High end Ski jacket / waterproof shell

[D.P.]

Anyone had an Arc'Teryx? They look very well made

Most of my alpine and hiking gear is Arc'Teryx, they are really the best. mammut do some good stuff as well.

 

[beh]

if you're a slimmer European ... Patagonia, Rab and Haglofs may be a better bet.

That pretty much mirrors my experience of the differences in cut, i.e. I'm ~tall and skinny so tend to favour Patagonia or Rab. Haglofs stuff is unfortunately a bit too garish for my tastes these days.

I ski in a soft shell much of the time now

Same, even in Scotland.

Plenty of modern soft shell fabrics are effectively waterproof anyway. Using powershield pro which has a 5000HH, just lacking taped seams.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Plenty of modern soft shell fabrics are effectively waterproof anyway. Using powershield pro which has a 5000HH, just lacking taped seams.

So not waterproof then................

 

[itchy]

I got one of these the other week.

http://www.berghaus.com/mens-ben-alder-3in1-hydroshell-&-hydroloft-jacket/421685.html

Light weight, water proof with a removable inside bubble jacket.

 

[beh]

So not waterproof then................

As I said, the actual fabric PSP could be classed as waterproof, same could be said of Windstopper.

For skiing you're very rarely going to have put up with a downpour so imo a hardshell isn't worth spending extra money on. If you can find a good deal, I agree with your recommendation of Neoshell. I gather that renders any argument on breathability to be somewhat moot.

 

[Guest2]

I was about to pull the trigger on a Montane Fast Alpine Stretch Neo Jacket, but have noticed the waterproof rating of only 10,000 mm. Comparing this to gore-tex pro which is rated at 28,000mm its pretty low - entry level waterproofing in fact.

Everything elese about the fast alpine sounds great, except the waterproofing. I do need it to be waterproof because it will be used as my daily shell in every type of weather.
Should I be that bothered about the waterproof rating, be it 10k, 20k or 30k?

Edit - I know the thread is titled as a a ski jacket but lets face it, most of us only ski a week or 2, maybe 3 at most a year. The rest of the time its going to be for general use, biking, hiking and maybe mountaineering.

Also, I dont think any jacket is 100% waterproof. Only skin is... And an umbrella, but its hard to ski or climb holding an umbrella!

 

[randomshenans]

Sweet Protection. Love my stuff.

 

[beh]

Should I be that bothered about the waterproof rating, be it 10k, 20k or 30k?

No....

Anything above 5000hh for a jacket is considered waterproof.

Above a certain level, having a higher HH is meaningless.

Don't be suckered by marketing.

 

[Guest2]

Sweet Protection. Love my stuff.

What protection and what stuff? Had a few beers watching the rugby but dont ghink you have posted yet

 

[Guest2]

No....


Don't be suckered by marketing.

Thats the problem. There is so much marketing. Especially the better brands - e3d etc etc. practically every word has 'tm' after it... Including watertight!

 

[Sherpa]

I'm a big Arc'teryx fan, I wear Beta AR pants for skiing and will be getting an Alpha Composite jacket for this season. The Alpha SV is their flagship GTX jacket and is still made in Canada.

Their LEAF stuff is also awesome.

 

[beh]

Thats the problem. There is so much marketing. Especially the better brands - e3d etc etc. practically every word has 'tm' after it... Including watertight!

Proshell, event and neoshell are pretty evenly matched to the extent that most people probably wouldn't notice the difference. Best to ignore that they all claim to be better than each other in some way or other (usually by their own in house testing methods).

Did you find a good deal on the Montane jacket?

 

[Guest2]

Arc'teryx do look very well made but the fit looks bad, for me at least. It looks to be cut way too high up

 

[Guest2]

Did you find a good deal on the Montane jacket?

Just dropped the bomb now. £210 delivered (instead of £350 rrp)

Couldnt bring myself to spend ~£500.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

I was about to pull the trigger on a Montane Fast Alpine Stretch Neo Jacket, but have noticed the waterproof rating of only 10,000 mm. Comparing this to gore-tex pro which is rated at 28,000mm its pretty low - entry level waterproofing in fact.

Ignore lab tests.

As I said before, if it's over 5000hh, then it's waterproof. In real world usage a 28000hh jacket is not 2.8 times more waterproof than a 10000hh jacket. It's either waterproof, or it isn't.

 

[beh]

Just dropped the bomb now. £210 delivered (instead of £350 rrp)

Couldnt bring myself to spend ~£500.

Very sensible, rapidly diminishing returns on anything more than a few £hundred at RRP. Money is better spent actually going skiing.

 

[Skidder]

I have Burton AK3L stuff at the mo. 3 layer gore tex. It's not about cold (that's what layering is for) but for not letting you get sweaty and wet and then cold when you pause I rate good breathability.

 

[Guest2]

Good point - skiing is never cheap!

Does everyone wear their same ski jacket / shell also as their day to day coat or save it just for skiing? Personally I like only having one coat, shoes, trainers etc for all occasions

 

[savagesam117]

I bought a Van's Ski jacket as a day to day coat, it's the best coat ive ever bought. And i've used it once for skiing (Not a fan of skiing as I soon found out), it was great. The belt clip, stop snow going up stopper ma bob works really well!

Cost me £100 from TK Maxx and i've never seen another one like it. 3 years and still going strong. I wear it every single day.

 

[Guest2]

Whats the make of the vans? (Model should be inside) I did have a look in TK maxx today and the 'snowsports' section but most was big bulky stuff. No good for what i would call proper skiing. Do a hard black, some off piste or a 7km top to bottom in one of them and it would feel like you were in a cooker by the time you got to the bottom!