Affordable ski jacket?!

[Ken_R]

gore wind stopper is what you want....only useful when dry.

if its wet out the best you ll do is Polartec Neoshell.

They have worked very well for me even when raining. The DWR is crazy good. I guess they can soak eventually but at least in 2-3 hours they hold up. For resort skiing that should be good, backcountry camping no.

Gonna check out the neoshell as well. Looks like a very interesting fabric.

Just checked and The Castelli Perfetto has the Windstopper® X-Lite Plus fabric. I love it, its super stretchy (at least in their application) and breathes crazy good while offering great protection.

The Perfetto Jacket has the "

• Gore® Windstopper® X-Fast fabric is windproof and water repellent with 4-way stretch for freedom of movement" It is thicker than the perfetto and more "fleecy" inside.

 

[Monique]

I don't understand this "you only need pit zips if the fabric doesn't do a good job of moisture control" business. I need pit zips because I generate an enormous amount of heat when active. And when my zips are closed, it's because I want to retain that heat. When they're open, it's because I want to disperse the heat (without inviting snow straight into my neck and chest, where it will then melt unpleasantly).

 

[Ken_R]

I don't understand this "you only need pit zips if the fabric doesn't do a good job of moisture control" business. I need pit zips because I generate an enormous amount of heat when active. And when my zips are closed, it's because I want to retain that heat. When they're open, it's because I want to disperse the heat (without inviting snow straight into my neck and chest, where it will then melt unpleasantly).

The best fabrics I have found do that. Retain the heat but vent out the sweat and "excess heat" They are good at keeping a somewhat consistent environment inside for a good while. In cycling that is paramount since one exerts a lot of effort on the uphills but is exposed to fast wind on the downhills. (Skinning or XC skiing are similar). They work up to a point I guess.

You can prevent getting wet when opening your zips by using a breathable but slightly weather resistant mid-layer. I personally really like powerstretch stuff.

 

[Monique]

Retain the heat but vent out the sweat and "excess heat"

That kinda doesn't make sense. Insulators are not (to my knowledge) temperature-point-specific. And my ideal temperature could be your "freeze or boil your balls off."

 

[Ken_R]

That kinda doesn't make sense. Insulators are not (to my knowledge) temperature-point-specific. And my ideal temperature could be your "freeze or boil your balls off."

You layer under according to your preference but generally if the outer garment keeps moisture and wind out but lets moisture out then those underlayers work better and you feel more comfortable. That is why generally most people prefer a shell without any insulation since it is much more versatile. Of course YMMV!

 

[Monique]

You layer under according to your preference but generally if the outer garment keeps moisture and wind out but lets moisture out then those underlayers work better and you feel more comfortable. That is why generally most people prefer a shell without any insulation since it is much more versatile. Of course YMMV!

I agree, but I still think sometimes you can get too hot and want to vent. I seem to be somewhat on the extremes: I get very hot very quickly as soon as I start to move, and very cold very quickly as soon as I stop moving. I have a hell of a time figuring out layering. Add in the temperature swing between the dark morning and the sunny noontime, plus the wind that gives Breckenfridge its name ... I'm impressed if anyone can figure out the perfect set of layers to stay regulated, but it ain't me!

 

[Ken_R]

I agree, but I still think sometimes you can get too hot and want to vent. I seem to be somewhat on the extremes: I get very hot very quickly as soon as I start to move, and very cold very quickly as soon as I stop moving. I have a hell of a time figuring out layering. Add in the temperature swing between the dark morning and the sunny noontime, plus the wind that gives Breckenfridge its name ... I'm impressed if anyone can figure out the perfect set of layers to stay regulated, but it ain't me!

I never get it completely right. As long as im dry and my hands and feet do not get too cold I am fine on the slopes. I sometimes err on the side of layering a bit too light but that is ok if I ski a lot of bumps! If I just cruise then I might get a tad cold on the lifts. Generally I find it best to wear stuff that stops the wind from cutting through. That solves most issues. Quality outer layers are key. I use simple layering under mostly consisting of wool undies and fleece. Nothing fancy.

 

[Monique]

I never get it completely right. As long as im dry and my hands and feet do not get too cold I am fine on the slopes. I sometimes err on the side of layering a bit too light but that is ok if I ski a lot of bumps! If I just cruise then I might get a tad cold on the lifts. Generally I find it best to wear stuff that stops the wind from cutting through. That solves most issues. Quality outer layers are key. I use simple layering under mostly consisting of wool undies and fleece. Nothing fancy.

