The Paramo Enduro ski jacket has been designed for a whole range of mountain sports from skiing and ice climbing to mountain biking and mountaineering.
Whether one jacket can adequately meet the different demands of a wide range of activities is open to question, but it is undoubtedly well designed and buying one means you don’t have the expense of a different jacket for all your different sports.
We’re looking at it here as primarily a ski jacket. For this purpose it works well in many ways – features such as the easily adjustable, helmet-friendly hood, embedded cords and locks to improve snow shedding, large arm (as opposed to pit) zips, 180° shoulder/ arm articulation, stretch panels in the shoulders, sleeves and sides and glove-friendly design are all a boon to any kind of skier or boarder.
There’s also a good range of pockets (two handwarmer, two chest and one internal) although a large inner goggle pocket would also have been useful.
However, there’s no powder skirt which isn’t absolutely vital but is useful in a ski jacket, and it is quite bulky and heavy compared to a standard shell type jacket.
On the other hand this does provide better insulation and the Nikwax Analogy fabric from which its constructed is legendary for its breathability and waterproofness.
You should also note that the sizing is very much on the small size; I wore a Large (my usual size) over just two layers and it was far too small, so I reckon most people will have to go up at least one size from what they’re used to.
In summary then the Paramo Enduro works well as a ski jacket but not as well as many ‘ski specific’ jackets you can buy for a similar price.
On the other hand it’s very versatile and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it for winter hiking, mountaineering, snowshoeing and the like (although I think it would be a bit warm for mountain biking), so if you’re looking for one jacket for several activities it’s worth checking out.
