Aussies, put your puffer jackets away. It’s not that bloody cold!

It's time to toughen up, you guys. 

It's not THAT cold in Australia! Image: iStock

Kathmandu, The North Face, P.E Nation, Uniqlo or Champion; whichever puffer jacket brand of choice is yours; they all share one thing in common- they’re meant for the cold weather.

Usually filled with duck or goose feathers (which brings me to another gripe entirely) for insulation, they are essentially a quilted coat you can wear when it is cold to protect you from the elements.

But it seems there are a certain group of people who aren’t aware of this, have something wrong with their internal temperature regulation and/or reside in Sydney because bam once it hits 18 or under, out comes the puffer.

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It's not THAT cold in Australia! Image: iStock

It's not that bloody cold!

Look, I am not one to judge or pit one group or state against another, but this puffer jacket madness just infiltrates that judgement pocket of my brain and fires it right up.

You see, I come from the puffer jacket capital of Australia, Ballarat. Anyone who lives or has visited here during the months of May- September knows that the streets will be filled with tall, short, wide, narrow, and every size in between puffer jackets (and vests) bobbing around the place.

And here it isn’t about aesthetics or trends (if you can call puffer jackets aesthetically pleasing), it is about necessity because it is f-ing cold. Like actually cold.

Today as write this, 11.7 (feels like 7.0) and for the remainder of the week our maximum daytime temperature only reaches 13. But chances are if you went down our main street, or even around our walking equivalent of Melbourne’s the Tan, Lake Wendouree (which has a chilly water wind all year round) you might not even see everyone wearing a puffer yet, because it isn’t quite time for that.

Meanwhile, I’d like to bring you the weather update for Sydney. Currently, 18.8 (feels like 16.0), the highest temperature this week is 22 and the lowest is 17 (4 degrees more than our highest).

Why Sydney? Because I have a few friends there and follow many people on Instagram who live there too. In the past two months, I have the Harbour City a couple of times and something my friends and family, social posters and random strangers I witnessed in Sydney, all seem to have in common; once it hits 18 degrees or lower – the posts, comments and jackets all come out.

On socials, it is captions like:

“Time for the puffer jackets.”

Or like something from Game of Thrones, “Winter is here.”

Recently, on a trip there when I was walking around the streets with shorts on, Sydneysiders powered past me in their puffer jackets. There were mums pushing strollers and determined walkers doing their circuit around the park whom I all thought must be trying out some sweat, and detox therapy while exercising because what on earth warrants wearing a puffer on a 25-degree day while exercising?

Now, I am sure it’s not only Sydneysiders who exaggerate the coldness, I am sure some Coasties, or Byron Baes like a good whinge about their not-so-cold temperatures and don a puffer jacket unnecessarily too but honestly (I love you NSW family and friends, I do), come on!

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Retailers are filled with puffer jackets and it's not even winter yet. Image: iStock

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Sydneysiders are the worst

The truth about these feathered-filled Michelin man suits, just like comedian Urzila Carlson said, on a recent segment of Jam Nation with Jonesy and Amanda, these jackets are made for living or a visit to Antarctica – like actual freezing temperatures; not a slightly cool breeze that comes off the harbour or Pacific.

Okay, I’ll take a step back, it isn’t just the NSW mid-to-north coast who is guilty of this sin, as Carlson pointed out in her interview, it is also Brisbanites, specifically teenage girls whom she saw wearing puffer jackets in 24-degree weather on a walk, while the humidity was 85%. No, people, that is not cold.

This brings me to my next point – if you want to actually feel what the cold is like, get out of your city.

Take a drive, a train, bus, plane, whatever you can do and visit somewhere actually cold (and when I say this less than 10 degree Celsius). You may see snow, probably not, but around Australia, here in the Puffer jacket capital, or our capital, Canberra, Tassie too, you will experience actual chill where these insulating jackets are required and whingeing about the cold is warranted (although we don’t actually do that).

Finally, I apologise to all my Sydney friends and family and despite your puffer jacket wearing, I still adore you all.

Originally published as Aussies, put your puffer jackets away. It’s not that bloody cold!