As part of my annual series of Holiday Gift Guides, I tackle one of my favorite sports, skiing. My picks reflect the best of what is new for this season, and unlike many magazine gift round-ups, I have purchased or tested manufacturer samples, and personally approved each of these products (unless otherwise indicated). Check out my other themed gift guides (coming soon) for Food & Cooking, for Travel & Fitness, for Cycling, for Golf and for Wine & Spirits. For Man's Best Friend, I also recently ran a guide to Best Dog Toys & Gear. Also check out last year’s skiing gift guide as many things are still worth considering.
Dynafit Meteorite Jacket: Talk about the best of both worlds: any serious outdoor enthusiast looks to fabrics by Gore for protection from the elements, and Germany’s Dynafit has long been the world leader in alpine touring and randonee hardwear, well known for technical backcountry and mountaineering products. Dynafit introduced its advanced performance apparel line here in North America a few years back, and for this season becomes one of the first manufacturers to utilize Gore’s newest winter high-tech material, Thermium. Gore Thermium is a new insulated two-layer shell material that combines taped-seam, totally windproof, water-resistant and very highly breathable outer laminate with a choice of insulations (down, synthetic, wool) and inner lining. Thermium keeps the insulation dry and protected from light rain or snow for warmth retention while allowing maximum moisture vapor to escape. One of the basic rules of outdoor apparel is the more waterproof something is, the less breathable it is, and there is always a compromise, but very few of us ever ski in a downpour, so for the most part resort skiers are better off with more breathability. The Meteorite is an insulated softshell, light and very comfortable, using guilt-free PrimaLoft Gold synthetic insulation as manufacturers increasingly turn away from down and the stigmas associated with its production. It is loaded with technical features including a fully adjustable helmet compatible hood, inner cuffs with thumb holes, powder skirt and tons of well-located pockets, inside and out. This is a great jacket for highly aerobic activities in cold but drier winter weather ($450).
Outdoor Research Capstone Heated Gloves: I’m a big fan of the heated glove concept, as cold fingers and toes are the two biggest complaints in skiing and this technology promises to make the former obsolete. But in practice, many heated gloves don’t work well, with short battery life and erratic warmth distribution. I’ve been testing different pairs from various manufacturers the past four years and they keep getting better every season. The latest evolution comes from venerable manufacture Outdoor Research, a vey well-regarded supplier of garments and gear for serious climbers, alpinists and explorers. Long before heated technology, OR ski gloves were always my first choice thanks to bulletproof construction and high performance. These replace OR’s Lucent Heated Gloves, which weren’t too bad at all, but the new Capstone model puts out twice the heat for maximum warmth even in the coldest situations, along with twice the battery power, the bane of heated garments. The new ALTIHeat system claims up to 8 hours on the lowest setting, and on top of that, these are well insulated very heavy duty gloves that would keep you warm in most circumstances even without the added heat ($500).
Best Ski/Snowboard Travel Cases: For years my go-to golf travel bag has been the best in class Club Glider from industry leader Sun Mountain, and now the excellent manufacturer has just rolled out a line of ski and snowboard bags using the same technology. Besides really rugged durable construction that has held up to years of very frequent and hard use, the feature that differentiates Sun Mountain from competitors is its ingenious retractable rolling legs, which allow you to push or pull the bags upright like a shopping cart through airports and parking lots, rather than just drag a long and unwieldy rolling bag behind you. Also, when you are in check-in lines at the airport, you can continue to move it forward with the push of a fingertip rather than kicking it with your foot or reaching down to drag it every time the line moves a few feet. And unlike most ski bags, the SkiGlider also holds boots, helmet and other gear along with up to two pairs of skis (up to 190 cm) and poles. The upper is fully padded and reinforced in wear areas, it has three internal pockets and heavy-duty, two-way zippers running the full length for easy packing. Skis are secured by three internal cinch straps and a padded pouch at the base for protection. The FreeGlider holds two snowboards up to 166 cm and two pairs of boots with extra room. It features similar construction with one internal cinch strap, one internal and one external pocket, and the bags folds down for storage. Both are now available on Sun Mountain’s website ($300).
