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Hunting for a high end insulated ski jacket - roomy XL

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I currently have a dark grey The North Face insulated jacket for very cold days. Pictured below. I don't think I have any close-ups of me in it.

bTZjSJa.jpg


O32wVTG.jpg



Pros:
Very warm and comfortable
Very roomy, including the sleeves - a lot of XLs are tight on me. This jacket has enough room that I can even wear casual tops with bulky sleeves, like sweatshirts, comfortably.
Has hood, powder skirt, and pit zips - none of these are negotiable
Decent pockets
Synthetic insulation - husband is allergic to down {sad trombone}

Cons:
Not fully windproof
Neck doesn't come up high enough over my nose when I scrunch down on the lift
Inner soft zipper cover doesn't do its job, so I often have lips touching wet metal (ugh)
The pit zips are too short
I prefer bright colors that stand out in snow
It's easy to think you have it correctly zipped, only to find that it's unzipping from the bottom - and can be frustrating to undo it to fix.


It's actually pretty good, but not quite great. So I'd like a jacket that has all of the pros, none of the cons, and generally wows me. And good pockets. I'm looking for stuff with an MSRP greater than $350, as you'll see from my initial picks below. Yes, that's right, price is (almost) no object! It's absolutely true that price does not guarantee quality, but in my experience, a certain level of quality and thoughtfulness does not come without a cost.

You can see my current insulated pants in the picture - they're a pastel pink/blue/purple deal. As a rule, I'm not a huge fan of pastels. I'm more of a Skittles gal. I'm currently on the hunt for insulated bib pants, which appears to be something of a unicorn in the ski world. If the ones from DSG fit, they'll be charcoal grey or black. So then it would be even more important to have a bright color.

Weirdly, I seem to have entirely chosen teal-ish. I do like that color.

I wish Arc'teryx would work, but their synthetic insulated jacket is a "trim" fit. I don't think that will work for me.

Here are some ideas so far - let me know if you have thoughts on these jackets, or if you have further suggestions. I want something roomy and long, NOT form-fitting. I stuff my pockets full, anyway, so I have the figure of a hamster on the hill.


Patagonia insulated Powder Bowl (teal)

Strafe Cloud Nine (Colorado company is a plus!)

The North Face Powder Guide


(I'm also open to suggestions for high-end insulated pants that are high enough in the waist that, even if they aren't bibs, might still keep the wind and snow out.)
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have an Obermeyer jacket that's very warm and very well-made/good quality. I can't remember the model name, but when I searched for it, this came up, which might be worth a try-on. They make jackets up to size 16 and the one I have is plenty roomy. I ripped the cuff on a pair of their pants last year and they fixed it and sent it right back, no charge, so good customer service, too.

https://www.obermeyer.com/catalog/womens/reflection-jacket?v=10935
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Those two-tone jackets look awesome!

TNF one looks a little straight through the hips, but I wasn't checking measurements, of course. If it were for me I'd be worried about my belly straining it.

@SallyCat's Obermeyer looks stunning but you would HAVE to buy those yellow pants.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have an Obermeyer jacket that's very warm and very well-made/good quality. I can't remember the model name, but when I searched for it, this came up, which might be worth a try-on. They make jackets up to size 16 and the one I have is plenty roomy. I ripped the cuff on a pair of their pants last year and they fixed it and sent it right back, no charge, so good customer service, too.

https://www.obermeyer.com/catalog/womens/reflection-jacket?v=10935

Interesting. I don't see a mention of pit zips on that page, but Moosejaw listed them as a feature. I do seem to remember that Obermeyer is still snug for me. And when I select blue + 16, it doesn't find any in online stores =/

It's a bit more blue-blue rather than skittle colored than I'd ideally prefer, although it does look like a nice jacket!

(I'm looking around at additional sites not listed on Obermeyer. Either they didn't make the blue one in 16 at all, or someone's been out buying them all up!)
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
TNF one looks a little straight through the hips, but I wasn't checking measurements, of course. If it were for me I'd be worried about my belly straining it.

It does look straight through the hips in that first photo, but what about the third photo, where the model is wearing the jacket and facing straight ahead? There it looks like it flares out at the hips. Granted, that's not belly.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
It does look straight through the hips in that first photo, but what about the third photo, where the model is wearing the jacket and facing straight ahead? There it looks like it flares out at the hips. Granted, that's not belly.

On the profile view, it looks like the model is wearing Spanx. (At least, compared to me. Anyway, you're not me - I picture you as a large person - big boned. I'm a small skinny person with a belly that sticks out.)
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
On the profile view, it looks like the model is wearing Spanx. (At least, compared to me. Anyway, you're not me - I picture you as a large person - big boned. I'm a small skinny person with a belly that sticks out.)

My padding is distributed all around my body, but with particular emphasis on boobs, belly, butt, and thighs =)

Pretty sure my doc disabused me of the notion that I might be big-boned, though =/

In the profile view, I might have that profile, if only because my belly manages to stick out almost as far as my boobs, depending on posture.

I was hoping that if my current jacket is TNF, maybe this XL will be equally roomy - but I suspect that's wishful thinking.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Update: the Strafe Cloud Nine in aqua may not be available in XL anywhere. And I hate the other colors =/
 

VickiK

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The blue's are the nicest of the available colors in all 3.

