Shell Jacket

[MidASkier]

Time for a new jacket. Looking for suggestions on a nice shell.

My Helly Hansen has been good to me over the past 7 years, but is no longer waterproof.

 

[MidASkier]

I should have mentioned that I am looking for a hardshell jacket.

 

[coskigirl]

Male or female? Other must haves or must not haves?

 

[Philpug]

Paging @TheBestSkier to the white courtesy phone.

 

[Tricia]

Its hard to imagine that @Ron hasn't chimed in.

There are all the classics in the ski industry for hard shells, but fit varies from brand to brand. Of course you have the usual suspects like Patagonia, Northface, Arcteryx, and the like, but recently we had a chance to check out the stuff from Freeride Systems.
http://www.freeridesystems.com
Their products are made in Colorado, with the same fabrics and technologies as some of the big players mentioned above and they have a trade in program, which @TheBestSkier can explain better than I can.

IIRC - I tried on the women's specific Mountain Parka in a Medium and it fit amazingly well.
The Antero II plus had more pockets inside and is a hard shell
http://www.freeridesystems.com/product/antero-ii-plus-hardshell-polartec-neoshell-jacket-yellow

Really great jackets. - and they're affordable!

 

[Ron]

I'm here! I didn't see the thread, they get buried fast.

There are ton of options of course. If you want a hardshell, I really like the Freeride System's, made in America and I like Neoshell which is my favorite material due to the wind proof, H20-Proofness and breathability. The material used on the Antero II Plus is a very thin but highly durable material that can be layered up easily but it light enough for spring skiing. Please check out the thread on their Jackets. I also think FreeRide has put the most thought in their designs for skiers. @TheBestSkier (Freeride Systems) offers a Pugski discount making this jacket a bargain for the quality you get. Having owned just about every brand of ski wear, their stuff is as good or better than Arc' Teryx.

I also really like Flylow products and Strafe which is another CO brand.

 

[tromano]

Are you looking for something winter specific or a jacket for year round use? What activities would this be used for?

 

[cantunamunch]

I reckon he's replacing a HH hardshell, probably *not* Equipe since those were not commonly available ~2010. A very limited exegesis gives us :

- not looking for an Arcteryx-type fitted fit
- he probably hasn't tried a material like Neoshell, so Flylow &c would have to be try-before-you-buy, at REI say
- there is a decent-but-not-100% chance he's barrel-chested in which case he might run into sleeve-length problems with CFS
- he's in the Mid-Atlantic and he travels so he needs wet-snow capable and windproof.

 

[TheBestSkier]

Thanks for all the Freeride Systems plugs you pugs.

Hey @MidASkier I've got 3 great shell options that you may like. Here's a quick run down.

Antero 2+. The 2+ is my favorite shell to ski in. It's made from Polartec Neoshell. It's a 3 layer hardshell laminate with a tricot interior that protects the membrane. It is waterproof, windproof and breathable. The collar is extra tall and the hood isn't attached to the collar. The over sized hood fits over helmets and easily moves on and off them. 2 way main zip helps with venting so does the easy to use pit zips. Dual hip cinches. 4 interior pouch style pockets. 1 interior chest zip pocket. Extra room in the shoulders and sleeves. No elastic cuffs to help with venting.

Antero 3. The 3 is very similar to the 2+. The main difference is the hood and collar are attached to each other. You do not have the interior pouches but one interior chest zip pocket. This jacket wears better casually than the 2+.

The Mountain Parka Shell. The Parka is one of our new Jacket Component System products. It's a lightweight shell made of a lighter version of Polartec Neoshell. This is a great ski jacket that can be worn year round all over the country. You can zip in a fleece vest or jacket made from Polartec 200 weight fleece. It has the shortest collar of the 3 shells and weighs the least. 1 interior chest zip pocket. You do not have pit zips, 2 way main zip or the giant hood.

All of these jackets have one exterior chest zip pocket, 2 zip hip pockets and dual hip cinches. They are all fully seam taped and made with the same quality that our state avalanche forecasters, SAR and ABC News receive.

