Who makes a good ski jacket?

Just wondering what your opinions on ski jackets brands are. I'm in the market for one for casual / actual skiing use.

What is your opinion on quality / warmth / value for these brands?

• Northface
  
• Columbia
  
• Mountain Hardware
  
• Marmot
  
• Patagonia
  
• Etc...

about the same? i take it you dont ski much, so you are probably looking for something cheap and functional...

i bet columbia or some obscure cheapo sierratradingpost brand will be the best for that

the question is kinda like asking what the difference is between samsung/pantech/LG/blahblahblah smartphones that all look and function the same pretty much

Realistically, none of those. Patagonia and Marmot are okay. I wouldn't wear any of them though, as someone who spends 50 days a year on hill. The easiest good quality ish to find on discount is Burton 2L or AK3L. I would just keep an eye on www.tramdock.com and www.whiskeymilitia.com and wait for something with a waterproof rating above 15,000/15,000 to come up that you like the look of, it will be dirt cheap.

Agree with the previous post. Those brands all do the job. If you are skiing, try each brand on and also look for comfort. I have had 3 of those brands and they are all interchangeable...

I would recommend Phenix jackets, they're what most of my friends who ski/used to ski competitively wear. Patagonia has always been very reliable, and I would stay away with jackets that you can buy in a mall (The North Face, Columbia, etc...) All of their jackets are mass produced garbage worn by people who don't have a clue what quality outdoor gear is. If you want to go higher end, Arc'Teryx is very good, as is Sierra Designs, both of whom used to excluisively manufacture in Canada, but have since moved the majority of production to China. However, as it has been said many times, Made in China doesn't mean **** quality.

You may want to look at "SPYDER" (pre-2005), "KJUS", and "NORRONA" - costly, but well worth the money spent. If moneys an issue, try Arcteryx's "Beta AR" or the Northface's "Mammatus"


The Northface "Mammatus" is not a "mall-wear-jacket" these and a couple of other exclusive are not know to the "general public"

Thanks for the replies! You are right, I don't ski much at all. Still, it would be nice to get something quality if I plunk some money down on something. Northface jackets aren't exactly cheap since they run up to $300.

Originally Posted by gilwood

Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies! You are right, I don't ski much at all. Still, it would be nice to get something quality if I plunk some money down on something. Northface jackets aren't exactly cheap since they run up to $300.
i think you'll be hard pressed to pay less than $300 for most of the legit skiwear brands suggested... what is ur budget anyways?

That isn't expensive... my outerwear suit cost well over $1k. But you can get good deals on the discount sites. The problem is that a lot of this stuff being recommended is total gaperwear. If that actually matters to you.

Originally Posted by Andyliu

Click to expand...

i think you'll be hard pressed to pay less than $300 for most of the legit skiwear brands suggested... what is ur budget anyways?
No, you can regularly get this stuff for less on discount.

Size S: http://www.backcountryoutlet.com/out...cket-Mens.html Size L: http://www.backcountryoutlet.com/out...cket-Mens.html Hahaha, Size L SW&D interest: http://www.backcountryoutlet.com/out...cket-Mens.html Right at 300 bucks, not on discount, better than anything you're likely to get from North Face: http://www.backcountryoutlet.com/out...cket-Mens.html XS old guy steeze: http://www.backcountryoutlet.com/out...cket-Mens.html All solid items. Especially the burton and oakley ones. That's just one site. The steeze - http://www.the-house.com/bt3tre04mo6...d-jackets.html Solid http://www.the-house.com/bt3hy08in8z...d-jackets.html There are lots of good options for under 3 bills.

Since this is Style Forum, I'm going to push some steez on you.

Holden Outerwear.

Check out EMS's house brand. My ski jacket is on its fourth year from them and is great.

Originally Posted by keykoo

Click to expand...

Since this is Style Forum, I'm going to push some steez on you.

Holden Outerwear.
Yep. Also Saga. Next to impossible to find at reasonable discount though.

Originally Posted by gilwood

Click to expand...

Just wondering what your opinions on ski jackets brands are. I'm in the market for one for casual / actual skiing use. What is your opinion on quality / warmth / value for these brands?

• Northface
• Columbia
• Mountain Hardware
• Marmot
• Patagonia
• Etc...

You don't want warmth from the jacket, the best performance comes from layering (a baselayer to wick moisture from the body, a mid layer for warmth and a toplayer/shell for waterproofness) so you can adjust depending on temperature. Therefore the only thing you should be looking at in a shell is waterproofing and features (pockets [waterproof zippers?], powder skirt, hood, etc.). The best performance, imo, comes from Gore-tex but you'l pay for it. Some of the best gear I've seen comes from Arc'teryx but again, you pay high for it. Burton AK has some nice stuff and most uses gore-tex, but it's a bit looser fitting (snowboard aesthetic). Sessions also has a lot of nice stuff but again, loose and snowboard-minded. I'm a snowboard/skiing instructor and the uniform they give us is OR, not bad stuff but not great in rain. Good for 85% of the time though. It also depends on where you are skiing. I live in the NW so we get a lot of wet snow, if you live in the midwest or east, you get a lot dryer snow so you may not need as much waterproofing. Then again, why buy now? If you can survive with your current gear, wait until end of season sales (sierrasnowboard.com goes to 50-70%, you may be able to find something from 09 you like but it's rather picked over).

my next ski jacket will be canada goose I'm rockin KJUS right now though