A big, heavy beast of a jacket, Burton's Breach is not one you'll ever want to be carrying in a pack. What it does have going for it though is oodles of style and a comfortable, cosy feeling that only a relatively low-tech ski jacket can have. The outer material is soft, supple and distinctly non-crinkly, in fact it feels more like cotton than plasticky Gore-Tex.
Waterproofing is taken care of by Burton's DRYRIDE giving an industry standard 10,000mm performance. This is bolstered by storm flaps rather than waterproof zips, but Burton have at least ensured that all seams are fully taped. As expected breathability doesn't fair so well, partly due to the insulation inside and partly due to the heavyweight, low-tech outer fabric and we got clammy quickly when hiking or spring skiing in the Breach. Being insulated though, you can certainly feel the warmth with a hefty 80g of synthetic Thermolite in the body and a more slimline 60g in the arms.
Versatility is high on the list of things the Breach does well and after a hard day of skiing we felt comfortable wearing this smart looking jacket into town.
Overall, although not a top performer on the slopes the style is sure to win plenty of people over.
