Women's Down Jacket System?

Hi There,

My girlfriend is an advanced/intermediate knuckledragger (ah chem, snowboarder) who's been riding for about 4-5 years now. We have a house at Jay Peak here in the East, and she has Raynaud's syndrome which seems to be a side effect from chemotherapy since she's a Hodgkins cancer survivor. I'm looking for a way for her to stay out on the slopes longer between warming sessions in the lodge so she can improve her ability and enjoy it more. I got her hottronic electric boot warmers last year and that helped a ton!

I'm convinced that she needs more insulation for her core. So basically, I'm looking for the warmest possible gear to get her. I was thinking that some kind of system with a down insulation layer and then a waterproof breathable shell would work well. When it's not snowing or raining or not too cold, she can wear just the down jacket. When it's puking, she can layer up and wear both. When it's warm, she can just wear the shell. She already has a good quality patagonia waterproof/breathable shell, but really looking for some information about a good quality down insulation layer or other ideas. Seems like her fleece jacket under her shell aren't enough.

She has Burton mittens for her hands which helps a lot and she knows never to touch cold metal like chairlift poles with her bare hands, etc.

Thanks in advance, David

Down is probably a good idea. My wife skis in a North Face down ski jacket (can't remember the model) with a water resistant outer fabric. She uses a Mountain Hardwear Poodle Fleece pullover underneath it on cold days, and a cheap fleece vest on warmer days. We ski in Colorado, so she rarely, if ever, uses a shell on top of the down jacket since the snow is so dry out here.

My other sugestion would be to have you GF find a pair of really thin liner gloves to wear under the mittens. Liners made with Outlast are a great choice. I bought ours ar REI for about $8. They really do a nice job of wicking the perspiration off and keeping the whole system dry and warm.

Finally, remember that you lose a ton of heat through your head. Helmets are great insulators. When you combine one with a stretchy fleece beanie or balaclava, you're really upping the R value.

I don't think it'd be comfortable wearing a full-on Michelin Man puffy under another jacket. On very cold days I wear a North Face full-zip down (Primaloft, actually) sweater which is perfect as a layer under a hardshell, given its slippery finish and lower profile; I bet that you could zip something like that into a North Face shell if you wanted to. If her core is still cold there'd probably be room for a Patagonia R3 vest underneath that, although I'm overheating just thinking about that much clothing. Or maybe it's your girlfriend, I don't know- pics would help.

If you want to get her a stand-alone down parka then the Cloudveil Down Patrol is a really good one- 650 fill, tough DWR/Windstopper shell, good vents, good hood, etc.

Cruiser: Yeah, we get a lot of nasty wet snow and general wet weather out here, so need something with a good waterproof outer layer. Yep, she already does use glove liners on really cold days under the mittens so those work well. She has a Leedom helmet, but it has quite a few vents that she almost never opens. I was thinking about getting her something like the Bern Muse which doesn't have any vents and has knit ear covers and she also has a bavaclava she wears when it's really cold, which is often for her.

Steven: Great point about mobility (Mich man) and not looking like Ralphie from A Christmas Story. I'll check out TNF primaloft down sweaters for women. She already has a lightweight down vest. Yep, she's pretty hot, so that might be it. I couldn't find the Cloudveil Down Patrol parka on their website.

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Originally Posted by djtnut

Steven: Great point about mobility (Mich man) and not looking like Ralphie from A Christmas Story. I'll check out TNF primaloft down sweaters for women. She already has a lightweight down vest. Yep, she's pretty hot, so that might be it. I couldn't find the Cloudveil Down Patrol parka on their website.

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The reason you couldn't find the jacket on their site is because they haven't put up their winter line yet. Here it is at backcountry: http://tinyurl.com/2h46pw I had the men's jacket for a while and liked it, but it was far too warm for me.

Patty also makes a similar jacket I've heard good things about: http://tinyurl.com/2fnn6h

-fool