# best snowboard jacket brands?



## Lamps

sheepstealer said:


> I know next to nothing about the quality of the many, many snowboard jacket brands out there. Can someone enlighten? Last time I bought a jacket was...6 years ago? I've been riding in that jacket (a Special Blend) and a Burton my brother gave me for Xmas a couple years ago.
> 
> Should I stay away from certain brands more than others or can I not really go wrong?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> sheep


shell or insulated?


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## hikeswithdogs

What kind of riding do you do and where?


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## poutanen

Unfortunately all you'll get here is 100 people telling you their favourite brand(s). I wish there was a torture test or something for snowboarding outerwear (like they used to do with jeans).

Personally I've got a Planet Earth jacket that's lasted me at least 10 years. I have probably 200 days on the slopes, and a lot of general winter jacket usage out of that jacket.

I bought a Westbeach jacket/pants combo a couple seasons ago and the stuff is very good, but it's also very expensive ($250 for each piece for a shell).

If you want heavy winter gear get fully seam sealed, 20,000k, etc etc etc. Everything else is subjective methinks.


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## Lamps

poutanen said:


> If you want heavy winter gear get fully seam sealed, 20,000k, etc etc etc. Everything else is subjective methinks.


No no no no no no no there is an absolute right answer to this question and it must be solved right here. 

Let the battle of Gore-Tex versus all the others begin again


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## OldNo.7

Homeschool outerwear is on WhiskeyMilitia right now. If you're on a budget and don't want to spend $500+ I doubt you'll find anything better.


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## poutanen

lamps said:


> no no no no no no no there is an absolute right answer to this question and it must be solved right here.
> 
> Let the battle of gore-tex versus all the others begin again


well then burton/ak, westbeach, planet earth rock!!! All others suck sucky ass sucky shit pooh


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## OldDog

Lamps said:


> No no no no no no no there is an absolute right answer to this question and it must be solved right here.
> 
> Let the battle of Gore-Tex versus all the others begin again


Where is Shred with the "go Arcteryx or go the fuck home!"? :cheeky4:


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## poutanen

poutanen said:


> well then burton/ak, westbeach, planet earth rock!!! All others suck sucky ass sucky shit pooh


Well I wrote that all CAPS to make a funny and the forum had the last laugh.


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## jello24

If I had an unlimited budget I would buy a Volcom Goretex jacket or a Burton AK. or any Goretex jacket for that matter.

Realistically, I buy whatever looks good. Right now I use both Analog and Sessions jackets. You can definitely find better performing jackets, but I've never been soaked in either brand.


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## lonerider

jello24 said:


> If I had an unlimited budget I would buy a Volcom Goretex jacket or a Burton AK. or any Goretex jacket for that matter.
> 
> Realistically, I buy whatever looks good. Right now I use both Analog and Sessions jackets. You can definitely find better performing jackets, but I've never been soaked in either brand.


The more "fashionable" a brand is... the more it probably can get away with shoddy materials in their mid/lower wear and people will still buy it to look "steezy." For that reason, I generally avoid recommending Oakley, Volcom, Analog (and Burton to a lesser degree) as you are often paying more for the brand name and the style than the actual performance.

Arcteryx is top-end, some of the best stuff you can buy... but priced that way too. I got it for my wife because she gets cold very easily and I'd rather pay now... than "pay" on the slopes.  Luckily, there was summer sale on backcountry.com (30-40%) as Arcteryx isn't as popular among mainstream snowboarders/skiiers.

I have a Burton AK Cyclic jacket with Goretex and it is good, but again pricey (I grabbed mine 40% off). I haven't like the pants Burton has been making as they tend to rip at the butt seam (pretty common if you are failing on your butt a lot like me ).

I am currently using a pair of Stoic pants that are solid after two years of "abuse". They are not quite as waterproof as Goretex, but have handle plenty of wet snow storms. However, Stoic's fit is very slim athletic (I'm 5'9" 150lbs with a 30" waist) - so it might not be for everything. I also have a Stoic puffy jacket that I absolutely LOVE. It not down or waterproof, but it so comfy and reasonably warm that I wear this thing virtually every day of the year. My friend has the Stoic Bombshell jacket and really likes it.

Columbia and Marmot are good too, if they are on sale.


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## snowklinger

I like my Volcom stuff its bomber, you can't beat GTX, Ziptech owns.:thumbsup:


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## tonyisnowhere

I think you should start with what your budget is. Go from there. I mainly do resort riding and don't care for the typical name brands. I am not out there to look good while riding I am there to get good at riding. So what ever fits and keeps me dry and warm will work. But that said I checked out brands like 686 and Burton and that stuff seems really nice!


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## lonerider

sheepstealer said:


> I know next to nothing about the quality of the many, many snowboard jacket brands out there. Can someone enlighten? Last time I bought a jacket was...6 years ago? I've been riding in that jacket (a Special Blend) and a Burton my brother gave me for Xmas a couple years ago.
> 
> Should I stay away from certain brands more than others or can I not really go wrong?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> sheep


I should add that the waterproofness/breathability rating is generally a good guide for how good the clothing is. 5k/5k is the worse, spring weather only. 10k/10k is ok. 15k/15k better. 20k/20k or higher is ideal. Just pick according to your needs and budget.


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## Nivek

At this point I'll only wear L1, Bonfire, or maybe Volcom.


