• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Hellytech Performance and Professional fabric review

pack21

La vita è bella, non sprecarla.
Skier
Joined
Mar 11, 2018
Posts
49
Location
Portugal
@pack21 let me know once you try how it works, as Zajo has some very reasonable pricing around here (Slovenia), but never really considered them before @Analisa wrote all that stuff about eVent :) Btw... this on your photo is Karakorum Neo? And as you have it, and I need something for ski touring where size matters, and my current Scott with Goretex Pro rolls a bit big and heavy, how small you can pack this one?
There is very little knowledge of people. Gore-Tex Pro = EVENTexpedition in terms of menbrana, only uses ePFTE no PU, also needs care and regular washes like EVENT. Only Standard Gore-Tex has PU+ePFTE but is far from breathing so well, because the PU that has.



Yes Karakorum Neo, it's has EVENT DVAlpine, is 3L with one menbrane of ePFTE, and GorePRO 3L, with 2 ePFTE menbrane welded, same as Event DVExpedition, so heavier as you say, hardened, and not as breathable as DValpine. Then there is EVENT DVstorm even lighter, more breathable, but obviously not so robust and waterproof.



For ski touring you also have the Reykjavik Neo, which to pack i think is better than the Karakorum Neo, because in Reykjavik Neo the out face is all in Nylon 40D, and Karakorum Neo has parts in Nylon70D and 40D, so not so soft for packing.

At the level of pockets, pitzips and softer, i would have preferred the Reykjavik Neo, but i ended tradeoff for more robustness of the parts in 70D (shoulders and arms) on Karakorum Neo.

Mine comes packed here, don't know if helps.
Cj5NRBz.jpg
 
Last edited:

pack21

La vita è bella, non sprecarla.
Skier
Joined
Mar 11, 2018
Posts
49
Location
Portugal
Thanks @pack21 for this! Based on all this, it's good deal for 200eur jacket :)

Indeed, it's all about marketing, Gore and their brand friends are very strong here, and the average person didn't even realize that Gore, in Gore-Tex PRO
was having taken a step back and re-used only ePTE membranes with no PU, certainly in a more technological way than the first Gore ePTE jackets.

It will not be difficult to find out the reason for this step back, Direct Venting (ePTE) VS Wet Venting (PU+ePTE), It does not make much sense, to have to wait for the membrane to be wet :huh: to start being breathable.


I discovered this, thanks to the good notes of the @Analisa , because i was too blinded by GORe-Tex PRO marketing, maybe can be marginal better than Event, dont know, but 2X the price? no thanks, i will buy another if comes dead.

Note: Note: Don´t forget that all these considerations are only valid for mountain sports, more specifically skiing. For other uses everything changes.
 
Last edited:

Primoz

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Nov 8, 2016
Posts
2,483
Location
Slovenia, Europe
I tried until now pretty much every whateverTex (mostly) European ski gear companies produced to avoid GoreTex, but nothing really worked for ski touring. For skiing pretty much everything works for me, but ski touring is different, as I sweat pretty good on uphill even if it's -15c outside, and GoreTex was working better then most of its copies. But even Gore is anything but good, and I try to go up as much as possible without it, but when it gets windy, it starts snowing etc. things change.
For current setup I was lucky and got it for free, but after 2 years it's slowly time to change it (either I'm on skis too much or stuff is not that durable as they market it :) ). And as I'm not sure how my relations with current brand will be in future, I'm also checking for other stuff in case I will need to buy it. And Zajo's 200eur jacket and 200eur pants, after this what you and @Analisa wrote, sound much better then 600eur jacket and 500eur pants with Goretex logo :)
 

LKLA

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
1,428
you read it exactly right. Keeps your sweat in, while letting all the outside moisture in, its also very wind proof, so there is no chance of cooling down.

What Vail - and other ski operators - need to do is to provide shells and let the instructors/staff layer as they see fit/need. In the case of HH, that could be an Alpha jacket and a pair of Ridge pants. Then each person can decide if they need, one, two, three or four layers underneath. This would seem to solve the problem and avoid the issue that comes with a "one size fits all" approach.
 

pack21

La vita è bella, non sprecarla.
Skier
Joined
Mar 11, 2018
Posts
49
Location
Portugal
@pack21 let me know once you try how it works, as Zajo has some very reasonable pricing around here (Slovenia), but never really considered them before @Analisa wrote all that stuff about eVent :) Btw... this on your photo is Karakorum Neo? And as you have it, and I need something for ski touring where size matters, and my current Scott with Goretex Pro rolls a bit big and heavy, how small you can pack this one?

