REASONS TO BUY
Inexpensive
Comfortable
Down treated with Down Defender
REASONS TO AVOID
Heavy
No draw cord adjustability
Does not compress into stuff sack or pocket
Does not use certified responsibly sourced down
Marmot Tullus Hoody Review
An affordable and comfortable down jacket with a few drawbacks
Credit: Marmot
RELATED: Best Down Jackets for Men of 2024
Our Verdict
The Marmot Tullus Hoody is a very simple and inexpensive down hoody that retains a fair bit of warmth. Retailing for a great price, this is one of the least expensive down hoodies in this review. To accomplish this low price point, the Tullus Hoody uses 600-fill power down treated with Marmot's Down Defender hydrophobic coating. While it is reasonably warm and water-resistant, it has been stripped of most features, is fairly heavy, and does not come with any means of keeping it compressed in its own pocket or stuff sack. Poor performance in these metrics lead it to be one of the lower-scoring jackets in our review, but the truth is that this is a comfortable and solid jacket at a very reasonable cost.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Retailing for a very low price, one would think that the Marmot Tullus Hoody would be a prime candidate for our Best Bang for the Buck Award, and indeed, that is exactly why we wanted to test it. While we think that this jacket actually provides good value, combining fairly decent warmth and water resistance, not to mention a comfortable fit, it also lacked the awesome features and compressibility that others have. At the end of the day, both are worthy choices for the person looking to spend as little money on down as possible, despite their relatively low overall scores.
Performance Comparison
Despite being a warm and comfortable jacket, the Tullus Hoody fell towards the bottom in our comparative review.
The Marmot Tullus Hoody is a no-frills, very affordable down jacket that is pretty warm and plenty comfortable. Keeping us warm while checking in on the ice conditions at the Ouray Ice Park, waiting for opening day.
Warmth
Despite using the lowest fill power down of any jacket in this review — 600 — coupled with sewn-through construction, the Tullus Hoody is surprisingly warm. It reminds one of a heavy down comforter and what Marmot lost in heat-trapping loft by using lower fill power down they made up for by simply stuffing a whole lot more of it in there. When conducting side-by-side comparison tests, we felt that this jacket was not quite as warm as its thicker competitors, but was no doubt warmer than the ultralight variety. While it trapped the warmth well to keep us warm around the well-insulated torso, we lamented the total lack of drawcords at the hood or hem and noticed that cold air tended to infiltrate in these areas.
Despite only using 600-fill power down, the Tullus Hoody is fairly warm. The biggest warmth-related issue for us was the lack of draw cords on the wide fitting hem, making it easy for cold air to infiltrate our warmth envelope.
Weight
Our size men's large Tullus Hoody weighed in at 17.4 ounces on our independent scale, which is the cost of using lower fill-power down and having to compensate by using a ton of it. While 17.4 ounces really isn't super heavy, it was one of the heavier jackets in the review.
Water Resistance
This jacket uses Marmot's proprietary Down Defender treatment to give the down clusters a hydrophobic treatment. Marmot claims that this treatment makes the down 150% more water-resistant, and also helps it dry out significantly faster if it does get waterlogged. We had a hard time testing the veracity of these claims but found that the DWR coating on the ripstop polyester face fabric worked fairly well.
We initially tested all the jackets DWR coatings by spraying them copiously with a spray bottle to simulate light rain.
It caused water to bead up and shed off, although small amounts of water were observed being absorbed into the face fabric.
As you can see here, the DWR coating on the Tullus Hoody is merely adequate. In some places it is causing water to bead and shed well, while at others you can see water seeping into the face fabric. Inside, this jacket uses Marmot's Down Defender treatment.
Fit
While the fit of this jacket was spacious and comfortable, it was not one of the best fitting jackets in the review. We tested a men's size large and found that there was quite a bit of extra space in the torso. Considering there's no way to tighten up the hem with a drawcord, we felt the fit was perhaps a bit too airy. There is no constriction of movement in the shoulders or back area, which is nice, but we also thought the sleeves could use an extra inch of length for optimal coverage when moving the arms about. Due to its bulkier fit, we feel like this one was a better choice for wearing as an outer layer, and didn't really layer over the top of it very often.
The Tullus hoody fits rather spaciously, especially in the lower torso, where there is plenty of extra room for a beer baby, err, belly. It is very comfortable and is not constricting in the fit in any way.
Compressibility
The Tullus Hoody does not have a means of stuffing itself into one of its own pockets, or into a dedicated stuff sack that is included with purchase. Since it has a lightweight Polyester face fabric, it is not too hard to roll it up into its own hood if keeping it stuffed down small is needed.
Shown here are the Mountain Hardwear StretchDown Hooded (top, left), Marmot Tullus Hoody (top, right), and Columbia Outdry Ex Gold (bottom) stuffed into their own hood.
Features
This jacket had the fewest features of any in this review. It does not have a drawcord at the hem or around the face, and especially in the case of the hem, could really use it. The elastic lining around the face opening works okay, but not great. It has the standard two zippered handwarmer pockets, as well as an internal zippered pocket, but pretty much no other features than that.
The Tullus Hoody does not have very many features to comment on. As you can see here, the hood does not have any sort of adjustable draw cords. It is spaciously large and does an adequate job of sealing off the opening around the face, but not great.
Due to its very spacious fit and lack of features, we found this jacket to be more enjoyable for hanging at camp in the evenings than for technical pursuits. Here enjoying a Thanksgiving Day fire at Paradise Forks, AZ.
Value
Being one of the single most affordable hooded down jackets in our review, it holds great value. However, we chose not to award it Best Buy because it lacks some important characteristics that would help it compare with other inexpensive models.
Wearing the Tullus Hoody on a hike above the town of Ouray, CO. As one of the most affordable jackets we tested, we think this one presents a good value, and recommend checking it out to those who want the most warmth for the least price.
Conclusion
The Marmot Tullus Hoody is a warm and comfortable jacket that uses lower quality 600-fill power down to keep the cost down but makes up for it by using a lot of it. Its most notable quality is its low price, making it a solid selection for anyone who wants to spend the least amount of money possible. While we didn't find it to be the most awesome technical layer, we thought it worked great for camping, hiking, and dealing with the cold around town.
Ending the day watching the sunset to the West while wearing the warm and comfortable Tullus Hoody. Due to its simplicity, we thought this was one of the best “camp” jackets in this review.
—
Adam Paashaus & Andy Wellman
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