 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi Guys,
Getting to that time again and I've started looking for a new shell jacket, I want it to be waterproof, windproof and have multiple pockets for skiing.
I have alot of montane gear for my bike, general wear etc, but dont have one of their shell jackets, nor have I tried one on, i'm looking around the £300 mark, and discount would be great but basically the 3 companies that I like and around the price range are:
Mountain Equipment
North Face
Montane
So I would like to know what are people's thoughts on the fit, durability and build quality of these 3 companies jackets, and is 3 layer eVent better than 3 layer Gore-Tex?
Thanks in advance
Andy
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Gore tex / eVent which logo looks coolest on your jecket? both will be fine!
As for brands North Face are definitely my choice, I trust them completely, tough (i have had one jacket for 12 years now still looks fine), weatherproof, look pretty cool (little baggy but not in a gangsta way) and not as much of a rip-off as the scandinavian stuff !! (they are not made by vikings who earn 30 Euros an hour)
Only other brand I would suggest looking into, especially if freeride is your thing are Scott! if you are a large go to sailandski.co.uk and they will hook you up, if you are not a large give them grief about not stocking the other sizes in cheap this year!
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eVent is more breathable than Goretex, but needs to be cleaned more often to maintain this breathability. If you're just downhilling, breathability isn't likely to be at the top of the list of things you need. Either's fine.
I'd also question the need for a 3-layer shell, but that usually tends to fall on deaf ears  I spent a couple of hours in 40mph winds and torrential rain and with no shelter, a few weeks back. I was very glad I had a nice goretex pro-shell jacket on, and slightly disappointed with my unbranded waterproof trews. I've never seen that sort of weather skiing, and unless you're expecting to spend much time ski touring in the Pacific northwest or Scotland you might not either. A softshell with a lightweight waterproof in your bag or pocket for emergencies will be cheaper and probably nicer to wear.
If you're stuck on 3-layer heavy shells, just get any old shell fabric, and it will be more than adequate and it will save you a fair chunk of money if it isn't made from a branded-up-to-the-eyeballs membrane fabric. TNF sell 'full weight' shells in own-brand fabric. Montane only do lightweight stuff in non-eVent fabrics, and ME are all Goretex I think.
You've probably just missed the Berghaus Asgard special offers on Sports Pursuit, but that range is also well worth a look.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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meh,
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I pretty much always ski with a pack so the pockets were a bit of an afterthought really.
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yep it always amuses me that Jacket manufactures who also make backpacks put the pockets in the wrong places. 
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Mosha Marc, oh no! I am not cool! How do I reconcile my school run outerwear with my lack of progeny?
In all seriousness, much as I know my North Face shell is so uncool it's positively tropical, it does a v good job of keeping me dry and keeping the wind out - and it rolls up small to fit in my pack when I'm heading uphill, sweating like a proverbial in a fishmonger. If I could remember what it's called, I'd tell you. But I can't.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
North Face - uncool. Mostly used for the school run.
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by baggy, Luminous, acid-green Pants beg to differ! 
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livetoski, I can't stand things in the pockets even if I can get into them properly. It's just not comfortable to have things in jacket pockets with the chest and waist straps done up properly.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've got a ME Changabang which is a really nice jacket. It's not got a massive amount of pocket space though if that's a requirement although I think the latest ones may have an extra internal one..
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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To be honest i would just get what looks cool.... if its an outer shell for skiing then chances are you'll never be out in a rain storm and there wont need a high spec mountaineering jacket. But on the other hand, if its for skiing and winter walking at home then yes by all means get a 3-layer jacket of some sorts!
If you are in the latter situation then i would consider a waterproof softshell.... I was seriously tempted by a mountain hardware trinity jacket earlier this year in a sale... it is one of the new line of completely water proof softshells that seem to be emerging, i find them far more comfortable than a conventional hardshell, ideal for skiing!
