Buying Guide for High Altitude Expedition Parka
Buying an expedition parka can get very confusing, especially with many options out there to choose from. I recently found myself in the market to buy an extreme cold weather expedition down parka. And the more research I did the more confused I got with deciding which parka to buy at the end. To solve that dilemma, I decided to put together some key features of these jackets in a table format that I would quickly be able to refer to, instead of having to go through each different sites for each of these jackets with information presented in different formats. At the end I was able to make a sound decision for my parka using the information presented below. I am now putting it out here hoping that it will help some of you to some extent with your buying decision.
Feathered Friends
| Jacket Name | Reviews | Fill Power | Fill Weight | Weight | Made In | Features | Gender | Price |
| Frontpoint Jacket | 5* with 3 Reviews | 850+ Goose Down | 12.7 oz / 360 g (medium) | 1 lb 14 oz / 850 g (medium) | Seattle, WA, USA | Double Zippers; Taslite reinforced elbows and lower sleeves; removable hood |
Male |
$499 |
| Icefall Parka | 5* with 7 Reviews | 850+ Goose Down | 13.8 oz / 391 g (medium) | 2 lbs 1 oz / 936 g (medium) | Seattle, WA, USA | Double Zippers; Taslite reinforced elbows and lower sleeves; removable hood |
Male |
$599 |
| Rock & Ice Parka | 850+ Goose Down | 20.5 oz / 582 g (medium) | 2 lb 14 oz / 1304 g (medium) | Seattle, WA, USA | Arsenal of pockets to stow gear and hold food and water; Double Zippers; Taslite reinforced shoulders; elbow and lower sleeve |
Male |
$829 |
Mountain Hardwear
| Jacket Name | Reviews | Fill Power | Fill Weight | Weight | Made In | Features | Gender | Price |
| Phantom™ Hooded Down Jacket | 4* with 18 reviews | 850-fill | 180 g | 1 lb 1 oz / 492 g | Thumb hole | Male | $400 (sale $300) | |
| Men’s Nilas™ Jacket | 5* with 23 reviews | 850-fill | 215 g. | 1 lb 8 oz / 680 g | Thumb hole | Male | $550 (sale $412.50) | |
| Absolute Zero™ Parka | 5* with 30 reviews | 800-Fill | N/A | 2 lb 13 oz / 1.28 kg | Thumb hole; reinforced elbows and lower sleeves | Male | $800 (sale $600) |
Rab Equipment (Female)
| Jacket Name | Reviews | Fill Power | Fill Weight | Weight | Made In | Features | Price |
| Electron Jacket | 5* with 14 reviews | 800-fill | 170 g / 6 oz | 430 g / 15 oz (UK 12) | UK | $325 | |
| Neutrino Endurance Jacket | 4.5* with 13 reviews | 800-fill | 216 g / 8 oz | 585 g / 21 oz | UK | $375 | |
| Valiance Jacket | N/A | 800-fill | 160 g / 5.6 oz | 615 g / 21.7 oz | UK | $385 | |
| Positron Jacket | 5* with 15 reviews | 800-fill | 230 g / 8 oz | 600 g / 21 oz | UK | $400 | |
| Infinity G Jacket | N/A | 850-fill | 220 g / 7.7 oz | 438 g / 15.4 oz | UK | $450 |
Rab Equipment (Male)
| Jacket Name | Reviews | Fill Power | Fill Weight | Weight | Made In | Features | Price |
| Electron Jacket | 4.5* with 19 reviews | 800-fill | 190 g / 7 oz in size L | 500 g (Size L) | UK | $325 | |
| Neutrino Endurance Jacket | 5* with 36 reviews | 800-fill | 250g/9oz | 635g | UK | $375 | |
| Valiance Jacket | 5* with 1 review | 800-fill | 170g/6oz | 660g/23oz | UK | $385 | |
| Positron Jacket | 4.5* / 16 reviews | 800-fill | 275g/10oz | 650g | UK | $400 | |