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## mtw

Homeschool Naked Raygun Shell - Men's | Backcountry.com

How's that jacket fare? 50% off currently as a black friday special.


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## LuckyRVA

mtw said:


> Homeschool Naked Raygun Shell - Men's | Backcountry.com
> 
> How's that jacket fare? 50% off currently as a black friday special.


looks like a solid jacket, although I can't speak from personal experience. I was thinking of picking up some homeschool stuff as well. Buy it on whiskeymiltia though, much cheaper...

WhiskeyMilitia.com: Homeschool Naked Raygun Shell - Men's - $149.99 - 60% off

WhiskeyMilitia.com: Homeschool Outerwear


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## mtw

Wow, cheers - that's almost $40 cheaper... So basically I could buy a pair of pipe gloves just to try them out and be no worse off by buying from Whiskeymilitia instead of backcountry 

EDIT: I take that back, they want $105.27 to ship to Australia.


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## LuckyRVA

sorry bro, didn't see you were from Aus


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## MiSfiT

I prefer to layer up most days If I go for some super warm insulated jacket and get too hot I'm SOL. A decent shell and just layer up on the clothes!


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## sheepstealer

Wow...leave this thread for two days and look what happens...

Thanks for the replies. In terms of what I'm looking for, I'd say a shell or lightly insulated shell, probably in the range of $150-250. I ride mostly northeast and have always been a layer-er, partly because I hate getting too hot in a jacket and partly because all the puffys are really expensive. 

I'll check Burton AK and Arc-Teryx...

EDI: Ok maybe not Arcteryx...I can dream though...


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## ShredLife

trick for Arc' is to get it in early march for at least 40% off. last year i paid $280 for a $500 jacket. year before that did the same thing for pants.


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## Gdog42

686 has by far the best jackets. They're all made for any type of snowboarding and have a crap load of features at a big range of prices.
Whatever you do, make sure your jacket brand's waist gaiters (powder skirts) are compatible with your snowboarding pants. 686, Burton, Foursquare, Ride and most others use the standard 3-loop connection (2 loops on the sides of the waist and 1 in the center of the back, on the pants.)
There are some though, such as Volcom, which use zipper connections to the pants. I'm not sure about Ripzone and Dakine, because I can't see any loops on their pants besides the belt loops. So make sure you get that right!


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## ShredLife

Gdog42 said:


> 686 has by far the best jackets.


lmfao - no dude. no.


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## Gdog42

ShredLife said:


> lmfao - no dude. no.


So... can you at least suggest an alternative then and actually do some good for this poor soul trying to find a new jacket?:dunno:


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## ShredLife

are you mentally retarded? illiterate?


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## Gdog42

ShredLife said:


> are you mentally retarded? illiterate?


Nope. I'm just saying that all you seem to do is disagree with people, but never actually suggest anything that can help instead.:laugh:


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## ShredLife

Gdog42 said:


> Nope. I'm just saying that all you seem to do is disagree with people, but never actually suggest anything that can help instead.:laugh:


stick around and read a little more lil buddy. you can learn alot here. peace out "Gdoggy" :laugh::laugh::laugh:


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## Gdog42

ShredLife said:


> stick around and read a little more lil buddy. you can learn alot here. peace out "Gdoggy" :laugh::laugh::laugh:


Well that didn't really make sense.


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## poutanen

Gdog42 said:


> Well that didn't really make sense.


Or did it?!? :dunno: :laugh:


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## Sudden_Death

I've ridden in probably a dozen different brands of jacket and so far my favourite is the Nike Juniper Gore-Tex. Ridiculously good coat for the price. Fits big though. I'm 6'1 205 and the large still fits kinda baggy. The XL fits like most companies 3XL. I wore the XL when I was around 250 and it fit like a tent. But considering they go for like 120-250 on eBay that isn't bad at all for the amount of features and the quality of the coat compared to most companies Gore-Tex or equivalent stuff.


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## Gdog42

poutanen said:


> Or did it?!? :dunno: :laugh:


No, it didn't!:laugh:


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## Gdog42

poutanen said:


> Or did it?!? :dunno: :laugh:


Hey! Have you seen this board? I think you might like it.








Burton Restricted Custom.


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## poutanen

Gdog42 said:


> Hey! Have you seen this board? I think you might like it.
> 
> Burton Restricted Custom.


Yeah I friggin love that board... If they made a Custom X with the same topsheet I'd probably buy it. It's classic!


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## mtw

That's a really sick looking board...


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## the_danger

i am going to be riding in upstate new york should i go shell with layers or would i regret that?


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## Gdog42

the_danger said:


> i am going to be riding in upstate new york should i go shell with layers or would i regret that?


Yeah that sounds like a good idea. It's pretty cold there now.

What's the other options(s)?


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## readimag

Layers are always the best, I use a silk layer and long shirt over that, I have a mtn hardware compressor jacket for added warmth if I get really cold. My gore outer jacket has always kept me warm and dry.


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## tonyisnowhere

Just bought this jacket from REI. I am a member and used my dividends and a coupon they sent. I ended up paying only 80 dollars for this jacket. What do you all think? Orage Shefford Insulated Jacket - Men's - 2011 Closeout - Free Shipping at REI-OUTLET.com I think I got an awesome deal. You all should check it out it seems like a great price.

P.S. Not crazy about the colors but I don't care if I am getting a great deal.


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