New ski jacket ?

[Bigwaves]

I purchased a helly hansen alpha jacket two years ago and after 30 days of skiing it needs to be replaced. Fabric tears and broken seems - no crashes just poor quality and its out of warranty. Now back to skiing in my 20 year old quicksilver snowboard jacket.

Are there any brand built today that robust and overbuilt? It's hard to tell the quality looking at online sites.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I have a 686 snowboard jacket that seems to be very durable. Can you contact HH anyway. My Sherpa jacket tore at the pocket, was out of warranty and they still gave me a $100 credit to use towards a new jacket.

I've also had good dealings with Oakley and Marmot on warranty and out of warranty repairs/replacements.

 

[GB_Ski]

jacket two years ago and after 30 days of skiing it needs to be replaced ... its out of warranty. Now back to skiing in my 20 year old quicksilver snowboard jacket.

That's BS from a big name company. Patagonia and Arcteryx. Both are built for tough conditions and both have incredible warranty program. Arcteryx replaced my 10 year old jacket after the taped seam de-laminated for free, I just pay the shipping to them. Patagonia fixed a few patches on my ski pants for free (store manager offered me a full replacement for free or fix it at a cost). I also have my Patagonia Houdini jacket fixed as well.

 

[Jilly]

30 days...my Salomon suit has 3X that and the tears in the pants are my doing. It's 4 years old!!

Have you really talked to HH?

 

[Yo Momma]

GF and I do Klim gear now. It's built to be bulletproof yet comfy and not bulky. The new snowmobile gear from Klim out does ski gear by a mile in terms of overall quality. Crazy warm, crazy vented (cool if needed), crazy articulated.... and the stitching is the best I've seen. It's built for serious outdoor adventure sports. I live in snow country in northern VT and my Klim stays in the vehicle no matter what other gear I'm bringing or planning on wearing.

 

[Core2]

The North Face has very good quality gear and a great replacement/warranty program. I have a jacket and backpack from them and both I consider some of the best purchases I've ever made.

 

[Analisa]

I'd shop by construction instead of by brand.

Words that indicate durability: woven, double weaves, twills, dobby, >100 denier polyester and >40 denier nylon (or polyamide if they're euro).
Ones that don't: knit, anything with stretch where there's not spandex in the fabric.

I don't love Helly since they're really vague about their construction, and where they legally have to share share, they overprice the MSRP. (Like they tout their LIFA Merino as "100% wool exterior," but in total, it's around a 60/40 merino/polypropylene blend, and it gets priced at $90 like it's Smartwool). I feel like they hit the characteristics the average consumer is looking for (2 or 3 layer waterproofing, 20k/20k waterproofing & breatheability), but cut corners where the average consumer won't notice.

I work in apparel production, so if you have any questions about a certain jacket, I'm happy to help.

 

[EricG]

Ive purchased several new pieces of gear this year. My favorite purchase so far is the Patagonia Untracked shell jacket. I was torn between the Powder Bowl & Untracked. I liked the collar on the Untracked better. My buddy prefers the collar style on the Powder Bowl. The fabric quality and seams are top notch. You really need to look at each piece independently versus brand. Ive had some great stuff from Patagonia and some so-so stuff from Patagonia, same thing from TNF.

Ive had great luck with warranty service from both Patagonia & TNF.

 

[NZRob]

I purchased a helly hansen alpha jacket two years ago and after 30 days of skiing it needs to be replaced. Fabric tears and broken seems - no crashes just poor quality and its out of warranty. Now back to skiing in my 20 year old quicksilver snowboard jacket.

Are there any brand built today that robust and overbuilt? It's hard to tell the quality looking at online sites.

That's appalling. I purchased an Arc Teryx Alpha AR shell (at horrific expense) for the same reasons you are looking for - really robust (for severe wet weather and abrasion resistance) - for both skiing and winter hiking, and it's still going strong after 3 years. That's over 120 skiing days and includes a large number of days of hiking with a full pack in crap weather. I redo the waterproofing each year. Not even close to being worn out. Highly recommended.

 

[AmyPJ]

I'm not sure anything beats Arc-Teryx. I guess it's priced the way it is for a reason.

 

[Lorenzzo]

Arc-Teryrx just replaced my 6 year old shell with many days on it because a Goretex layer was wearing away around the collar. I have a lot of their stuff, any that in the past hasn't performed they've volunteered to replace it.

 

[Bigwaves]

Thanks for the response - just what I was looking for.

 

[ARL67]

Along with Arcteryx, I am a fan of products from Norrøna. Great fit , features, construction, style.

 

[Coach13]

The North Face has very good quality gear and a great replacement/warranty program. I have a jacket and backpack from them and both I consider some of the best purchases I've ever made.

...and there are great end of season prices to be had. I was golfing in Myrtle Beach this past week and stopped by the NF outlet picked up a new North Face shell and fleece both for 60% off.

 

[Freddo Bumps]

Do look at Strafe. Always very functional and great fabrics. They turned me on to Polartec Neoshell and Polartec Alpha.

 

[severou]

Bulletprooffnes wise I think nothing beats Arcteryx IF weight is a concern. Their gear amazing but can be somewhat of an overkill for an average skier/climber. Patagonia is good too, some of their stuff is really nice, in some cases I found fit to be somewhat funny. I have a Patagonia Levitation hoody(softshell built for ice climbing) and that thing is indestructible, from ice climbing to trashing through trees, to crawling on my belly up jagged scrambles on granite to skiing. I has notches and and tiny tears but still goes strong. It is not however waterprooof only resistant.

I bought two pieces on kit recently that I really like. Both are Japanese brands.
First is Finetrack softshell https://www.finetrack.com/shopping/products/detail-FAM0902/ this is my go to fast and light or trail running 3 season. Ventilation is great, design is excellent so far zero damage. I would have bought their hard shell as well but they don't fit me size wise my arms are too long

Second is TetonBros Tsurugi https://www.moosejaw.com/product/teton-bros-men-s-tsurugi-pullover_10401510 Design is brilliant, helmet/neck closure best I ever used. Vents are amazing both sides of the chest, you can open zipper that goes up to the neck from the bottom, no wasted weight on pockets. This is the most innovative jacket I ever wore, really clever design I like it a lot.

However both of those are more of a fast and light pieces not overbuilt. I tried this in shop https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/revi...-jacket/the-north-face-summit-l5-fuseform-gtx no joke that cordura face fabric feel like it can stop a knife stab. I doubt you can damage it crashing into trees or anything similar.

 

[Freddo Bumps]

Also a big fan of Outdoor Research in general. Different cuts (slim, regular, etc), thoughtful design/features, and a range of fabrics.

 

[jmills115]

I’ve had a HH Alpha 3.0 that is in good shape and 50ish+ days on it. The biggest issue is it being yellow and trying to keep it looking clean.
I added a Colorado Freeride Systems Anterro II in December and have 20 or so days on it and am very happy with it.

 

[EricG]

OP - you may want to mention what size/shape you are as there is a big variance in fit between these brands.

I tried on Arcteryx & Strafe earlier this year and the fit just wasn’t right for me. I also found a Black Diamond shell I liked, but it was too slim & long for me.

 

[François Pugh]

I only have a few years experience with top of the line Arcteryx (could not previously bring myself to pay the price before I joined Ski Patrol), but that would be my first choice.

I'm sure there is a big difference between the top shelf most expensive stuff and the cheaper stuff in any manufacturer's lines.