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.
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.)
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.)