{"id":165607,"date":"2020-12-30T06:00:49","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T14:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=165607"},"modified":"2024-09-10T18:16:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T01:16:47","slug":"rei-co-op-new-snow-outerwear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/rei-co-op-new-snow-outerwear","title":{"rendered":"First Look: REI Co-op\u2019s New Snow Outerwear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Each winter, Britt Berg stands at the start of snowboarding\u2019s longest-running and most beloved competition. After lining up racers and emcees, she is the final person riders see before launching down the deep, banked turns of the Legendary Banked Slalom<\/a> course at Washington\u2019s Mount Baker ski area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berg greets them all, too, this one-of-a-kind mix of sponsored pros and local rippers: the local legends, the hotdogging grandparents, the 13-year-old groms, the visiting riders from Chile, Japan and Norway all weaving into one community and celebration of winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This remarkable mingling of people is what Berg had in mind when she first designed the REI Co-op<\/a>‘s first collection of snow outerwear in 2020. A senior product designer for REI and a longtime snowboarder and more recent part-time skier, Berg says she and her team constantly ask: How can we make the best, affordable outerwear to get the most people outside?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like to call it \u2018small d\u2019 democratic design,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to make great gear at a really good price to include the most people we can who are curious about the sport and want to get into it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that goal, REI returned to snow outerwear in 2020 with gear that not only addresses the needs of snowboarders and skiers in the resort and backcountry but all types of snow play, from snowshoeing to sledding. The outerwear starts at just $159.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur intention is to lower the barrier to snow activity and get more people outside by providing awesome product value in these pieces that our customers can use for years and years,\u201d says Tim Brown, senior product manager for REI Co-op.<\/p>\n\n\n

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For Winter 2024: REI Co-op\u00a0First Chair GTX Bibs – Men’s<\/a> ($269), First Chair GTX Jacket – Men’s<\/a> ($319), Powderbound Insulated Jacket – Women’s<\/a> ($229),\u00a0Powderbound Insulated Snow Pants – Women’s<\/a>\u00a0in size XS-3X ($159),\u00a0First Chair GTX Bibs – Women’s<\/a>\u00a0($269), <\/em>First Chair GTX Jacket – Women’s<\/a>\u00a0($319)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

From clean lines and a durable workwear vibe to technical features and sustainability aspects like bluesign\u00ae<\/sup>-approved materials<\/a>, the styles are designed to appeal to a wide range of customers and work for both skiing and snowboarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Powderbound insulated jackets, bibs pants, for example, come in extended sizing<\/a>: up to 3x for women\u2019s jacket<\/a>,\u00a0pants<\/a> and bibs<\/a>, as well as tall and short sizes for the men’s pants<\/a>. That\u2019s a rarity in performance snow outerwear, but closing the gear gap<\/a> is a commitment the co-op has made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are very few options in extended sizing available for snow outerwear,\u201d says Alexa Mennella, an REI buyer for men\u2019s outerwear. \u201cIf a customer can\u2019t find the right clothes to enjoy the outdoors in winter, they might skip out on the activity, so offering more sizes is really important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madeline Miles, an REI product developer, says the idea is \u201cto get people who might not go to a resort or might not be able to afford the clothes\u2014to get those people going and excited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more approachably priced Powderbound<\/a> insulated jacket ($229) and pants ($159) have key features like a drop-in goggle pocket, helmet-friendly hood, snap-away powder skirt on the jacket and boot gaiters, inner thigh vents and scuff guards on the pants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the more technical First Chair<\/a> jacket ($319) and bibs ($269)\u2014which offer many of the same bells and whistles as the Powderbound\u2014add tough two-layer GORE-TEX ePE waterproof\/breathable laminate protection and lots of pockets. The First Chair jacket also has two-way zippers, so you can accommodate a harness or pack hipbelt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B<\/span>ritt Berg recalls her first winter snowboarding wearing her dad\u2019s hand-me-down jackets. Back then, she couldn\u2019t find women-specific Gore-Tex outerwear that fit her taller frame. \u201cThere were many years when I wore men\u2019s gear and didn\u2019t necessarily love it,\u201d says the longtime snowboarder (pictured above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a shot at creating snow outerwear for REI, Berg and others wanted to do better. It\u2019s not enough to use good fabrics and work with amazing factories, Berg says. \u201cWe also need to make sure that it fits correctly for the widest range of humans and that it\u2019s hitting the right price point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several rounds of fitting and testing proved key. It was one of the first times the co-op did fitting on plus-size models. That allowed designers to double-check everything from the placement of pockets to the reach of pit zips. The team also invited nearly two dozen employees at REI headquarters\u2014men and women of different sizes and skill levels\u2014to try out the outerwear and provide feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe got to talk to a lot of wear testers and field testers about what they wanted and then tried to balance that with what we could afford,\u201d Miles says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last summer, Molly Enger, who is in charge of product research for REI, sent the new pieces to more than a dozen skiers and riders to field test on slopes in Argentina, New Zealand and Australia where it was still winter. Not every product goes through this level of fitting or testing. But \u201cwe wanted to do due diligence and make sure we get it right,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Julian Lopez trying out the First Chair kit in Argentina (Photo Courtesy)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Julian Lopez, a mountain guide<\/a> in Bariloche, Argentina, appreciated all the features on the First Chair GTX jacket<\/a> and bibs when he tested it in the summer of 2020. He continued to use it every day last summer as well. Based on his and others\u2019 feedback, the designers refined the fit, making it more streamlined and cut for movement and so it wouldn\u2019t pucker and pinch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers have praised the First Chair jacket for wide wrist cuffs that adjust to fit over gloves, easy-to-grab zipper pulls and ample pockets, including a lift pass pocket on the left wrist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is my first REI brand jacket and I am very impressed with the quality and the thought that went into it,\u201d writes one reviewer of the First Chair GTX jacket. \u201cThe snow skirt is adjustable and keeps the snow out, and there are plenty of pockets inside and out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another customer praised the warmth and quality construction of the Powderbound, saying, \u201cThe jacket is warm without additional layers, which is great for moderate-temp days on the mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berg was also able to field-test the First Chair jacket and bib last winter at the banked slalom, where she has volunteered for the past 18 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be up there, wearing the gear that I designed for REI, was an honor and a responsibility to do it right for my community and to think about what else we can do better in the future,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\nShop All REI Co-op Snow Gear<\/path><\/svg><\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n

For more stories of brands doing good work, visit our <\/em>Good Gear<\/em><\/a> landing page.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each winter, Britt Berg stands at the start of snowboarding\u2019s longest-running and most beloved competition. After lining up racers and emcees, she is the final person riders see before launching down the deep, banked turns of the Legendary Banked Slalom course at Washington\u2019s Mount Baker ski area. Berg greets them all, too, this one-of-a-kind mix […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12183,"featured_media":165610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1465,11],"tags":[1812,2120,724,1944,1538,421],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-165607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rei-news","category-snowsports","tag-co-op-brands","tag-first-look","tag-gear","tag-good-gear","tag-new-products","tag-rei-co-op"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/rei-co-op-new-snow-outerwear","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"First Look: REI Co-op\u2019s New Snow Outerwear","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/rei-co-op-new-snow-outerwear","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/rei-co-op-new-snow-outerwear"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/00-hero-2.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/00-hero-2.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000"},"articleSection":"REI News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maren Horjus"}],"creator":["Maren Horjus"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["co-op brands","first look","gear","good gear","new products","rei co-op"],"dateCreated":"2020-12-30T14:00:49Z","datePublished":"2020-12-30T14:00:49Z","dateModified":"2024-09-11T01:16:47Z"},"rendered":"