I Tried It: The Super Puff Is Legitimately Amazing

Call the Super Puff the unofficial uniform of Vancouver winters: these uber-popular puffers from Aritzia are seemingly everywhere.

Kendall Jenner first launched the Super Puff to fame seven years ago after posting a picture on her Instagram: almost a decade later, and the puffy winter staple is still going strong. I’ve spotted everyone and their (stylish) grandmas sporting the down-filled puffy jackets from Vancouver’s favourite affordable-luxury fashion retailer. And with new styles, materials and colours coming out this year—including the new, 100-percent waterproof Super Puff₂O jackets—my guess is this trendy Michelin-Man-cosplay coat isn’t going anywhere just yet.

But are they actually worth the hype? I’ve always assumed the wearers were brainwashed by the cult of Aritzia, but maybe I’ve been wrong all these years. Should I really judge a book by its puffy cover? Only one way to find out.

The infamous Instagram campaign back in 2017: Kendall Jenner has the face that launched a thousand puffers.

Is the Aritzia Super Puff jacket worth the price tag?

Normally I hate bandwagons, and the idea of spending lots of money to look like everyone else does not appeal to me (the cheapest Super Puff you can get is still $225). But after being offered a chance to try one of these Super Puffs for free, I found myself scrolling the Aritzia website, ready to join Super Puff Nation.

As it turns out, the hardest part of all this was not admitting I was wrong when I said I would never be one of these “puffer people,” but rather choosing what kind of puffer person I wanted to be. If you’ve never shopped for one of these puffy jackets before (you’re a dying breed), Aritzia has a very impressive online portal that offers custom options and style choices: a fact I found both exciting and deeply overwhelming.

Aritzia has an extensive level of customizability to help make your Super Puff your own, including several colour options, depending on the style. Credit: Aritzia.com

Tons of options for customizing the Super Puffer

Putting my analysis paralysis aside, I went through each option, crafting my dream winter jacket. Was I an original, long, mid, bomber or (dare I?!) shorty-length kind of Aritzia gal? How important was it that it be waterproof versus water-repellent? Did I need the hood to be removable? Matte, shiny, metallic or plush? What level of warmth did I want to party with? And I wasn’t even at the 25 different colours yet.

This was the exact Super Puff₂O mid-length black jacket I got.

Being the overly-practical person that I am, I went with a matte black (it goes with everything), mid-length (not too long, not too short) in XS (I was going to do small, but I had read online that they tend to fit bulky and I didn’t want to end up looking like a pile of garbage bags with legs… albeit a fashionable one.)

I also knew I wanted to go with Aritzia’s newest addition to the Super Puff family: Super Puff₂O. Unlike previous iterations, it’s 100-percent waterproof and can withstand temperatures from -30°C (any colder and you won’t find me outside, anyways). They’re also packed with 100-percent responsibly sourced goose down, which left me wondering what that even meant, but I couldn’t look into it further as I was too busy trying to decide what colour I wanted.

A Super Puff even a Super-Puff hater can love

When my Super Puff arrived, I was surprised by how compact the coat could get. I immediately tried it on and something in me changed: I had become a puffer person.

In the mirror, I fantasized about my new life: gliding confidently through the streets of Vancouver, Starbucks in hand, singing pleasantries to strangers like a modern-day Belle in Beauty and the Beast, while exchanging knowing glances with fellow puffy jacket passersby.

Close up of sleeve with cuff and thumb hole

The jacket fit perfectly with drawstrings on both ends to cinch me in, and the thumb hole “storm cuffs” to keep the cold out completely. I was in my own airy sleeping bag cocoon—I felt invincible.

By some kismet, I received my Super Puff on the same day that the December snowmaggedon decided to visit the West Coast. For the first time in my life, I was thrilled to see the snow dump because it meant I could really take this puffer for a test drive—and let’s just say, she delivered.

A puffer jacket that can withstand -30 degree weather

Just to be sure, I also flew to Calgary to test the jacket’s -30 degree warmth claim (and also visit my family for Christmas). Facing record-breaking freezing wind chills, the jacket helped me weather the storm in style.

Author outside holding starbucks coffee cup and wearing black puff jacket

So, I would like to take this time to formally apologize to the Puffer-clad Aritzia army who for years I’d slammed for their sheeple-like mentality and basic fashion sense. I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

I’m happy to say that I’m now a full convert, and if you see me strutting down the street in my black Super Puff, don’t judge me as I once judged others—know that I am gleefully wearing a personal bed-in-coat- form and living my best life. And if I see you out and about in your Super Puff, I’ll be sure to raise my Starbucks cup in solidarity.