| Resolution Jacket | 4.5* / 3 reviews | 800-fill | 330g/ 11.6oz | 935g/33oz | UK | $500 | |
| Batura Jacket | N/A | 800-fill | 450g/15.9oz | 1190g/42oz | UK | NEW | $675 |
| ———- | ———- | ———- | ———- | ———- | ———- | ———- | —– |
| Continuum Jacket | 4* / 1 review | 850-fill | 148g/5.2oz | 355g/12.5oz | UK | $350 | |
| Infinity G Jacket | 5* / 1 review | 850-fill | 240g/8.4oz | 488g/17.2oz | UK | $450 | |
| ———- | ———- | ———- | ———- | ———- | ———- | ———- | —– |
| Zero G Jacket | 4* / 9 reviews | 1000-fill | 130g/4.5oz | 310g/11oz | UK | Very light jacket, not very warm yet 1000-fill | $550 |
The North Face (Female)
| Jacket Name | Reviews | Fill Power | Fill Weight | Weight | Made In | Features | Price |
| Women’s Immaculator Parka | 4.5* with 9 reviews | 800-fill | N/A | 656 g (23.17 oz) | No external chest-pocket (0) | $349 | |
| Women’s Summit L3 Down Hoodie | 5* with 2 reviews | 800-fill | N/A | 320 g (11.28 oz) | No external chest-pocket | $350 | |
| Women’s Summit L3 Proprius Down Hoodie | 800-fil | N/A | 340 g (12 oz) | External chest-pocket (1) | $350 | ||
| Women’s Summit L6 Down Belay Parka | N/A | 800-fill | N/A | 720 g (25.39 oz) | Internal, secure-zip chest pocket; Belay-friendly, two-way, VISLON® center front zip; Internal comfort cuffs with thumb-loops seal in warmth | $500 |
The North Face (Male)
| Jacket Name | Reviews | Fill Power | Fill Weight | Weight | Made In | Features | Price |
| Men’s Immaculator Parka | 5* with 7 reviews | 800-fill | N/A | 720 g (25.4 oz) | No external chest-pocket (0) | $349 | |
| Men’s Summit L6 Down Belay Parka | 3* with 1 review | 800-fill | N/A | 840 g (29.63 oz) | Internal, secure-zip chest pocket; Belay-friendly, two-way, VISLON® center front zip; Internal comfort cuffs with thumb-loops seal in warmth | $500 | |
| Men’s Himalayan Parka | 4.5* with 25 reviews | 800 fill goose down in main body and sleeves; 700 fill goose down in back panel and lower shoulders | N/A | 1490 g (3 lbs 2 oz) | $649 |
Marmot
| Jacket Name | Reviews | Fill Power | Fill Weight | Weight | Made In | Features | Gender | Price |
| Greenland Baffled Jacket | 5* with 5 reviews | 800-fill | N/A | 1lbs 11oz (765.4g) | Male | $450 (sale $337.50) | ||
| Terrawatt Jacket | 4.8* with 4 reviews | 800-fill | N/A | 1lbs 4.3oz (575.5g) | Male | $375 (sale $281.25 | ||
| 8000M Parka | 5* with 2 reviews | 800+-fill | N/A | 3lbs 1oz (1389.1g) | Attached hood with muff | Male | $750 (sale $562.50) |
Patagonia
| Jacket Name | Reviews | Fill Power | Fill Weight | Weight | Made In | Features | Gender | Price |
| Patagonia Women’s Fitz Roy Down Parka | 4.4* with 35 reviews | 800-fill | N/A | 462 g (16.3 oz) | Chest-pocket (1); extremely lightweight | Female | $449 (sale $314) | |
| Patagonia Men’s Grade VII Down Parka | 4.4* with 8 reviews | 800-fill | N/A | 675 g (23.8 oz) | Two chest-pockets; extremely lightweight | Male | $899 |
These are only a few of the many brands out there. I will add more brands and update this article in the future. Please leave a comment below with your input that will definitely help me to present an article with more and better information in the future. Thanks for reading and happy climbing!
great review ! Nice gift for me !
Very nice Rumana–thank you for all the work you did to put this together!