Yeah. I agree on outer layers. I fell in love with the Arc'teryx Sentinel line, so I'm wearing both jacket and pants. Then I discovered the Atom LT pants - basically puffies for your legs - OMG. I have the common female skier issue of always having a cold butt. These pants help, and are also great because you take off your snow pants and are wearing presentable (for a ski town) pants. Anyway, my Arc'teryx gear - which is again way outside of the realm of the topic of "affordable" - is incredibly wind resistant. My husband got a Caden jacket and was shocked at the difference from his old, supposedly windproof jacket.

On very very cold days, I have a nice insulated The North Face jacket and insulated Armada pants. Not as waterproof, but fine for Colorado. But I notice the details - the TNF jacket has no lining behind the zipper, so it's cold and wet when you tuck your face into the neck. The Arc'teryx is covered so that it isn't gross.

It would help me a lot if I would just lose fat (the easiest and the hardest thing to do). I don't have a ton of room in the largest sizes of my favorite gear, so there isn't as much room for puffies and fleece to do their work of trapping heat. I keep telling myself this is the season ... every season ;-)

 

[pete]

Your shell probably does not have the best breathability... My pit zips are perpetually closed, unless I am hiking uphill on a CA spring day. That's probably true for eVent and Neoshell jackets, GoreTex shells still need pit zips.

Some folk just dump the heat like crazy but I get the point, breath-ability can readily be way move valuable that a pit zip.

This for my kids really true as I'm sure their jackets are in the 10K-20K g/m**2 range, . We try and always get pit zips which come in great for days where weather goes from overcast to blue bird with beating sun. Got 2 kids who love to be warm, third who like me pumps out the heat (but I too am well self insulated unlike skinny kid) and use of pits always occur.

All opted for 3 way systems as they wear the shells (or liner) fall/spring, so there's some value there too.

Middle kids jacket did come from Sierra Trading, a Rossignol with 20K rain and breath and if the OP still lurking .. ran around $150 tops. If this is in the high range, then I'd opt for the Columbia brand looking for specific features, I know depending on time of year, sale etc they can be fetched under $100 for a 3 way system which served me well for years. I still use my 20yr old beaten down beast and know for the fabrics technically have jumped way way up with price dropping.

 

[Dwight]

@JoannaSQ. Start checking out Sierra trading post. Sign up for Active Junky which is a free shopping club and save an additional 8-10%. Campsaver and ski essentials has some great deals as well. There are still good deals there. Not sure what you consider cheap

I get it if you are on a tight budget but be careful not to buy something that's not going to keep you warm and dry or not have any wind protection. You pay a ton of money to ski so don't end up miserable or frost bitten.

Look for a minimum of 10k h20 proof and 10k breathability . Gore tex is rated at 20k /20k and neo shell is much higher. Of course materials like gore Tex are good (not very breathable) , neoshell is my Personal favorites and there are other proprietary materials that provide decent performance. Start with a thin base layer That will absorb and transfer moisture to a mid layer that also has these properties. Insulation Warmth is useless if you layers don't absorb and move the sweat away from your skin. The water proof outer protection is known as DWR, durable water repellant, is actually very important and more expensive clothing will have a more durable film but you can buy products like grainger or nikwax that can be applied to less costly clothing to reinforce or revive clothing.

Make sure you have a jacket and pants that meet your needs. You don't need a ton of pockets but at least a couple exterior hand packets and a chest pocket, internally at least one zippered chest pocket. Pit zips are great to quickly dump heat I am a fan of hoods for cold windy days so it needs to be able to fit over a helmet preferably without having to do a lot of adjustments. The zippers should work well and be sturdy. A little soft material at the chin is also a nice touch. I am not a fan of powder skirts but you may like them but a removable one is a nice feature. Bottom hem should have ability to be cinched up.

Edit. Note that the neoshell h20 proofness is closer to 10k.

Great advice here. Been on STP all week. Trying to find the holy grail shell for me at $100.

 

[RNZ]

Let's get @JoannaSQ in a jacket. I



Haha. The one I was offering @JoannaSQ is definitely pink. It's the last of it's kind and I thought what a great place to market it.

Female sizing is tricky. We are still working on women's cuts. We went with the hour glass shape with our last female shells and fleeces. We have a new midlayer for women that should be our best women's specific cut to date. @tam I would give you an incredible deal on one if you would test it out for me.

I think you guys scared off @JoannaSQ

Being a female skier, I'd like to congratulate you taking an intelligent approach to women's jackets; for not "shrinking and pinking" (okay there's a pink option - but no butterflies, flowers, unicorns or bling in sight) your jackets for women, for choosing to try a women's cut on your signature jacket and for assuming that women want and need the same performance from a jacket as men. Most of my jackets have been smaller sized men's jackets for three reasons, features, fit and colour.

