My Gear This Year 2012: Jackets in Review

Part two in this year's look at my gear and its upkeep will focus on the stuff that keeps my torso warm and dry. I'm lucky enough to get some outerwear almost every year. Some because I'm good at trivia, some because I can convince people that my word can be construed as marketing, some through connections and some just because I pay hard dollars for it. One thing is for sure, now is the time to go through you jacket pockets. This year I found a goggle bag and a dollar. Thank Terje I didn't find anything rotten like I have in the Snowdays jackets (banana peel). Now on to my closet...

L to R: Homeschool, Holden, Columbia (w/ liner),
Volcom, Billabong, Neff

First up, the Homeschool Snowboarding With Teeth jacket in Ever (green). Well isn't that clevergreen. Homeschool sent me a kit to review for this winter, their first year with outerwear on the market. I haven't worn it riding yet, so I can't say much, but it is 10k waterproof and a whopping 30k breathable. It's comfortable. The fabric is nice and flexible right out of the wrapper. Enough pockets, not too many. Good pant to jacket connection. Some conspicuous omissions: wrist gaiters. The hood barely covers my XL helmet. I'm intrigued by the Cocona fabric technology. You'll hear more about this as the season plays out.

Next is the 2010 Holden Harvieux. It's a sample. 10k water and 5k breathe. Yeah, I get that inside-out sweat feel sometimes. Not a storm jacket, but my opening day jacket this year and my most stylish coat. To me this means I feel like I 'should' wear it around town, but I usually don't. I only wear the jackets in that picture around town when it's really pouring. Except the Neff. I save those jackets and their DWR for snowboarding. A regular hoodie will get you by in Portland. Especially when you're used to colder places. Anyway, the Holden jacket is nice in that it has wrist gaiters, as every jacket should, but surprisingly few do. It keeps me dry, but its pow skirt is worthless unless you have a zipper that fits (I don't). A good number of useful pockets and then one with a fake button top, but real side-zip entry. I thought it was a fake pocket for months. The hood actually fits comfortably over my King-dome helmet for those extra stormy days. The liner is Cocona and the rest of the coat is recycled poly. As Holden says, it's eco-friendlier, which is a plus in my book. I still wouldn't pay retail for it at $260. It needs to come through better than that for that price. Then again, I'm not into fashion.

That gray and green piece (and the darker layer to its right) is the 2011 Columbia Powder Bowl Parka. Columbia sent it to me because they identified me as a passionate blogger. And they wanted to crack into the snowboard scene. I said about all I have to say about this coat in this post. One thing a friend of mine brought to my attention is that this jacket might be good for hunters who sit in one spot for long hours. This means it might also be good for snow filmers. Just not people who are constantly riding. That said, I do keep the layer in my bag at all times.

What you see next is the Volcom Gennerman. Gore-Tex Soft Shell. Bought it in '08ish on one of those deal-a-day sites. Best jacket I've ever had. Amazing water and sweat resistance. Same goes for durability. Perfect number of pockets, that being four. That might have been a little before the era of wrist gaiters, so it has that excuse for not having them. The pit-zips don't have mesh backing, so if you ever have to open the vents you risk snow entering the 'no snow zone.' It has the standard Volcom Zip-Tech pow skirt, but also clips that work with belt loops for a more universal appeal. I wonder why more companies don't do that. Some jackets just work and this is one of them. I'd have no problem paying retail for this.

The black and green stripes? That's a little Billabong number. Mark Frank Montoya handed it to me when I correctly answered the question: Who did the music for Nicolas Müller's part in Saturation? This was at the Optimistic? (2007) premiere. Here's the thing, I had never seen Saturation. Still haven't. Justin Hostynek was up on the mic giving clues and and shutting people down. It was getting awkward for a second. Then he said something like, 'He might even be here tonight.' And that was the give away. Scott Sullivan. I try to wear this jacket when I'm riding with a big group. It's easy to pick out. Nothing special. Middle of the road stuff. Touchscreen compatible mobile device pocket. Good pow dress (the snaps). Starting to need the spray-on waterproofing (I use Nikwax TX Direct). I might have sold it if it didn't fit so well. Kinda ho-hum, but it has gotten me through a few years now.

Finally, you can guess by the print that the tech hoody on the far right is the Neff. That was a late-season sale purchase. For a road trip where I didn't have a rain jacket or a warm coat. Guess that means I bought it in '09. Saved my bacon in a Mississippi downpour. Pair up the animals type weather. Me out in my Neff checking out the swamps. Looking for gators. Saw none. She sees the spring slopes and city streets only. Breathes like a Hefty bag. The vents are always open. The pow skirt zips off when you don't need it and has those snap closures that can fasten around belt loops when you do. Thumb loops, too. Good piece. Knows its role. I just wish it was more breathable.

Having more than one jacket is key. You can switch things up and not wear the same jacket back to back, over and over. This increases the durability more than you can imagine. Now, I know not everyone is lucky enough to have six jackets, but when you see that I only paid for two of them, well maybe I've given you some ideas as to how to get cheap or free jackets for yourself. Of course, most involve luck. Some involve buying used, buying in the springtime or finding sample sales. Get some Gore-Tex Soft Shell if you can. That fabric is perfect. Keep an eye out for Homeschool Snowboarding, though. They could be a hometown sleeper.

Check out my other "My Gear This Year 2012" reviews: Boards and Pants. 

