rain or snowstorm. Don’t like wind chill? That’s right, winter jackets are key in keeping you cozy during just about any kind of weather.
So what kind of material is best for winter jackets? Of course, different materials have different benefits, and depending on what kind of weather protection you want from your winter jacket, you’ll need to choose the most appropriate material. Rounded up below are the most popular types of winter jacket materials and the benefits offered by each of them.
Wool Winter Jackets
If you live in a cooler climate, such as New England or the Northwest, then finding a winter jacket material that is warm is perhaps the most important factor. One of the most timeless materials used to make winter coats is wool, and with good reason. Wool manages to be both lightweight and sturdy, making it both long-lasting and able to endure even the harshest of winters. Additionally, wool has natural insulation properties thanks to the air pockets that naturally occur throughout the fabric.
Additionally, while wool isn’t necessarily the top material choice for rainy climates, it is actually naturally water-resistant, so wearing it during a light snow shower should be no problem. You can dress wool coats up or down to match just about any outfit, from stylish formal wear to a casual look of jeans and a turtleneck. While wool coats do tend to be pricier, you can also find wool-blend coats that are a bit more affordable and offer many of the same benefits of a pure wool coat.
Down Winter Jackets
Another popular choice when it comes to winter jacket materials is down. For those living in colder areas, you’ll likely see lots of people walking around with poofy winter coats. Many of these are made with down. For those who don’t know, down is a layer of feathers taken from duck, geese, and chickens. However, these feathers take on a different look than the typical feathers you see on these animals, as they’re actually taken from beneath the topmost layer of feathers we familiarize with duck, geese, and chickens.
Down is one of the warmest winter jacket materials you can invest in (which isn’t too surprising considering it helps keep animals warm during the chilly winter months!), and it functions by keeping your own body heat warm in the air around you by insulating it. The thicker a down jacket, the more warm air you’ll be able to trap around your body, leading to an even cozier experience.
That being said, down is one of the most expensive winter jacket materials, and while you can purchase synthetic fill, it’s not considered to be as high quality as actual down. In fact, synthetic fill is known to break down over time, giving it a much shorter life than authentic down. Additionally, down does little to help during wet situations. This makes plenty of sense if you think about it, as down is often protected from rain and water on animals by the actual feathers that cover it.
Polyurethane Laminate Winter Jackets
For those living in the South or Pacific Northwest, the key factor to look out for in a winter jacket is how waterproof the apparel is. While temperatures might not drop low enough to need a wool or down jacket, there’s still plenty of rainfall that a winter coat needs to protect against. Polyurethane Laminate and thermoplastic polyurethane are two of the most common fabric types used in creating waterproof coats.
Polyurethane Laminate can be knit or woven, and it can come as a cotton blend or be made from polyester. Polyester polyurethane laminate tends to be much softer than cotton, while both cotton and polyester polyurethane laminate work wonders when it comes to durability, breathability, and keeping water away from your body. Similarly, thermoplastic polyurethane is often used interchangeably with polyurethane laminate in winter coats and raincoats, as it offers a softer and more environmentally friendly approach to waterproof materials.
Lastly, you might want to consider the garment care instructions for a winter coat before buying it, primarily whether it can be machine-washed or must be dry-cleaned.
Happy coat shopping, and stay warm out there!
Resources— Mulberrys Garment Care, Outdoor Gear Lab, Sew Guide
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