It may be removable altogether for when you are wearing the jacket off the slopes. It may be fairly basic, or it can have a stretchy panel, loops for attaching to pants, and/or snaps to get it out of the way when you don’t need it. Sometimes called a waist gaiter, a powder skirt is designed to keep snow from getting up your back if you take a tumble or ride in deep snow, and is a universal feature of ski and snowboard jackets. Applied at the nano-level, these hydrophobic treatments keep down from wetting down as quickly so you stay warmer. To combat this Achilles heel of down, many companies are now coming out with jackets stuffed with water-resistant down. For this reason, down jackets are a great choice for skiing in dry, cold areas such as Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The major downside to down is that it loses its insulating properties when wet, making it less than ideal for humid and rainy climates. So while these jackets tend to be puffy in appearance, they’re lightweight and easily compressed, while still remaining exceptionally warm. However, these rules don’t totally apply for the newer generation of synthetic insulation like The North Face’s Thermoball these technologies are engineered to more closely resemble down and will be lighter yet warmer than other types of synthetic insulation.ĭown insulation is valued for its incredibly high warmth-to-weight ratio and its packability. As a rule of thumb, 50-100g jackets are great for spring or fall, or in situations where you expect to be wearing several layers, while 100-200g jackets are ideal for more frigid conditions. So, a jacket with 200g insulation is going to be thicker and warmer than a comparable jacket with 100g insulation. How much insulation do you need in a jacket? The thickness of synthetic insulation is usually expressed as grams per square meter (note that this is NOT a measure of the total weight of the insulation in a jacket). This is ideal for areas that are bitter cold, humid, and rainy, such as the Northeast and the Midwest. Jackets with synthetic insulation are a good choice for snow outerwear synthetic insulation is less expensive than down, more durable, and it keeps you warm even when wet. This type of jacket will feature an outer shell and a layer of insulation built-in, either of down or of synthetic insulation like Primaloft or Thinsulate. If you plan to be skiing or snowboarding in cold conditions most of the time, you might want to consider an insulated jacket. Fully taped jackets, on the other hand, have every seam sealed up. Seams that are covered with tape won’t allow moisture can leak in through a jacket will either have critical seams taped, meaning that only those seams in spots that are more exposed are going to be taped. These ratings need to be taken with a grain of salt, but they can give you an idea of the relative weatherproofing of a jacket: the higher the number the more water it can withstand before wetting through.Īnother factor that will affect a jacket’s level of waterproof protection is its seam taping. You can check the product’s technical specifications for a jacket’s waterproof rating, which will range from around 5,000g/m2 to 20,000g/m2 or higher. If you’re heading into environments with more extreme weather, a jacket’s waterproofing can be important. Shell jackets offer different degrees of waterproofing, which is the biggest determinant of price. If you’re only going to have one jacket for every type of riding, a shell is a great choice. If sized correctly, a shell should also allow enough room for layering underneath on extra cold days. Shells are versatile-they’re generally waterproof enough for most conditions, have at least a few taped seams, and often feature vents for breathability so you won’t overheat on mid-winter bump runs or spring sessions. An uninsulated shell jacket (sometimes called ‘hardshell’) is the type that you’ll see the majority of people wearing on your local hill.
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