Helly Hansen Superstar Jacket: With a long history of producing some of the world’s best technical sailing gear in some of the world’s most rugged conditions, Norway’s Helly Hansen has grown over the past decades into a full spectrum outdoor adventure clothing manufacturer, and makes some of my favorite ski stuff, including a bulletproof softshell jacket I have used around the world for the past ten years. It’s still holding up fine, but I was ready for an upgrade to more current materials, and I’ve been happily testing the new Superstar. This is a comfy jacket that holds its own in fierce winterer conditions, made from Helly Tech Professional, a shell material that offers 4-way stretch, a soft hand, and is waterproof and breathable. It’s insulated with PrimaLoft Gold and PrimaLoft Silver synthetic insulation for guilt-free, low-bulk warmth that still works even if it gets wet, but it won’t because the jacket features fully sealed seams and heavy duty YKK water-resistant zippers. The stretchy shell and articulated pattern allows total freedom of movement, and it has large underarm vents and the company’s proprietary H2Flow dynamic adjustable venting system to manage excess warmth for comfort in a wider range of outdoor temperatures. It also looks great, a classic ski jacket inspired by leather 1970’s motorcycle racing jackets, fitted and sleek, with unique and useful linear zippered jacket cuffs (plus internal thumbhole wrist gaiters), in three solid colors. Bells and whistles include the Recco avalanche location safety system built in, hand warming pockets, large zippered chest pockets, internal protected pocket, and adjustable helmet friendly hood ($600).
Ultimate Après Ski Pants: I spend a lot of time in the American West skiing and my idea of the perfect après ski outfit usually includes jeans and cowboy boots. But I’ll probably never wear “regular” jeans again, thanks to this special collaboration between highly regarded Vermont high-performance merino wool specialist Ibex and small-batch jeans producer Noble Denim. These are simply better jeans, especially for colder wetter weather, and feature Ibex’s new Merino Wool Denim fabric and were just released this fall. They were designed and are sewn in Noble’s Tennessee shop, feel good, look great and are crafted from lightweight, brushed back twill Wool Denim made of 60% wool/40% cotton making them significantly lighter than traditional all cotton jeans (like half a pound lighter) while staying warmer, a win-win for comfort. Details include copper rivets and buttons and a leather patch. I love these. Sorry ladies, for now men’s model only ($300).
Coolest Après Jacket: Howler Brothers is best known for their coastal surf culture gear, but this winter they added my new favorite piece of casual winter wear, the Esmont Jacket. It’s really what the industry calls a shirt jac, an insulated skirt style lightweight jacket, with Western flair and snaps, with a soft cotton shell treated for water repellency and filled with lightweight but very efficient Primaloft synthetic insulation. It looks great, feels great and has perfectly designed handwarmer pockets, easy to pack or perfect for wearing on the plane and just a great piece for tossing on and hitting après ski cocktail hour ($175).
SYNC Stretch Puffy Jacket: From freeing your inner racer to après ski happy hour, it is hard to beat this multi-purpose jacket from SYNC, a small company in Vail, Colorado with roots in ski racing gear. SYNC was inspired to develop this jacket after a cold day on the mountain working with alpine racers - puffy down jackets are very warm off the slopes, but typically lack the features needed for skiing. SYNC has created something unique, and unlike just about every other puffy, this one has a unique stretch shell for greater mobility and skiing performance, coupled with maximum warmth. SYNC’s revolutionary stretch Motion 360 knit fabric allows for freedom of movement unheard of in puffies, and is breathable, with an anti-microbial water repellent treatment. It also has a durable, waterproof, breathable shoulder overlay and a hood, and for this season, SYNC has joined the down alternative movement and swapped to Primaloft Gold synthetic insulation, which works even when wet. This hybrid makes it easy to pack for that ski trip as it is a great all-around ski season jacket on and off the slopes ($300). This one comes in a women's version too.
Better Goggles: I’ve long been a fan of Smith, the innovator that has brought us technology like the TurboFan totally unfoggable goggles, helmet and goggle integrating systems and the now increasingly common interchangeable lenses, probably the most important feature in ski and snowboard goggles. So what’s left in terms of improving performance? ChromaPop. This is Smith’s proprietary lens technology which enhances visual clarity, provides greater definition and reveals natural color in a full range of weather conditions on or off the slopes. Smith first rolled ChromaPop out in regular sunglasses, and I’ve been testing it for over a year on the golf course, ocean and hiking and you simply the see the world in a better way. Now it’s available in new goggles (from $210) or individual lenses ($70), which are compatible with many existing Smith goggles as an upgrade. Unlike traditional snow goggles, all ChromaPop lenses filter light at two specific wavelengths to eliminate color confusion to the brain while providing a sharper, easier and faster visual experience. The lenses are offered in three tints, filtering 50-91% of visual light for conditions ranging from dark and stormy to everyday to bright sun.
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