I used Saturday, sunny day, no wind, 13 ° c,I used Saturday and Sunday, sunny day, no wind, 13 ° c, Sunday with open clouds, no Windows, 10°c,o nly with base layer of polyamide. Always fresh, open pitzips, no sweat on baselayer and zero on in-linner jacket.

Sunday mid-afternoon began to rain and everything spotless. As is obvious in 2 days, i can't tell you about the durability of breathability and waterproofing.

Their siizing chart is correct, if you like regular fit follow your number in the range below with that measure, if you like lose fit (my case) the rang up. For the price is great.

The large pockets were spotless to carry a soft trail flask with 500ml of water, and a walkie-talkie in the other, was worried about the passage of the Forfait card in the sensor, it can't be in the same pocket of the phone, because in this case it interferes and doesn't work.

Rz4qeyM.jpg
 

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,297
Location
Reno
Unfortunately, the review posted, although it is likely an accurate representation of the uniforms, it is not an accurate representation of the Helly Hansen products that I've been wearing over the past few years.
I've had pants and/or jackets from all the HellyTech Protection, Performance and Professional levels and I've had mixed results depending on the day and the type of Helly Tech® I've been wearing.
I have one pair of pants that is Helly Tech Protection that is my least waterproof of any pants I own, but its also my best spring skiing pants for beathability and I like them for that purpose.
My Helly Tech® Professional shell is one of the most waterproof shells I've ever owned, but I don't feel like it breathes very well, but then neither does GoreTex.

I recall sitting on a chair lift one day, when the snow was more like snain and thinking, "wow, these pants aren't very water proof" because I could see saturation points on them. When I got done skiing, I took them off and my base layers were perfectly dry and the water saturation was in nicely kept in the outer shell of the pants. I took them home to dry and was perfectly pleased that I was kept dry even though the pants were saturated.

As for the uniforms by HH, I can't say much except that I've heard many complaints from Northstar about how awful HH is and that they'd never buy anything from HH after waring the uniforms. That's unfortunate because Helly has some really nice stuff that does what they say it will do.
 
Last edited:

EricG

Lost somewhere!
Skier
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Posts
1,331
Location
VT
@Tricia - I’m wondering if HH is trying to save money by using the HH Protection on some of the jackets/pants. My wife’s more fashionable HH jacket with Protection was aweful, maybe they don’t intend those pieces to actually we used in crappy conditions? Hopefully HH will revise this membrane as we used to love HH gear, but after her last jacket we kinda got soured on it.
 

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
27,297
Location
Reno
@Tricia - I’m wondering if HH is trying to save money by using the HH Protection on some of the jackets/pants. My wife’s more fashionable HH jacket with Protection was aweful, maybe they don’t intend those pieces to actually we used in crappy conditions? Hopefully HH will revise this membrane as we used to love HH gear, but after her last jacket we kinda got soured on it.
I'm sure they, like all brands of ski gear, have different levels of product for different price points and different uses.
There are some skiers who are fair weather skiers who would rather pay less $$ for something that fits the kind of conditions they ski.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,419
The annoying thing is how you don't know what the fabric is or what the rating is. No one can remember all these names. Be nice if they just rated themselves a, b, c or something for levels of water repellency.

Instead, the tags are some book with worthless information on how free spirited and adventurous the company is, how environmental they are, but not what you want to know. Plus you need a magnifying glass. I've been in stores with salespeople and we're trying to figure out wtf is the repellency/breathability. Yeah, maybe they should know, but with ten brands and several fabric names for each brand, it's a mess.

Seems like Patagonia started this years ago with their proprietary fabrics.
20k/20k is the basic standard for decent water repellency no?
 

