Fila Puffer Jackets for Men & Women Price: $29.99 Shipping Options:: $5 Standard OR $10 Two-Day OR $20 One-Day Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Monday, Dec 15 to Tuesday, Dec 16) + transit Condition: New
The more expensive ones ($200+) tend to be made out of down, rather than polyfill. Also, I question how snag proof the shell is. However, at $29, it is hard to pass up.
High end brands like Patagonia, Mountain Hardware, and Mont Bell make very good synthetic jackets similar to this one. The difference lies in the type of synthetic fill, whether is some variant of Primaloft.
Some of the higher end synthetic fills can outperform mid level (600 fill) goose down in weight, packabillity, and loft
Its hard to tell, but at this price point, you probably wont be getting the $$$ features you’ll see on $200+ jackets like variable fill baffles or stretch panels. But for $29, this is a pretty good deal
I’m not impressed with Fila. I bought two Fila fleeces from Woot and one of them arrived with the stitching incomplete in the armpit area. I also bought two Fila spring jackets and one came with a big hole in one of the pockets (incomplete stitching). I love the fleeces and the jackets, just wish they had better quality control.
“How do these compare to the expensive versions, like North Face/Columbia?”
I have a lightweight puffer that is down-filled, and it only keeps me warm to about 40 degrees. Below that, I need a heavier down coat. I think this one, being poly-filled, will perform the same way.
Also, I always buy what I need based on whether or not a product is classified as a jacket or a coat. My unscientific observations over the years are that coats are much warmer than jackets. I don’t know if the apparel industry has an official requirement (like the requirement to have content and care tags) about labeling coats vs. jackets, however.
I wonder about the temp rating of these jackets. Also, Woot had some that were like this before, but they were “packable” and waterproof. Fila seems mum in the specs and on their site about these coats. Hmmmm…
[edit] A comparable Land’s End jacket has a rating of 0 - 20 degrees F.