Arc’teryx Fissile | £670 | Men's
How much? Well think of it this way – it looks so good and is so effective at providing comfort in the cold that you’ll use it for pretty much any winter activity, be it skiing, hiking or walking through town. Feel better now?
The Fissile combines an N70p three-layer Gore-Tex outer for breathable waterproofing with a mix of 750 fill power goose down and body mapped Coreloft synthetic insulation. The result is light weight ease of movement and instant warmth – even the hood is insulated. Features include pit zips, six pockets and a Recco reflector.
Keela Prosport Adv | £125 | Women's
The Prosport Adv is just as well suited to foul UK hill weather as to winter in the Alps with excellent weather-proofing and insulating qualities, without the need for bulky layers. The resulting relatively light and loose feel of the Prosport is one of its great features. Meanwhile the hydrophilic membrane rapidly transports moisture away from the body, keeping you dry and comfortable.
Although not a ski specific jacket, the Prosport has all the major features you need in an outdoor jacket, including an excellent hood and plenty of pockets.
Keela Prosport Adv full review
Bergans Isogaisa | £400 | Unisex
The Isogaisa feels just right as soon as you slip it on, and gets better the more you use it. The asymmetric main zip gives a snug, comfortable fit, the helmet-compatible hood has excellent peripheral vision, and the right number of pockets are in all the right places. The jacket’s three-layer, waterproof, windproof and breathable Dermizax fabric is the same as the Bergans Sirdal ski pants that it attaches to with the detachable powder skirt. For ventilation you get long pit zips and mesh-lined pockets to leave open. It also has a built-in Recco reflector.
Jack Wolfskin Texapore Downshell Tec | £550 | Women's
The Texapore Downshell is Jack Wolfskin’s flagship ski jacket, featuring a fully waterproof and windproof Texapore Air inner fabric (5,000mm HH / >15,000g MVTR) and a high quality 800-fill power white goose down filling. Weather is kept out by a shell of tough, hard-wearing Polyester fabric with a soft touch finish, and you get a Recco reflector, detachable powder skirt, venting zips, five inside and outside pockets, snow cuffs, adjustable hem and fully-adjustable hood. But it’s the attention to detail that we liked as much as the features.
Jack Wolfskin Texapore Downshell Tec full review
Black Diamond Mission Pro | £550 | Men's
This top-of-the range jacket is made from rugged Gore-Tex Pro fabric that can handle all manner of abuse, yet it’s neither particularly bulky nor heavy (780g), making it ideal for hard riding.
From the top you get an adjustable, large helmet-compatible hood, and the collar sits good and high offering snug lower face protection through two inner brushed microsuede patches.
There’s a large selection of well-thought-out pockets including two capacious mesh stash pockets. Large pit zips give extra ventilation, a powder skirt, Velcro cuffs and adjustable hem.
Black Diamond Mission Pro full review
Helly Hansen Ridge | £380 | Unisex
The ridge simply does its job Brilliantly as well as looking good. Designed with pro freeskiers, the shell is built around a waterproof and windproof membrane which has excellent breathability – we used it in very warm spring sunshine and never overheated. It’s also DWR treated and fully seam-sealed. The zipped chest and hand pockets are back pack compatible, and you get a helmet compatible hood, wrist gaiters, a jacket-pant compatible powder skirt, and glove-friendly cuff adjusters. This is a great and stylish buy for the groomers or backcountry.
Helly Hansen Ridge full review
Picture Eno shell | £339 | Men's
A lot of thought has gone into the design of Picture’s Eno jacket – it uses a single piece of multi-density fabric in order to keep stitching to a minimum and optimise waterproofing and breathability, with the different densities being placed where they’re most needed, such as placing more hardwearing material around the chest, back and shoulders. The jacket features pretty much all the essentials in a jacket aimed mainly at freeriders, although surprisingly not a powder skirt. Above all, you get a really solid build quality made for hard use.
Volcom Mails Ins | £150 | Men's
The strangely monikored Volcom Mails Ins is another good value option if you’re looking for one jacket for all purposes, since its understated urban styling means you can confidently wear it both on and off the mountain through the winter.
The jacket uses Volcom’s ‘V-Science’ two-layer breathable and waterproof outer shell combined with taped seams in critical areas to keep you dry, and a lovely, soft fleece lining, paired with low-loft insulation to keep you warm. If you heat up there are pit zips and it has a huge lined hood and powder skirt.
Odlo Ski Cocoon | £380 | Men's
Designed with pro freeskier Jon Olson, the Cocoon is more ski oriented than some down jackets, with riding-specific features such as a detachable powder skirt, sleeve lift pass pocket, and adjustable (and detachable) hood.
It’s certainly a pleasure to wear with a high microfleece backed collar, snug lining, tactile outer fabric and high grade duck down and feather filling. The outer fabric is also windproof and water repellent. Features include snug wrist gaiters, zipped hand-warmer pockets, a zipped inner pocket, and an inner stash pocket with goggle wipe.
Patagonia Powslayer | £540 | Unisex
The Powslayer is built from light but durable, three-layer ripstop Gore-Tex Pro fabric with all seams taped and a DWR (durable water repellent) finish, so although you’ll need to layer up under it to stay warm you can be pretty confident that the weather will remain on the outside.
The fit is very generous – so try before buying – but once wearing it you’ll find it offers great freedom of movement. Well-thought-out features include eight pockets – all the outer ones with waterproof zips – pit zips, a powder skirt and a Recco reflector.
