Who designs this crap?

[Tony S]

A lot of the color & aesthetic trends come from fashion runway. Blister's Outdoor Retailer recap talked a lot about how much Crayola purple there was in the outerwear space, especially for men, when the 2018 (when a lot of these design work was being done) had Ultra Violet as the Pantone color of the year. Forest green & living coral combos have popped up in fashion, and we see it on the women's Lange XT3 90 and a few women's Full Tilt boots. Arc'teryx tends to be more ahead (their color palette this year matches up perfectly with the 2020 color of the year palette

I "liked" your post because it's interesting and informative, not because I identify with everything in it! Had no idea there was something called "color of the year" or "color of the year palette." Good contribution.

 

[Tony S]

So, you’re saying you want a ski jacket with a pocket specifically for paper trail maps?

EXACTLY!

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Columbia Sportswear has several with removable hoods.

https://www.columbia.com/p/mens-last-tracks-jacket-1909921.html?dwvar_1909921_color=023&pos=0

They're not shells===they're insulated.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

So, you’re saying you want a ski jacket with a pocket specifically for paper trail maps?

No, I use it for Cat Tracks and overglove mittens.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Ermm....that might be a bit of a stretch...

Men's Ski Jackets

Shop for Men's Ski Jackets At Skis.com. Free Shipping on orders $99

www.skis.com

Just one example. I am sure many others offer similar jackets.

Link (which I didn't bother following) says "Ultimate-Down-Hybrid-INSULATED". To me, a SHELL does not have insulation.

 

[Ken_R]

All due respect, but if that was always the case, Patagonia's obscenely priced capilene T-shirts and boxer pants from a year or two ago would not start disintegrating after just a couple of washes.

Not to speak of their cotton T-shirts, which start to fade and lose colour almost immediately after you take them out of the plastic bag.
You can buy a better quality T-shirt for about 5 dollars from any street vendor in Bangkok and it will stay black far longer than Patagonia ones. And will have much better looking graphics-elephants, temples, muay thai dudes, lotuses and suchlike.

Yeah, yeah, I know, organic dyes, harmless to the environment etc etc etc but when I pay this much for a cotton T-shirt it'd be real nice if I can tell what colour it was originally after a month of use.

T-shirts are probably their items with the highest profit margins, trucker hats too. Once you get into a bit more tech gear, even their capilene baselayers, you start to see a difference in quality. But most cotton T-shirts are junk all the same. YMMV

 

[Ken_R]

FYI, Pockets on jackets that I NEED. One for iPhone, another for rfid card, another for ridge wallet and another for avy beacon*. The iphone and beacon pockets need to be separate and easily accesible. The iPhione one specially while riding a chair. I mean, if anyone is listening (well, reading this).

*the avy beacon pocket I prefer on the pants actually since I usually change torso layers during a tour pretty frequently. I do not like the chest harnesses at all.

 

[Wendy]

And further more DNA is no longer available in NA.
The hostile takeover at Descente last year has left them out of the North American market.

That’s too bad. I had a pair of DNA jacket and pants that were awesome. Very well made, very nice features, beautiful fabric, and fun design. Great bang for the buck.

 

[Slim]

Most features are really personal, so it would be pretty hard for a brand to please everyone.

I think the pass pocket on the sleeve might be becoming more universally useful for ski jackets now that RFID passes are finally prevalent in the US.
Before that, some people liked it there, some liked the inside hem placement, some put the pass somewhere else, day passes were tied to zippers etc.

 

[Teppaz]

My biggest beef is the ridiculous pocket situation with women's jackets. There's almost always not enough of them, and too often they are shallow, so good luck trying to actually put anything in them. Ladies, do you really need that phone? snacks? Mitten liners? As someone who prefers pockets to carrying a bag, this drives me nuts. I had an otherwise great Sunice jacket whose pockets were in all the right places, but just too small.

 

[Tricia]

My biggest beef is the ridiculous pocket situation with women's jackets. There's almost always not enough of them, and too often they are shallow, so good luck trying to actually put anything in them. Ladies, do you really need that phone? snacks? Mitten liners? As someone who prefers pockets to carrying a bag, this drives me nuts. I had an otherwise great Sunice jacket whose pockets were in all the right places, but just too small.

I have been seriously impressed with Helly Hansen's ULLR line of jackets for women.
Pockets are really well placed and big.
Pocket placement is clutch for me!

