Recommendation: Ski Jacket for winters in New England

[jaydpiii]

Good morning;

I have a Champion coat i purchased end of season last year for new England winters.  The (Korean made) zipper went out after only a few uses this year.   I wrote them with no response. 

I have a light weight puff type packable jacket i purchased for winter hiking in New England. 

Rather than replace the heavy Champion coat, since my wife and I started downhill Alpine) skiing this year (In addition to X-Country skiing for past several years), I thought about taking advantage of end-of-season sales and purchase a coat jacket that I can use in general for colder days on winter in new England AND for downhill skiing.

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What do you have or what would you recommend?

[REI-JohnJ]

@jaydpiii Thanks for reaching out!

The good news is that we have a lot of options that should work for you! In terms of what you are looking for the three key factors are 1) a jacket that is waterproof (for New England's heavy, wet, snow, 2) a jacket that is insulated from the cold, and 3) a jacket that has a 'powder skirt', which is critical for skiing and also helps you stay warm. Three really good options for you are:

• Columbia Alpine Action Insulated Jacket
• The North Face Thermoball Eco Snow Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket
• Patagonia Snowshot 3-in-1 Jacket

The 3-in-1 options will give you a little bit more versatility in your jacket choice as you can change your layers around depending on the conditions.

Hope this helps!

[jaydpiii]

Yes it does, help, that is  My Champion whose zipper fell apart does have two huge internal pockets in addition to the two hand pockets and the upper outer chest pocket.  The Columbia, more my price range at $101, does it have the internal pockets?  Very useful for keeping a lighter hat and gloves as the temp warms up or as I warm up from newly found downhill skiing or also keeping a balaclava for when the wind picks up, etc.  I found for downhill skiing the internal pocket a very useful feature.   A closer look and it has a goggles pocket which i don't use , so I could use that for spare lighter/heavier gloves, etc. BUT, it is NOT available in Medium?

[REI-JohnJ]

@jaydpiii 

Unfortunately, it does not look like a size medium is available in that particular jacket. Here are a couple of other options from Columbia that may also work for you and also come in size medium. Hopefully you can find one that meets your needs!