REI Co-op Magma 850 Hoodie Review

The Magma 850 is one of the most versatile down jackets I tested. It's super comfortable, fits great with layers over and under, and is easy to pack. It's not the absolute warmest puffy in our lineup, but it's stuffed with 850-fill-power down, so it has a high warmth-to-weight ratio. I love this jacket for everything from summer backpacking to winter hikes to chilly evenings around the campfire.

Warmth

The 850-fill down in the Magma 850 features a higher ratio of down feathers than most jackets. Many jackets at this price point are stuffed with 600- to 700-fill-power down, so they have to include more down to achieve the same amount of insulation. The high-quality 850-fill-power down in the Magma 850 is incredibly warm for the weight, so this jacket keeps you warmer with less bulk. This model also has excellent loft for a jacket with narrower baffles. Unless you have a 900-fill-power or higher down jacket, you're not going to find a model with better loft for the weight.

Even though the Magma 850 isn't the warmest jacket I tested, it's warm enough for just about everything except the most extreme cold conditions. This jacket strikes a Goldilocks zone for layering. It isn't too warm to layer around and wouldn't be as useful for layering if it were any warmer on its own. The fit is also just right – it isn't too tight to prevent layering underneath, and the athletic fit doesn't allow heat to escape. You can easily layer a shell over top for extra wind or weather protection or wear a thick sweater underneath for extra warmth.

It has a drop hem in the rear to seal in heat when you lean over. The nonrestrictive fit and articulated elbows allowed me to move around easily without the jacket riding up, thus increasing the warmth. The Magma 850 also has an insulated cover that runs along the inside of the zipper to prevent heat loss through the zipper. I did notice a small amount of heat loss when I unzipped the hand warmer pockets, but nothing out of the ordinary, and this came in handy to improve breathability.

Comfort

The Magma 850 is a very comfortable jacket. The face fabric of the interior lining feels soft rather than slippery against your bare skin, which is a nice change of pace from traditional ultralight fabrics. Whenever I put on this jacket, I immediately think, “This is comfortable!” as I pull my arms through the sleeves – it feels more like a cozy sweater than a clammy, technical outdoor jacket. Even when I sweat into the jacket on hikes, the fabric didn't cling to my arms like some other jackets I tested.

The fit is neither too tight nor too loose. It's trim in a flattering way that hugs your body without looking or feeling too tight. Even though this is a tighter fitting jacket, it never restricted any of my movements. This is the ideal fit for activities like climbing, where extra bulk can get in the way. However, it's also great for hiking, backpacking, skiing, camping, or casual wear, all year long.

The Magma 850 features stretch-knit wrist cuffs that are both comfortable and practical. They're small enough to stay around your wrists, which keeps the sleeves from sliding down and getting in the way during activities. Yet they're stretchy enough to not cut off circulation, and I loved the feel of the cuffs against my skin. I find the sleeves of my jackets get wet the most often. If these small cuffs get wet, there's very little knit fabric here, so they won't feel too cold.

This jacket adjusts at the waist hem with an elastic cinch cord. It also features another cinch cord that runs from the front to the back of the hood, so you can tighten it when the winds pick up. The hood cinch was easy to use with one hand or while wearing gloves.

Portability

I weighed the Magma 850 in a men's medium at 12.5 ounces. This isn't the lightest jacket I tested, but it's not nearly the heaviest. The 850-fill down makes this jacket extremely warm for its weight, so even if it's not the most ultralight model available, it is still lighter than many other jackets that offer the same level of warmth. And it's still more than light enough to bring backpacking.

Like many other lightweight down jackets, this puffy stuffs into its own hand pocket. That pocket has a double-sided zipper so you can zip it shut from the outside. The stuff sack pocket is small and nicely balances ease of packing with overall packed size. The Magma 850 isn't the easiest to pack away, but it's not so small that stuffing the jacket is impossible.

850-fill-power down is known for its compressibility. This helps the Magma 850 pack down nearly as small as the lightest, most packable jackets I tested. But when it's unpacked, this jacket has more loft and, therefore, offers more warmth than any of those ultralight jackets.

Weather Resistance

The Magma 850 isn't a rain jacket, but it can handle foul weather and blocks wind better than many other down jackets I tested. The DWR on the shell works effectively to shed water, and the Magma 850 performed admirably in light precipitation. The down is also treated with a Bluesign-approved DWR coating, which guarantees that the down treatment doesn't contain any PFCs. The shell treatment means that this jacket won't wet out as quickly as others, and if it does, the DWR coating on the down acts as an insurance policy when the shell soaks through.

As a water resistance test, I sprayed this jacket with water and then rubbed it in to simulate wearing this puffy with a backpack in damp conditions. The stitching between the baffles was wet, but the ripstop nylon shell absorbed no water. Most importantly, the interior of the jacket was completely dry.

The Magma 850 also performed very well in a wind resistance test. I couldn't feel any air pass through this jacket when I placed it against a fan. My experience out in the wild backed up this laboratory test. In real-world testing high on windy ridges, I couldn't feel any wind except for where my skin was exposed.

Breathability

This jacket breathes better than average, but only slightly. The thinner baffles allow some breathability compared to puffier jackets with big, bulky baffles, making the Magma 850 more breathable than the heaviest, warmest jackets I tested.

The thin backing on the hand pockets works to vent slightly, but the main ventilation option is the full-length zipper. The Magma 850 is best for medium-output activities like light hiking. It could also work for high-output activities like ski touring, but only in extremely cold conditions.

Should You Buy the REI Co-op Magma 850 Hoodie?

The Magma 850 is an excellent choice if you're looking for one down jacket to do everything. It's not the warmest jacket, but hits the sweet spot between too warm and not quite warm enough. This makes it an extremely versatile jacket, making it a great choice for most people. You can use it through the winter for cold-weather activities and continue using it all summer as an insulating layer on chilly nights. You'd be hard-pressed to find more value in a jacket than this one – it's comfortable, weather-resistant, versatile, and relatively affordable.

What Other Down Jackets Should You Consider?

Check out the Stio Pinion Hooded jacket as an option that's directly comparable to the Magma 850. If you need the lightest possible jacket for ultralight backpacking or alpine climbing, check out the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer. If you're looking for a less expensive jacket and don't need quite as much warmth, check out the Decathlon Forclaz MT100.