Day two at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market showed us lots of new or updated lines from the clothing side of many of the brands that make ski touring apparel. Here is just a small touch of what is in store for winter 2018.
Patagonia
I appreciate that Patagonia is not only attempting to make the best products for outdoor ventures, but that they are constantly trying to do it with less waste and negative impact on the environment.
New for next winter, Patagonia has redesigned their killer Pow Slayer kit so that the face fabric is made from 100% recycled materials with GORE-TEX Pro still built in to keep you uber dry. They also went through and streamlined the folds, seams, and pockets to reduce the amount of material going into the product and allow general efficiency in the folds being used. Lucky for us, this means that the product is now around 30% lighter weight. Expect to see the rest of the ski kits to be 40-70% recycled face fabric.
Outdoor Research
Outdoor Research’s active insulation line is designed so people in the backcountry can “move, not remove.”
The goal is to maximize temperature regulation so you can keep ski touring instead of adding or removing layers when temperatures change.
For example, the new Ascendant Hoody. It has insulation technology as the Deviator Hoody (Deviator came out last year). The Ascendant jacket features a combination of highly breathable insulation paired with an air-permeable outer shell.
Ascendant uses Alpha Direct for the interior: knit construction that does away with the need for a mesh liner which means one less layer through which heat and moisture have to move through in order to vent, improving dry time and reducing weight.
Ascendant will be available fall 2017.
Specs for our discerning readers:
Mountain Equipment
Partnering with alpinists for over 50 years, Mountain Equipment continually evolves their products to keep up with the cutting edge. We are happy to see them bring more and more of their quality items to the North American market.
New for fall 2017, the Havoc jacket will keep our Pacific Northwet mountaineers happy. Gore-tex 40D fabric with Gore C-knit backer makes this hard shell fully waterproof and windproof performance, and the fabric has a surprisingly soft feel. The hood is ski helmet compatible and a zip-out snowskirt provides extra defense for those lusty deep powder days.
Havoc pant is a full-bib ski pant. Water proof, breathable performance below the waist and a stretch woven Soft Shell bib ensures full protection on the big powder days.
Available in men and women’s models:
Havoc jacket, MSRP $500
Havoc bib pant, MSRP $475
The Superflux jacket is made with Polarloft featherless insulation which works wet or dry but because of its blown construction, breathes as well. Admittedly, it’s not quite as warm as down but definately insulates better in wet conditions.
We like Mountain Equipment’s women’s line. Pieces are designed for the female physique rather than just downsizing men’s models. The Fuse jacket combines Polarloft featherless insulation with a lightweight stretch outer fabric. Highly breathable and easy moving, this layer can be worn alone for masimum mobilty and comfort on bluebird days, or layered under a shell when the sky turns grey.
Darn Tough
This Vermont based sock brand is serving up new exciting products and changes for winter sports enthusiasts. All of their standard ski socks are sticking around but they are adding a few more to the line up.
Mammut
The designers at Mammut have revamped their Eiger line with newer materials and colors. The biggest thing that stands out is that they decided to put high visibility orange on the insides of all the the jackets in the redesigned line to allow the user to have an article of clothing that makes them more visible from far away or in low light conditions: in an emergency, you can throw your jacket on inside out and help search and rescue locate you that much faster.
Kari Traa
This quickly growing Scandinavian women’s brand believes in colors and activewear with options and function. With a extensive base layer line, they have layers for different activity levels and seasons. Their lighter layers seem like a great fit for the uphilling girl.
CoolCore
CoolCore just came out with a simple base layer line that uses a fiber blend and weave that allows your skin to do what it is supposed to do – thermoregulate using evaporation. The material is free from cooling chemicals (many “cooling” layers use a chemical similar to menthol to create a cooling sensation against the skin) and works by transporting sweat laterally to allow it to diffuse. They say that the base layers are great to use all year long because they don’t just cool the body, but rather allow the body to do its normal regulating job, in warm or cold temps.
The line includes leggings, running shorts, and long and short sleeved tops for men and women. They also have a line of cooling compression wraps for wrists, knees, backs, and ankles that use the same fabric technology and are ready to use after about 20 minutes in the freezer.
That’s just some of the brands we visited. More on clothing coming next week.
WildSnow Girl, Rachel Bellamy, skis, snowboards and does just about everything else that’s fun. Rachel calls the Pacific Northwest home but is often romping around the mountains and crags of other states she loves. Whether on snow, rock, or in the sea, this WildSnow Girl will frequently have a camera in hand to capture the bliss of adventure through photography. See her beautiful images on Instagram: birdrachel.