I guess Colorado Freeride Systems jackets don't meet your criteria, but they certainly seem hard-core and heavy-duty and the colors are nice.

LOL Spanx while skiing...only in the ads. Unless you can call it a compression garment. ;-)

Is your DH so allergic to down that it would preclude you from wearing it in his proximity?
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I guess Colorado Freeride Systems jackets don't meet your criteria, but they certainly seem hard-core and heavy-duty and the colors are nice.

I'll check them again. I remember being fairly sure they would be too small.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Just called the Patagonia store in Boulder. They have XL insulated snow bowls, just not in the color I want. But I can drop by and try one on.
 

Blondeinabmw

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Have you looked at Armada or Helly Hansen's new collections? They usually have some in the looser "ski instructor" type fit and offer one or two insulated versions. I know HH goes up to XL, but Armada may not, though their fit is oversized.

I just bought a Columbia Titanium jacket that retailed for $400 for half price from Nordstrom Rack. Its very technical, but also stretch. Might not be tough enough for your needs. I linked it on the last page of the jacket slut thread. Comes in a blue with a spattery print too, and some other blocked color ways on other sites. Titanium isn't as old lady as other Columbia styles. It fits my 38DDD/E chest really well with plenty of room to layer and covers my rear.

Here is the spatter printed version of the one I bought. DM me and I can text you some photos of me in the black one. I think the spatter one is sold out in XL at Nordstrom Rack, but it is probably available elsewhere. https://www.nordstromrack.com/shop/product/1916607/columbia-pattern-shreddin-jacket?color=NOCTURNAL HAZE PRINT
6445084.jpg


I find TNF a little too trim for me, even in an XL.
 
Last edited:

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Ski Diva was demo'ing a warm Columbia jacket one year. But I think it had down insulation.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yeah, that's the one I was thinking about but bounceswoosh said NO DOWN! So that's a no go.

Yeah - it's a tough restriction! DH says I can have down - if I store it outside on the deck, LOL!
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Just called the Patagonia store in Boulder. They have XL insulated snow bowls, just not in the color I want. But I can drop by and try one on.
I have a couple years ago version of the Patagonia.... Mine is dk turquoise w lime green trim.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thank you all for your suggestions! Keep 'em coming if you see something ...

Is your DH so allergic to down that it would preclude you from wearing it in his proximity?

I'm not allowed to store it in the house or car, so effectively, yes. I can't really argue with him about what his requirements are, any more than I would want him to argue with me about whether I really need to be so careful about gluten ...

I guess Colorado Freeride Systems jackets don't meet your criteria, but they certainly seem hard-core and heavy-duty and the colors are nice.

Some poking around their site shows one women's shell and one that claims to be unisex. I don't see anything insulated. And they don't have XLs. I love supporting local companies, but they don't seem to have what I'm looking for.

Have you looked at Armada or Helly Hansen's new collections? They usually have some in the looser "ski instructor" type fit and offer one or two insulated versions. I know HH goes up to XL, but Armada may not, though their fit is oversized.

Hmmm. Armada doesn't have XL. HH has some possibilities, although their colorways aren't necessarily my favorites. They don't say anything about pit zips, which is weird. And their site is laggy and doesn't always load colors - arggh! On my phone XL always seemed to be greyed out, but not here on my laptop.

HH Powderqueen might be a good option - it looks roomy - I have a jacket with similar colors that's insulated, butI don't wear it much because the sleeves look tight. Powderqueen doesn't look like it has that problem. They don't list pit zips, but close inspection of one of the photos appears to show pit zips. https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_us/w-powderqueen-jacket-65518

And ... omg ... what's this I see? Insulated bibs!! https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_us/w-meribel-pant-65560 Black =/ And I'm not sure about "trendy slender high-rise pant" ... I actually just called their customer support, and they can't tell me if there are any vent zips! That's some BS.

The Platinum is certainly expensive, but only one color, not Skittle-y at all. https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_us/w-platinum-jacket-65554

Alphelia - again, not loving the colors. Any of them! https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_us/w-alphelia-jacket-65556

Star - don't love the colors, and it also looks short! https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_us/w-star-jacket-65516

I just bought a Columbia Titanium jacket that retailed for $400 for half price from Nordstrom Rack. Its very technical, but also stretch.

Hmm. Stretch doesn't sound right for me.


Interesting. Not sure I can get on board with the color - of course, Coral is one of those colors that can look very different in person.



I have to be in Boulder anyway Thursday, so I'll take a look-see at the Patagonia store.


I also found an XL in my preferred color for that North Face jacket. Ponder, ponder.
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have terrible time due to some of same body features..

Sorry DH is anti down.. My warmest coat is a down Marmot that is HOT- but needed here on -40 wind chill eastern ski days.... not sure why DH doesn't want down? I don't care if I look like the good year blimp I want to be warm.. in all the years skiing down has been my warmest coat. (no pit vents) I did try synthetic but froze and went back to the Marmot I bought on sale during Diva East- thanks ladies for the enabling. lol..

This past winter I wore my Patagonia wind/rain proof shell and layers underneath alot. It has the pit zips which I love
especially skiing out west where I may hike and the sun seems stronger.

My Instructor jacket is a men's Medium you may want to try on some men's coats?

Roxy Coats seem to be made for us w/boobs too, I've tried on several that fit but weren't on sale and I can't justify 400+ for any clothing. Skis YES clothes nope..
 

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