Firstly features - I use my ski jacket for skiing - not sitting at the lodge or out on the terrace watching. I do ski in-bounds, but will ski almost anywhere in-bounds including hiking, and in all conditions. I want a jacket that that has room to move in it (I wonder if those women ski who with their arms from shoulder to elbow glued to their sides do so because there is no room across the back and in the sleeves to allow them to move their arms). I want pit zips. I want a hood that will easily go up over my helmet and a collar that I can easily pull up and hunker down into on long lift rides on stormy days (top of my mind as we are going to Red this year) - and the fleece lining, you read my mind - women do tend to have more delicate skin on our faces than men, and it's hard to rock that jacket rash look on your chin. Zips that don't require you to take gloves off to work or are so fiddly that they take no gloves and two hands to get to cooperate, again genius. Sadly many manufacturers shrink the features on women's jackets and the practical ones are the first to go.

Second, fit - Personally I think that you are on a bit of hiding to nowhere with trying to perfect a women's fit because there is so much variation in women's shapes. II like that you use closures and cords to cinch for personalisation of fit. My experience is that manufacturers shrink women's jackets by shortening sleeve length and torso length leaving you with gaps when you extend your arms or stretch in any way. Also many manufacturers make women's jackets more form fitting, which is fine for après but just restricts movement and layering options when using them to ski.

Finally colour - lately it seems that if you don't want pink, purple, black, white, bling, fur etc then your choices are limited if you stick with women specific jackets.

So, that is a long-winded way of saying thank you for taking an intelligent approach to thinking about ski jackets for women and I hope the business does really well.

 

[Monique]

women do tend to have more delicate skin on our faces than men, and it's hard to rock that jacket rash look on your chin.

Hah! I always wear a neck gaiter. When it was smartwool, the first few weeks of skiing were rough. I took to applying vaseline to my chin.

These days, I use synthetic materials that are friendlier to my face.

 

[RNZ]

Hah! I always wear a neck gaiter. When it was smartwool, the first few weeks of skiing were rough. I took to applying vaseline to my chin.

These days, I use synthetic materials that are friendlier to my face.

Yeah, so do I. I have tried all sorts, natural fibres and synthetics but I would prefer not to have one at all - I hate things around my neck, no turtle necks, half zip tops etc.

 

[Ron]

Hah! I always wear a neck gaiter. When it was smartwool, the first few weeks of skiing were rough. I took to applying vaseline to my chin.

These days, I use synthetic materials that are friendlier to my face.

Take a look at a product. Warmskin. Love this stuff. It's not going to stop wind burn or frost bite but it will def' help Protect your face and hands too. It's not greasy or hard to apply.

http://www.warmskin.com/

http://www.warmskin.com/warmskin.html

 

[Ron]

Great advice here. Been on STP all week. Trying to find the holy grail shell for me at $100.

Check out the marker neoshell. Or the Flylow Higgins shell. Both are very close to. Your number. Sign. Up for Active Junky" and saVe an additional ~10%. (8% today)

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ma...-men~p~114ca/?filterString=s~marker-neoshell/



http://activejunky.com/invite/71724 Anyone can use this link and I get $10 for anyone who signs up with it. It's free and many of us here are AJ members.

 

[Dwight]

Yeah, so do I. I have tried all sorts, natural fibres and synthetics but I would prefer not to have one at all - I hate things around my neck, no turtle necks, half zip tops etc.

Local biker has created this product, https://www.kickstarter.com/project...tem-a-tactical-breakaway-balacl?ref=user_menu A fellow friend really likes it, I hope to try one this winter on the slopes.

 

[Monique]

Take a look at a product. Warmskin. Love this stuff. It's not going to stop wind burn or frost bite but it will def' help Protect your face and hands too. It's not greasy or hard to apply.

http://www.warmskin.com/

http://www.warmskin.com/warmskin.html

Thanks - but I actually do have a working solution (buffs are fine), and my face tends to get very angry at even hypoallergenic products ... so I don't really want to try anything new there.

 

[cantunamunch]

Local biker has created this product, https://www.kickstarter.com/project...tem-a-tactical-breakaway-balacl?ref=user_menu A fellow friend really likes it, I hope to try one this winter on the slopes.

*shrug* my regular cycling balaclava does a great job for skiing already - what problem does this one address?

 

[Dwight]

*shrug* my regular cycling balaclava does a great job for skiing already - what problem does this one address?

Our "Mullet Hat" magnetizes to a highly breathable face mask - forming a modular balaclava-USA made technical fabric warms without bulk

Just guessing.

 

[Alexzn]

Looks like a solution in search of a problem...

OTH Anon/Burton magnetic face mask that attaches to goggles with magnets looks like it makes some sense.