 

[Tom K.]

Seventeen years ago I purchased a DNA-brand shell parka that has every feature I love--including a detachable hood and a lumbar pocket. Think I can find anything like that today? NOBODY has a shell with detachable hood. NOBODY has a shell with the back pocket.

Go moto: simple lines, amazing performance, available in numerous colors including grey, grey and grey.

Deluge Jacket

The Deluge motorcycle rain jacket is our ultralight, packable, waterproof/breathable rain layer. Stuff it in your backpack for day rides, or bring new life to an old ADV suit that isn’t as waterproof as it once was.

moskomoto.com

My rule is, if I find an item I really like, I buy two, because, if it is absolutely perfect, some idiot will either try to make it better or (more likely) try to duplicate it at a lower cost.

Breaking out my last pair of OG Cloudveil softshell semi-bibs this season. What am I going to do 10 years from now?!?!

Slightly Related Tidbit: Reliable sources tell me that North Face is bringing back Steep Tech!!!!!

 

[cantunamunch]

I "liked" your post because it's interesting and informative, not because I identify with everything in it! Had no idea there was something called "color of the year" or "color of the year palette." Good contribution.

You're just waiting for the Salomon / Palace collab.

 

[James]

Nice rant Kneale!
I used to only like jackets with zip off hoods. I used to even leave the hood at the uniform shop so I didn’t lose it. One year past the end of season return, I got a rather lengthy angry message from the uniform lady about why I hadn’t returned the hood. So the next season I took the hood anyway. Somewhere this converged with helmets getting colder and protection from rain.
Now I use a hood all the time and don’t care if it’s not removable. Probably prefer it to not be removable actually as it’s less fiddly crap that doesn’t work as well when you want the hood.

I can see how the prevalence of backcountry skiing and inbound avalanches killed off the lumbar pocket since more skiers are riding with packs.

I think you’re right on with these people having way too much influence. Stick figure, constantly skinning and always hot bros. Thus the obsession with venting helmets. Helmets used to be warmer than hats, now you need a hat under the helmet, and a hood to cover the whole thing in meringue to keep warm.

 

[tch]

I used to only like jackets with zip off hoods. I used to even leave the hood at the uniform shop so I didn’t lose it. One year past the end of season return, I got a rather lengthy angry message from the uniform lady about why I hadn’t returned the hood. So the next season I took the hood anyway. Somewhere this converged with helmets getting colder and protection from rain.
Now I use a hood all the time and don’t care if it’s not removable. Probably prefer it to not be removable actually as it’s less fiddly crap that doesn’t work as well when you want the hood.

I think you’re right on with these people having way too much influence. Stick figure, skinning and always hot bros. Thus the obsession with venting helmets. Helmets used to be warmer than hats, now you need a hat under the helmet, and a hood to cover the whole thing in meringue to keep warm.

Oooo... Nice one yourself, James! You might well qualify as a true curmudgeon despite the fact you're so young!

 

[Doug Briggs]

Kneale, I feel your pain. I bought a DNA jacket from the same era from someone in the 'hood was selling it at a yard sale. They were logoed for the American Ski Classic. I took it home and realized 'I'm going to love this coat' so went back to see if they had another. And they did! So now I have two DNA jackets that have been used hard for almost 20 years and they look almost new. The don't make things like they used to anymore.

 

[EricG]

Lotta Curmudgeon around these parts. Frankly I have No issue with the current Patagonia, Arcteryx & Spyder options, plenty of great options for me.

 

[Viking9]

We’ve been buying base layers, mid layers ,pants ,jackets,gloves ,helmets and street shoes from Rossignol for the last couple seasons all “ summer sales “ 60 % off a lot of stuff and the quality is awesome.
Of course you can buy their crazy expensive stuff but there’s really no reason to unless of course money isn’t a problem.
I love to see my daughters sportn’ their Rossi stuff.
It’s all Euro though so size up for a great fit.
I’ve had a couple items from Salomon that were great and affordable also.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Lotta Curmudgeon around these parts. Frankly I have No issue with the current Patagonia, Arcteryx & Spyder options, plenty of great options for me.

LOL. Luddites, too. I won't argue your point about new products, but when something works well, it is hard to give it up even for something new and shiny with different features that may or may not be an improvement.

That's why I bought the second coat.

 

[oldschoolskier]

New and improved translates as messed it up again.