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tomb,
I was caught in a blizzard up top in Soll so I skied down to try to get under it...only lower down it wasn't snowing, it was pissing down. I got so wet I had to give up and go and change (after a warming drink or two). I would have dearly loved a Gore-Tex shell that day.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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meh, Agreed, thats what rucksacks are for eh?
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Markymark29 wrote: |
| meh, Agreed, thats what rucksacks are for eh? |
+1
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| musher wrote: |
tomb,
I was caught in a blizzard up top in Soll so I skied down to try to get under it...only lower down it wasn't snowing, it was pissing down. I got so wet I had to give up and go and change (after a warming drink or two). I would have dearly loved a Gore-Tex shell that day. |
I see you point but in all honesty how often does that happen? If you weight up the cost of a decent 3 layer gortex jacket against the amount of times you'll encounter weather like that on a ski trip i doubt it would work out to be economical. It's better to get a jacket that you like the look of IMO, which needn't cost the earth... I for instance, got my current ski jacket off ebay for a tenner, a nike ACG parka that had been used for a week previously, it looks awesome and is waterproof enough to withstand normal ski holiday conditions. The way i see it is that my ski jackets get way more abuse than my normal hiking jackets (which are all either gortex pro shell or event 3 layer by the way), and that's why I'd rather not fork out on something that is likely to get wrecked!
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Depends how much you ski in Scotland I suppose 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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For the last few seasons I've been using a goretex (proshell) TNF Summit Series (that bit's important, a lot of their other stuff is overpriced and under-specced) climbing shell, and it's been great. Got it for £125 down from £280 ('cos it's not Scandi and not marketed as a 'ski' jacket). Wish it had pit zips, wouldn't mind a powder skirt (not that bothered about that one though), and the fact the velcro type stuff on the cuffs is too thin to really stick pisses me off, but keeps me dry and at a comfortable temperature. Really durable too, has had a lot of abuse and shows no wear at all. It's also bright yellow and looks good. Finding it pretty hard to justify an 'upgrade' to Norrona/Acteryx tbh, but I do want some pit zips.
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| tomb wrote: |
| musher wrote: |
tomb,
I was caught in a blizzard up top in Soll so I skied down to try to get under it...only lower down it wasn't snowing, it was pissing down. I got so wet I had to give up and go and change (after a warming drink or two). I would have dearly loved a Gore-Tex shell that day. |
I see you point but in all honesty how often does that happen? If you weight up the cost of a decent 3 layer gortex jacket against the amount of times you'll encounter weather like that on a ski trip i doubt it would work out to be economical. It's better to get a jacket that you like the look of IMO, which needn't cost the earth... I for instance, got my current ski jacket off ebay for a tenner, a nike ACG parka that had been used for a week previously, it looks awesome and is waterproof enough to withstand normal ski holiday conditions. The way i see it is that my ski jackets get way more abuse than my normal hiking jackets (which are all either gortex pro shell or event 3 layer by the way), and that's why I'd rather not fork out on something that is likely to get wrecked! |
I've skied several times where it's been raining in town and dumping up top. Some of my best ski days, actually - keeps others off the slopes.
Also prefer 'one jacket to do it all' if possible, which is wear I value the Gore-tex label. With Gore-Tex stuff you know it's been tested to the limits and will take abuse that pretty much no other jacket will (anything made form Gore-Tex has to pass their very stringent tests before it can be sold) - and if it doesn't they have the best warranty in the industry. I value Gore-Tex as much for the automatic quality/durability indication as I do the tech - it just lasts much longer than anything else.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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clarky999, I had that problem with the velcro on my TNF Plasma jacket as well. Really annoying.
Now use an Arc'teryx sidewinder pro shell which I got from EB in the sale for £100 which has been great. Also managed to pick up another Arc'teryx insulated jacket for £70 in the EB sale tent.
There are bargains out there to be had if you're prepared to look for them. The outdoor shops in Braemar had huge discounts last month when we were in. Also, try gaynors of ambleside for some cheap TNF stuff.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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There are plenty of quality shell jackets on the interweb and on the high street / retail parks for less than 100 quid.
