Jan 6

Jan 6 Fjällräven Expedition Down Jacket (2020)

Alex Rakestraw

Parka, Lifestyle, Review

Fjällräven Expedition Down Jacket (2020)

Type: Parka / Use: Lifestyle / Face: Nylon / Insulation: 700 fill down

Technologies: n/a

Price: $700.00

Oh lawd. He comin.

Last December, Swedish outdoors brand Fjällräven launched a New York-only preview of its redone Expedition Down Jacket. The original design dates back to 1974, the year Fjäll founder Åke Nordin built a cold-weather parka out of two cold-weather parkas. Nordin sought a jacket warm enough for the Arctic conditions in his own northern Sweden. When a prototype he built let cold creep in, he stitched to another.

In doing so, he made the chonk.

The Expedition Down is a hilariously overstuffed 4lb puffer. Weighing in around 10 avocados, the jacket consists of a tortilla nylon shell packed to the gills with responsibly-sourced goose down and almost nothing else. This is the mission burrito of baffling – the canned heat of coats. It’s a design so recognizable that the Supreme Court of Sweden granted it protected copyright as a work of art.

It is also Big Chungus. And a large adult son.

Fjällräven’s flagship featherbed defines excess. Impractically big, stupendously warm, there is no reason to own this jacket anywhere that has nighttime in summer. Fuck “scary cold.” The Expedition Down and a simple fleece hoodie made a mile walk through 5° F feel comfortable. It also came off the second I stepped inside. In New York, it is overkill. In Toronto, it earns keep. On an arctic expedition, perhaps, it would feel right at home.

Long ago, Fjäll recognized the pure heat from this fusion bomb and so, released a lighter version with around 35% less feathers. Named the Expedition Down Lite (how earnest and Protestant!), this jacket – and not the one being reviewed – is the best fit for most. It’s also $200 less. In this economy, that’s quite the cherry on top.

But that’s not why we’re here.

This bloated big man – this insensible elephant – is a silly, silly thing. Essentially, it’s a sleeping bag with arm holes at almost twice the weight. At 6’4”, my size Medium has room to move. There’s even a pamphlet in the pocket explaining that all those geese were treated ethically. Wildly impractical yet too big to fail, the Expedition Down is a functional garment too functioned to function.

On a related note: it’s a really solid fashion piece.

At the time of writing, oversized outerwear is #in. The Expedition Down, worn over literally anything, rides this wave. Fashion has always tapped some strain of anti-utility to provide critical distance. When its inspiration source was designed to perform, that strain must show through caricature. Moncler Genius x Craig Green is the canonical example. Vetements, OFF-WHITE, and a host of other apostles follow the same teachings. Fjällräven just got a 40-year headstart.

BTW: retro is #in, too.

The Expedition Down’s sheer proportions make it a streetwear statement piece, one with rare credibility and a yarn to tell. Again, the jacket came to life because the company’s founder was cold enough to stitch two arctic prototypes together. In a street scene chafed with overblown “storytelling,” a legit product origin is interesting. The size and styling of the jacket (here in Fjäll’s classic Uncle Blue) will still take the cake. But the pure character of it adds a nice frosting.

Here’s the lowdown on this high-down jacket.

Fjällräven’s Expedition Down should not be your first parka. It’s simply too warm for winter-long use in any latitudinal zone that starts with “Tropic.” As a fashion piece, though, it’s actually really nice. The outdoors cred and contemporary styling (shouts to that OG logo patch) make it an easy wear quite literally over any outfit. Plus, friends will quote the Seinfeld “GORE-TEX” episode at you. Win-win.

For $700, it’s cheap compared to Moncler but pricy against… well… the Expedition Lite. If you’re here for a fashion-first oversized puffer, get this one! But if you’re here for a daily driver, I’d say seek elsewhere.

Now if you’ll excuse me: mom said it’s my turn on the Xbox.