skiing apparel reviews

Review: Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody

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Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody
Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody

Hybrid Jacket
Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody
$249, 16 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXL, women’s XS-XL
patagonia.com

What if you could find one jacket that serves as on-the-go insulation in cool to cold temperatures, functions as both a middle layer and an outer layer that sheds snow and light rain like a soft-shell jacket, but breathes better than most soft shells, so that you rarely take it off? Patagonia’s Dual Aspect Hoody does all of that—and this hybrid jacket has design elements that raise it above even many of the cutting-edge, breathable-insulation apparel pieces out there, I decided after numerous days of backcountry skiing in it.

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Review: Patagonia Nano-Air Vest

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Patagonia Nano-Air Vest
Patagonia Nano-Air Vest

Breathable Insulated Vest
Patagonia Nano-Air Vest
$199, 8 oz./227g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXL, women’s XS-XL
backcountry.com

If I had a buck for every day I’ve worn a vest outdoors over the years, well, I might not have to rely on a blog as the source of my wealth. But with the recent advent of breathable insulation, the classic vest, in its various iterations, faces serious competition. Curious to see whether a new-tech vest with breathable insulation could still measure up among today’s diverse array of versatile insulation pieces, I wore the Nano-Air Vest on Idaho adventures from July through October, including dayhikes and backpacking trips in the Sawtooth and White Cloud mountains and a five-day whitewater rafting and kayaking trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. It may speak volumes about this vest to say that I wore it a lot.

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Review: Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody

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Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody
Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody

Hybrid Insulation Jacket
Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody
$185, 10 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
moosejaw.com

On cool mornings in May while backpacking the Grand Canyon’s Royal Arch Loop, and in late March on a five-day, family backpacking trip down Paria Canyon on the Utah-Arizona border, I did something unusual: I started the day’s hiking wearing the same jacket I had worn while in camp, OR’s new Deviator Hoody. From cool-weather hiking to skate-skiing in winter, I liked the Deviator as a next-generation, hybrid insulation piece whose versatility is limited only by your creativity in thinking about your layering system.

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Review: Outdoor Research Superlayer Jacket

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Outdoor Research Superlayer Jacket
Outdoor Research Superlayer Jacket

Breathable Insulated Jacket
Outdoor Research Superlayer Jacket
$225, 15 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL
outdoorresearch.com

What would you think if I told you that I went for a backcountry ski tour that involved climbing uphill for an hour, sweating enough to get both my base layer top and my hat wet, then skied for a while along rolling terrain, and finally turned around and descended fast to my car—all without making any layering change? That was just my first outing wearing OR’s new Superlayer Jacket. Over the course of several winter days field-testing it, in temperatures ranging from the low single digits to the 30s Fahrenheit, I found it so remarkably breathable that it often never left my body.

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Gear Review: Patagonia Knifeblade Jacket and Pants

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Patagonia Knifeblade Jacket
Patagonia Knifeblade Jacket

Winter Jacket and Pants
Patagonia Knifeblade Jacket
$379, 1 lb. 2 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XL, women’s XS-L

moosejaw.com

Patagonia Knifeblade Pants
$299, 1 lb. 1 oz. (men’s small)
Sizes: men’s XS-XL, women’s XS-L
moosejaw.com

Skiing up Pilot Peak in Idaho’s Boise Mountains, on a day of clouds, light snow and wind, and temperatures just below freezing, I kept my jacket on—something I almost never do when skiing uphill (unless it’s much colder), because I invariably work up a good sweat. And I did it repeatedly, because of the breathability of my Knifeblade Jacket, which moves moisture so efficiently that it never got more than slightly damp inside. I’m updating this review because the Knifeblade once again impressed me so much on that recent day of backcountry skiing.

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