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aw-hicks, TK Maxx have had Montane jackets in stock recently at better than half price.
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You know it makes sense.
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For the last few years I've been skiing in decent cycle jackets, just bought an Altura attack cycle jacket and I'm planning to ski in it this year.
In my opinion cycle jacket make great ski jackets, well placed pockets long selves, only thing you need to be aware of is the short front as you can get a gap, but i wear mountain Equipment salopettes so never been an issue for me - just my 2pence worth...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Just thought I'd update went for the Noronna Narvik Gore Tex Jacket, have only tried on at the moment, first impressions are good, has a lovely amount of warmth for its weight and thickness, lovely bold colours, and the craftmanship of the narvik looks flawless and there's some great design features, its by far the most money I've spent on ski wear before, I think it will be justified with the 5 year warranty and get to test it out sunday in meribel )
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Claude B wrote: |
| I've got a ME Changabang which is a really nice jacket. It's not got a massive amount of pocket space though if that's a requirement although I think the latest ones may have an extra internal one.. |
I spent AAAAAGES looking at jackets last year - "proper ski ones" like Salomon, Spyder etc, several shells including Rab, Berghaus, Mountain Hardwear, Haglofs etc - and i ended up with a ME Changabang. It's a mountaineering jacket made with skiing in mind, so shortish length, pockets you can get in with a sac on, snow skirt, pit zips if you're going uphill, lots of decent size pockets and bombproof quality.
I carry a Haglofs lightweight insulated jacket for when it's really cold, but most of the time I'm fine with a couple of midweight layers underneath.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've used a Mountain Equipment Changabang for many years and it's been bomb proof apart from a metal zip pull snapping last year (fixed for a fiver). Very well designed, lift pass pocket in sleeve, rides well with a climbing harness, pockets in the right places The hood works to move with your head even when wearing a helmet, jet it still packs away into the collar. Another big plus is the zip out snow skirt, that doesn't half also act to keep the heat in.
Would defo buy another if it eventually bites the dust. I use it for all mountain activities so it takes some hammer.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Changabang for President!!!
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More Mountain Equipment love, my Kamchatka is ace. The shell turns out to be tougher than my skin after extensive rock based testing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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meh, I ripped a small hole in my elbow after skiing full pelt into a ditch and landing on it right on a big jagged rock. The jacket had a sub half inch gash, I wish my skin was that lucky. Stuck a bit of sail tape over the goretex hole and good as new 
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Scarpa, near enough to what I did, elbow meeting rock, nice gash and stitches in elbow no marks at all on the jacket!
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I really like ME - VFM given the technical quality and design is excellent.
Money no object then I'd just favour arcteryx - still better value than the Scandis!
I agree with the comments above that full 3 layer proshell jacket is a bit OTT for skiing but the reason I always tended to go for something like that is that I knew I would get to use it for everything (climbing, hiking, skiing, etc). Still makes some sense.
That said, these days I think a soft shell / light weight waterproof that lives in your pack is the ideal combination for do everything but when I say soft shell I mean a VERY breathable but only shower proof non-membrane soft shell...
With money less of a constraint these days I have far too many jackets. Current skiing in a ME primaloft insulated full shell proshell jacket* early season and a softshell late season.
* can't remember what its called got in in the sale last year
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If used exclusively for skiing in typical Alpine conditions, I'd personally favour a softshell.
I went for a 3 layer Gore-Tex shell because I also use it for hiking, climbing and biking in the frequently grim Lakes and Peak District.
ME is top stuff, Changabang in particular is a great jacket. I'm using an Arcteryx Rush jacket at the moment, which I'm really liking. It's the poshest coat I've ever owned (got a staff discount and it was still dear). As much as I like it, can't really say it's a significant improvement over my old Changabang - law of diminishing returns it seems.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hard to go past Arc'teryx. I ski in a Stinger pro-shell. Light, flexible, wind proof, and great technical features. I think it was replaced by the "Vertical" in the Arc'teryx line up?
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Arcteryx Beta for me, Haglofs Spinx for my OH, both great.
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