Gear Review: Columbia Powder Bowl Parka

Summertime is the best time to buy new snowboard gear. Everything is half price. No, you won't have next year's gear, but you can shred easy knowing that you didn't pay full retail. With that in mind, let me introduce you to a jacket that you'd have to be nuts to pay full retail for: Columbia's Powder Bowl Parka.

Shell only. Snow nerd, not included.

The Powder Bowl is one of Columbia's 3-in-1 interchange jackets. You can wear the shell by itself, you can wear the liner by itself or you can zip the liner into the shell when it's extra cold. Both layers have Columbia's proprietary Omni-Heat technology, which they proclaim will keep you 20% warmer (it takes 20% more weight from other materials to equal the heat of Omni-Heat, allegedly).

Omni-Heat closeup. Silver dots reflect body heat.

I wore this jacket all winter, but the biggest test of warmth was on day one. At one point, I was standing around in near-zero-degree wind chill. With the liner and shell, I never got uncomfortably cold. Now, when we decided to get out of the wind and go to the warmer side of the mountain, even with the vents open 20º felt like 80º. You see, the liner doesn't have vents. It's just a synthetic, puffy 'sweater.' Opening the vents on the shell does nothing. Usually I treat my vents like an extra layer. This jacket combination doesn't allow for that. Once you've zipped the liner into the shell, you're locked in the sauna until you take off the liner. I can't overstate how big a drawback this is. In any outdoor venture you start out cold and warm up as you increase your activity level. With this warmth, you eventually need to dump heat or sweat like a Bikram yoga newbie. Not being able to dump heat means not being breathable enough. This severely limits the liner's uses. Even shoveling snow would overheat you. If you're a liftie or push a snowblower you might want this jacket. Carry the liner in your pack for when things get ultra-cold, emergency style. It does pack rather small.

The shell alone kept me warm snowboarding down to about 20-25º with a wool longsleeve shirt for layering. Of course, I tend to stay relatively warm. This puts the jacket in a similar category to my other non-Omni Heat jackets. The zip-in liner jacket is about twice as warm as the shell. A removable hood and vents on that thing would put it in another league.

Insulated liner

Speaking of hoods, the one on the shell will not fit over a size XL helmet without making you feel like The Great Cornholio. Then again few do. Be warned.

The water resistance skin is another proprietary technology. The shell has Omni-Tech. Columbia doesn't rate Omni-Tech in the standard mm of water resistance and gm of breathability scale. They just guarantee that it will keep you dry. Through one season, it did that job well. I'd compare the shell to a 20,000mm jacket.

The shell also stood up to some serious abuse. After days of heavy tree riding, I'd check it for wear and see nothing but skidmarks from the branches. No tears, no scratches. The fabric is remarkably durable, but even that comes with baggage: it is also remarkably stiff and takes a while to break in. One friend said I looked pregnant the way the shell tented out from my body. The combination of the fabric's stiffness and the zipper's stiffness makes for a goofy look, like I'm smuggling a dog house out of a pet store. This eased up, but it took time.

The liner's skin is Omni-Shield, a lighter-duty material touting water and stain repellency. It never saw snowboarding action by itself, but it did just fine in the drizzly Portland rain. I wouldn't take it through the trees, but it does fine around town.

Let's get back to the shell. The thing has eight pockets. Eight!? Eight, Bob. Too many. I used three. Pants have pockets, too, people. Anyone who wants eight pockets rides with a backpack.

Speaking of redundancy. This jacket has a water-tight front zipper with a double storm flap on the inside and half of one on the outside (chest to chin). If you want to show off the zipper, what's with the flaps? And why the half-flap on the outside anyway!? This jacket is just confusing. Why not a more flexible zipper with storm flaps as necessary?

On the topic of "looks useful but isn't", let's talk about the powder skirt. It has zero interface with pants. No clips, buttons, hooks, velcro, nada. It doesn't stay in place. EVER. If they could fix one thing that would make this jacket almost worth it, a powder skirt that actually works would be it. All of the other complaints are pretty minor, this one actually makes me wish I had a ninja suit or bibs. It lets snow where it doesn't belong. Making me mad and possibly cutting my day short should be something an outerwear company wants to avoid at all costs. On the bright side, you can zip it off and give it to your girlfriend for use as a real skirt. If you do, send me pictures.

Speaking of keeping the snow out. Where are the wrist gaiters? This jacket is too expensive not to have them. It might be tough to pull off with the interchange, but you'll figure it out. This is not an option, it's a necessity. Remember, keep snow out of the places it doesn't belong. If you can figure out a built in neck gaiter that actually works, you'll be rewarded there, too.

A word on fit. I'm about 6'1", 170# and I went with the large. I tried on the XL at a local store and it didn't seem to be much if any longer in the body, just in the sleeve and body width. When you try it on, remember to try on all three configurations as the fit of the liner alone is much different from the shell alone. The large was probably right for me, if a little short. It could have been made to feel like it fit better if the powder skirt worked better. Oh and it's no Holden, the cut is rather square. 

Full retail price, not according to Bob Barker, is $300. The internets are selling it for $180. Columbia sent it to me for free because they're trying to get tight with all the snowboard bloggers. That's why there's a dozen reviews of this jacket out there.

In the end, this jacket isn't worth $300. For that price, you can do better with a 20k shell with better features and your layering of choice. For $180 it's certainly closer. Columbia needs to figure out a better way to design clothes for people who are active outside. The Powder Bowl Parka isn't it.