In the outdoor industry, there is often a cycle: A well-known manufacturer will create an outdoor garment. The garment is combination of being stylish, functional and practical. The garment becomes a de facto standard of outdoor wear. Mid-range manufacturers make a similar garment. The outdoor gear becomes mainstream fashion and becomes ubiquitous. What was once meant for the outdoors is now seen not only in the backcountry but in town as well.

One brand of this trend of “outdoor clothing as urban gear” is Uniqlo. Based in Japan, this company specializes in clothing that would be just as at home in an urban setting. So how does a semi-reformed long distance hiker wind up with such clothing? A clearance sale last January of Uniqlo’s Ultralight Down Parka piqued my interest. At $60, with shipping and handling included, a lightweight hooded down jacket was too good to pass up. The clothing may not be marketed to the outdoor crowd. But even dirt bag hikers like a good deal.

Initial Impressions

When I received the jacket, I was not surprised to see it closely resembled similar garments made by Patagonia, Montbell, et al. The outer shell is made of thin nylon with a hood sans drawstring. The garment has the standard inner non-zippered pocket and two zippered hand warmer pockets. A small nylon stuff sack is included. The garment stuffs down to something smaller than a Nalgene bottle.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the jacket is made with 640 fill power down on the European scale, or about 750 fill power on the American scale. In other words, the garment itself is a quality one in terms of the down used.

The workmanship itself seems solid. No stray stitching or any faults that may show shoddy manufacturing. The fit is on the loose side but seems true to size. The jacket is not overly boxy as with many cheaper pieces of clothing but seems large enough to layer underneath if need be. The jacket strikes a nice compromise between having too athletic of a cut and the “Michelin tire man look” on the other extreme.

On my scale, a men’s large parka without the stuff sack weighs exactly 10.0 ounces. The light weight, compactness and the hood made it a promising piece of gear for my three-season backpacking. And if you really want to wear this in town, the jacket is stylish enough to wear there, too.

In the Field

This jacket has been used very frequently over the past seven months. The trips ranged from jaunts in the desert southwest, to exploring the High Plains in the spring, to high points of the Rockies this past summer and fall. The jacket kept me warm by alpine lakes while taking in the scenery or while resting in the shadow of rocks adorned with ancient petroglyphs. At night, the hood of the down jacket helped to make for a pleasant evening while snuggled in my quilt. I can safely state that this jacket has become an indispensable part of my outdoor use.

The jacket is light, warm for its weight and seemingly well-made despite its fairly low price. I also appreciate how there is no brand label on the outside of the jacket. I do not feel as if I am advertising for the company by the simple act of wearing a jacket.

The jacket works best for cool to moderately cold temperatures. I would not suggest this jacket for deep winter use, but it is not meant for those types of conditions. The niche this jacket fills in terms of warmth is the rough equivalent of a traditional 200 weight fleece jacket. With the parka, I was able to be warm sleeping in temperatures dipping into the high teens or low twenties at night. As a baseline, I was using a CCF pad and using a quilt rated to 25F.

The hood and waist of the jacket do not cinch up. On the extreme edge of the comfort rating of this jacket, a non-cinching hood could be problematic. Since I use this jacket in conjunction with a down quilt, a hood that cinches up would be very desirable. In fairness, most jackets of this type do not have a hood that cinches. Along the same lines, the lack of a waist draw string prevents the jacket from being as warm as it could be versus other, more expensive, garments of similar design.

In the same vein, the material of this jacket is very thin. Again, typical for many jackets of this type. Helps keep the overall weight low. A little more care will be needed with this jacket than others made with a studier nylon shell. The current version of the parka has a DWR applied that works well for light mist and moisture. It is not waterproof, but packing up a shelter in the cold and misty morning air before setting out for the day should not be an issue. Naturally, any down garment should not be worn while hiking as excess moisture from your body will cause the down to become damp and the warmth compromised.

The one item I really wish was made better would be the zipper. It is very light, has a small zipper pull and is seemingly delicate. Some care must be taken to zip up the jacket. If the hands are cold and/or a person has a glove or mitten on, pulling up the zipper may be slightly difficult.

Conclusion

Light, warm and inexpensive, the Uniqlo Ultralight Down Parka is a very good product. It may have been targeted at an urban audience, but any budget minded outdoors person should enjoy the product as well. Currently the down parka is selling for $79.99 which is still a very good price for this garment especially compared to similar garments retailing $200 or more. In between (especially when on sale) one should also consider the 650 REI Co-op Down Hoodie or if a hood is not needed, the REI-Co-op 650 Down Jacket.

There is a good chance there will be post-December holiday sales to clean out this year’s inventory. If the parka again goes on clearance, it is even more of a bargain. A little care must be taken with the zipper but the parka is otherwise very useable in an outdoors setting.

You can find the Uniqlo Ultralight Down Parka at Uniqlo.com. Find more lightweight down jackets and parkas here at REI Co-op.

Editor's Note: This review by contributor Paul Magnanti originally appeared in Issue 18 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos, pros and cons, and our star rating of the Uniqlo down parka.