Great jacket, with minor flaws.

By Tanner Knight January 21, 2008

This jacket would be perfect if it weren't for a couple of things. First the positive: The Cloudveil Down Patrol is a stylish, comfortable jacket which gives you serious style points on the hill! The 550 fill down keeps you plenty warm on cold days, and the Gore Windstopper outer fabric keeps the wind from biting your nips on super blustery days. The fit is great around the shoulders and chest, but could present a problem for someone with a larger belt line, as the cut doesn't flare hardly at all at the bottom of the jacket. The Velcro enclosures at the wrist offer plenty of adjustability. The two small problems I ran into have mostly to do with the ability to be manipulated with gloves. First, the powder skirt is nearly impossible to affix with gloves, as the snaps are entirely too small. You may consider this extremely nit-picky until you get up on the slope and find some powder off the trail and suddenly need the protection and can't fasten the snaps with gloves because it's 10 degrees out. Also, the removable skirt is fairly wimpy and ineffective compared to the skirt of my Gore-tex shell. Secondly, the hood design doesn't allow for maximum closure, leaving gaps near the zipper on the hood for wind to lash your neck. Also, the grommets on the hood closures are also impossible to manipulate with gloves. But, once you realize these minor detractors and learn to adjust these in the lodge or gondola, you can ski or ride with super style and comfort.

View Details: Cloudveil Down Patrol Jacket - Men's

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