Awesome Shell

By Tommy Gordon Ranked #578 - Men's Technical Shells December 28, 2010

This jacket is awesome. The shell is a bit stretchy, which is nice. It is softer (more fabricy, less plasticy) than other shells, but it is plenty waterproof and durable. I got it in black with the red zippers, which looks awesome. However, a few more color options would have been nice, like yellow, orange, a brighter green, etc. The hood will fit over my Smith Variant Brim helmet on a powder day, or in the rain (yes, I ski in the rain). The hood tightens down well if you're not wearing a helmet too. The ninja grips on the sleeves are cool too because they're not bulky like some others, but you may want to ditch them when you put gloves on if you have big hands. They are good for when you're wearing the jacket off-hill though. In terms of warmth, I wore a thin polyester baselayer, a thin wool longsleeve shirt over that, and a t shirt under this shell and was warm and dry (conditions were 14F, night skiing with snowmaking underway). I'm 5'9" 165lbs 32in waist, and the medium size is great, just enough room for a fleece or down midlayer if needed. The sleeves are little long but its not a problem. The fit is very long and somewhat slim. The back goes an inch or two below my butt. The zips are watersealed. The pit vents are nice and big but are NOT mesh-backed, as stated in the product description. They are hard to open/close while wearing, but it can be done with practice. Just be careful not to drop your poles from the lift chair while trying ;-) The powder skirt is nice, has a sticky stretch band to keep it in place. Also has a snap system with two loops that go around loops on your pants (but most pants I've seen don't have the matching loops). To improve, It should have more colors, an internal mesh pocket, mesh backing on the pit vents, and a more generic pants attachment system (like TNFs where you snap the loops around your belt loops). But overall, this thing is great (for me at least): fit, waterproofing, breathability, durability, style, general functionality, and value are off the charts in a very good way.

View Details: Stoic Bombshell Jacket - Men's

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes