If you buy better quality, you should get many more years of use out of it. If you're looking for a true functional jacket for outdoor activities, get yourself something North Face, Mountain Hardwear, or Patagonia. Should last a decade. Or get a Carhartt that'll last you a lifetime. More on reddit.com

I think brand is less helpful than just looking at what it's made of. Generally, wool is going to be warmer than polyester, and down is going to be super warm. Some synthetic materials can be really warm too though, just do some googling to figure it out. Like puffer jackets are often synthetic, but warm. Canada Goose is the gold standard in warmness, but they're also super expensive, and not really necessary for most climates. I personally have a wool jacket from Roots (a Canadian brand), and a puffer jacket from Guess. More on reddit.com

The ultralight gold standard puffer list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1ceVWWwGTdc1KcTkIQFWscILPtA2pbgpq0UQQIq1D6gE/htmlview# More on reddit.com

If you like staying warm without too much weight or need something for travel, they're pretty hard to top. Not overrated IMO. More on reddit.com