I'd be happy to go into further detail or answer any questions.

You can trade your used jacket in towards the purchase of a new jacket from us or keep it and use the "PUG16" discount code to get 20% off.

 

[MidASkier]

Thanks so much for the information.

Sorry just getting back to this post. Yes I am male and living in the Mid-Atlantic, but do like to travel.

I might use it year round, but honestly just focused on skiing for now. My main features that I want are wet snow, breathable and windproof.

 

[Ron]

Easy then! I would go Antero II plus and have a jacket built for and by skiers, patrollers and mountain crews (CAIC for instance)

http://www.freeridesystems.com/category/antero-ii-and-plus-jacket-series

 

[bbinder]

This looks like a great jacket at a great price -- I am unclear from the description on the site whether or not there is a powder skirt.

 

[Ron]

No stinkin powder skirt. Not a fan personallly. Do t see the value and i ski a couple days of powder a season

 

[TheBestSkier]

This looks like a great jacket at a great price -- I am unclear from the description on the site whether or not there is a powder skirt.

Yeah, no skirt. The dual hip cinches do help to keep the snow out. I crash a lot and flop around in deep snow and I stay dry. I just tuck my mid layer (Bross) in on the coldest days.

 

[crgildart]

I'm the last person that should discourage someone from buying another jacket, pants, gloves, etc short of necessity, but have you tried using stuff to restore the water repellent qualities of the HH jacket? Find a newer one you like but perhaps also try to re seal the older one you also like, just get a different color to have variety!

I use similar stuff on most of my jackets and pants every other year or so..

Nikwax TX.Direct Spray-On Water-Repellent Treatment - 16.9 fl. oz.

 

[bbinder]

No stinkin powder skirt. Not a fan personallly. Do t see the value and i ski a couple days of powder a season

Yeah, powder skirt is probably a misnomer... I like to snap the powder skirt closed and cold days, and it helps keep cold air from blowing up my, well, skirt. I can't explain why, but I don't like the feel of cinching down the hem of the shell.

 

[tromano]

Powder skirt is nice if you don't ski in bibs when it's cold / dumping. But if you have bibs its kind of irrelevant. Also it's important the skirt is removable for off season use.

One brand not mentioned so far is OR. Their goretex shell jackets are solid for skiing and even better for multi activity and 4season use. Ditto mountain hardwear.

That antero 2 looks solid as well.

 

[TRTaylor]

@MidASkier don't know if you found your jacket yet, but I found mine. Like you, I am a Mid-Atlantic skier. I do not ski enough days to justify multiple jackets, so I needed something versatile. Unlike you, I was looking for a softshell.

After reading this thread I contacted @TheBestSkier . A few emails later I ended up purchasing a Freeride Systems Antero II. With proper layer management I expect that jacket to be my go-to in every condition except perhaps late spring skiing.

Previous jacket was a Marmot Super Hero Windstopper softshell (pictured in my avatar). It was a nice jacket and served me well for several years. But I was always bugged by the length. It was too short, especially on the lift ride. I out grew it anyway (if you know what I mean).

I can't wait to ski in the Antero II. I never expected to be able to purchase a jacket of that quality for such a (more than) fair price.

 

[TheBestSkier]

@MidASkier don't know if you found your jacket yet, but I found mine. Like you, I am a Mid-Atlantic skier. I do not ski enough days to justify multiple jackets, so I needed something versatile. Unlike you, I was looking for a softshell.

After reading this thread I contacted @TheBestSkier . A few emails later I ended up purchasing a Freeride Systems Antero II. With proper layer management I expect that jacket to be my go-to in every condition except perhaps late spring skiing.

Previous jacket was a Marmot Super Hero Windstopper softshell (pictured in my avatar). It was a nice jacket and served me well for several years. But I was always bugged by the length. It was too short, especially on the lift ride. I out grew it anyway (if you know what I mean).

I can't wait to ski in the Antero II. I never expected to be able to purchase a jacket of that quality for such a (more than) fair price.

Thank you! You'll have to update that avatar photo once you get on the hill.

 

[Ron]