Wilhelmson

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
May 2, 2017
Posts
4,328
Just get the one with two sheets of titanium.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mdf

EricG

Lost somewhere!
Skier
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Posts
1,331
Location
VT
I'm sure they, like all brands of ski gear, have different levels of product for different price points and different uses.
There are some skiers who are fair weather skiers who would rather pay less $$ for something that fits the kind of conditions they ski.

The annoying thing is how you don't know what the fabric is or what the rating is. No one can remember all these names. Be nice if they just rated themselves a, b, c or something for levels of water repellency.

Instead, the tags are some book with worthless information on how free spirited and adventurous the company is, how environmental they are, but not what you want to know. Plus you need a magnifying glass. I've been in stores with salespeople and we're trying to figure out wtf is the repellency/breathability. Yeah, maybe they should know, but with ten brands and several fabric names for each brand, it's a mess.

Seems like Patagonia started this years ago with their proprietary fabrics.
20k/20k is the basic standard for decent water repellency no?

That’s the issue. I would expect a ~$325 HH jacket to have a decent waterproof breathable membrane. But it’s not easy to translate the tags anymore and it seems more like a guessing game. I thought she just got a bad jacket, but this thread makes me believe it’s just a crappy membrane. I wish the industry would publish ratings and use a standard testing method.
 

neonorchid

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
6,686
Location
Mid-Atlantic
I think an important consideration is also the waterproof rating - 10k on Neoshell, 15k on OR Ascentshell (which is electrospun and I believe the best indicator for how Futurelight will perform), Gore Pro & eVent are 28-30k.
-
Wildsnow field-tested - https://www.wildsnow.com/25962/north-face-futurelight-review/#more-25962

"this is probably the most breathable waterproof fabric out there — by a long shot. More, the temperature range of Futurelight is incredible."
 

Analisa

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Dec 29, 2017
Posts
982

I understand & respect that you're really excited about this product line. I hope you can understand that the jury's still out for me. I prefer to look at independent, formally tested reports, which just aren't available at this point.
 

neonorchid

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
6,686
Location
Mid-Atlantic
I understand & respect that you're really excited about this product line. I hope you can understand that the jury's still out for me. I prefer to look at independent, formally tested reports, which just aren't available at this point.
I'm trying not to get too excited. TNF shell's of late haven't been fitting me so great. Tight necklines that strangulate and or dislocate my mandible! I have an older TNF Enzo 3L Gore-tex shell, nice slim fit only the asymmetrical collar sits just below my chin exposing too much of my face to the elements, burrr. Plus, I can feel cold wind blowing thru the Enzo shell. I now use it when a shell is required for warm'ish weather skiing.
TNF does offer inseam length options on pants so "Futurelight" shell pants could be good.
 

maverick2

The 1st 50 yrs are practice - we score the 2nd 50.
Skier
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Posts
82
Location
Kendrick, Idaho
They actually surveyed us about the uniforms this year (don't know that anything will come of it, but it's a start). I wrote in mine something to the effect that HH makes clothing for Ocean Racers and North Sea Fishermen, so I'm sure that they can make something that is waterproof....

Interestingly enough, this is the route I went last fall when buying a new ski jacket. Staying warm isn't a factor for me (just the opposite actually) but staying dry was a priority. I struggle with fit because of my size making most alpine ski jackets a no-go for me, so expanded my search to ocean going sailing jackets knowing they'd likely be roomy enough (designed for high activity working on deck in rainy environments), and water proof, but likely suffer a bit regarding breathability. (I figured the latter was probably the easiest for me to alter with addition of vents if necessary.) I ended up buying the Helly Hansen offshore jacket shown.
https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_us/s...en_us&refSrc=230827&nosto=nosto-page-product1

Best coat I've ever had for skiing. EVER. I was worried about overheating on warm/rainy days and getting wet from the inside because of sweating heavily, and figured out that by opening/adjusting the 2-way front zipper from the bottom could get as little or as much fresh air circulating around my body as desired w/o needing to modify the jacket with some vents after the fact. This was the only ski jacket I used all winter -- never got too cold when temps dropped below zero (since I had room to layer beneath it), never got too hot skiing 45 degree days during spring skiing because I could open up the front from the bottom up, and never got wet from the outside in. (And the below-the-hip length and waterproof seat made wet chair rides pleasant...)
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top