The Best Hardshell Jackets of 2024

One metric was truly the deciding factor for landing the Arc’teryx Beta AR Jacket ($600) at the top of the heap, and it’s all in the name. All Round. In a pile of hyper-specialized hardshells, versatility is the name of the game, and the Beta AR balances the scales with ease.

The GORE-TEX Pro variant used in this hardshell is made with Most Rugged tech, a textile that was a collaboration between the teams at Arc’teryx and GORE, and one that touts extreme durability. A 40D face fabric used across the body of the jacket creates a lightweight shell, and is balanced against panels of 80D fabric used in areas of high wear. The perfect combo, in our tester’s opinion.

One of our favorite features of the Beta AR was the tall protective collar, a 2.5-inch tall barrier that allows you the choice of keeping the hood down during gusty conditions. We loved having the choice of a middle-ground option when weather started to kick up, and the microsuede lining on the interior of the collar makes for a comfortable cockpit.

To test the mettle of the Beta AR, we ski toured in Pacific Northwest storm cycles, dry-tooled at dripping crags, and explored the glaciers of the North Cascades National Park, and throughout it all the Beta came out smiling.

While many strictly alpine-focused shells will sacrifice handwarmer pockets in lieu of more function-driven chest pockets, this hardshell opts instead to retain the hand pockets, and adds an additional pocket on the interior of the jacket for extra storage. Not every trip is going to be full-tilt, and having the ability to warm your hands certainly kept us out longer during testing. 

Though both the Beta AR and Alpha SV jackets reside under the regular fit label from Arc’teryx, we found the Beta to better represent the title, while the later jacket was a bit roomier. Perfect for the mountaineer, alpine climber, or ice-aficionado who wants a jacket that’ll do it all, the Arc’teryx Beta AR hits the spot.

Let’s be clear: Hardshell jackets aren’t cheap. But that doesn’t mean you need to spend the big bucks to get your hands on some high-quality protection. The Rab Namche GORE-TEX Jacket ($350) slides in hundreds of dollars below many of the other jackets on our list, and in our testing held up to much of the same abuse.

Crafted from the tried and true 3L GORE-TEX membrane, this jacket puts up the same impressive waterproofing numbers as other GORE membrane shells, but suffers a bit when it comes to breathability at a rated 17,000 g/m². This doesn’t mean it was a slouch in our testing, just that it’ll be one of the first to tap when it comes to high-humidity conditions and hard treks.

The cut is a general all-around style, meaning there’s space beneath for a light fleece, but not much else. The sleeves are articulated for easy overhead reaches or swings, and the underarm vents help make up the difference when really chugging along.

In the field, we took the Namche everywhere we went in our other hardshells — working our way up snowfields and skintracks, and found that this jacket can hang tough. The 75D exterior is a strong weave, and we’ve got confidence that it’ll stand up to seasons of abuse. We were also impressed by the number of features the Namche retains at its price, including a cinch hem, pit zips, wire-stiffened hood brim, and expansive chest pockets.

One of our biggest laments about the Namche is the lack of a truly helmet-compatible hood, which can be a real bummer when conditions are truly brutal and you want to tuck away. We found in testing that a lower profile climbing helmet will fly, but only just. It is, thankfully, a very adjustable hood, like its sibling the Rab Latok Mountain.

Perfect for mountaineers who have already blown their paycheck on the latest boots and tools, the Rab Namche Jacket makes a perfectly serviceable hardshell, and at a much lower price point than others available today.

The word burly gets tossed around a good bit when describing hardshell jackets, but we can assure you that the Mammut Nordwand Advanced HS Jacket ($650) is among the worthy. This jacket doesn’t leave much on the cutting room floor and has the grit to hold out when it’s time to slam the shutters closed.

The Nordwand Advanced HS makes use of the GORE-TEX PRO Most Breathable textile, a variant that bumps up overall breathability at a slight durability ding. The 30D face fabric further bolsters the venting, and while there’s still the unavoidable crinkle of GORE PRO, we found the materials used in the Nordwand to be confidence-inspiring.

At the front of the jacket, two cross-accessible chest pockets are externally pleated to keep bulk to a minimum within the jacket itself. The underarm pit zips are among the most generous we’ve seen at 17 inches long and are dual-zip equipped for easy open and close. And inside the jacket, a small zippered slash pocket stores valuables like a sunscreen stick.

This jacket is similar to the Arc’teryx Alpha SV in terms of roomy cut and feature set — namely the choice of chest over hand pockets and oversized hood and wrist cuffs. These options lean more into the hunker-down ethos, and both jackets are among our top choices for the worst of the worst weather. Compared to the Alpha, we actually prefer the application of the Most Breathable GORE PRO in the more well-rounded Nordwand, over the Alpha’s Most Rugged.

While not the most environmentally friendly, the DWR treatment on the Nordwand is undeniable. This jacket continued to shed water during a particularly wet Pacific Northwest spring far longer than many of the other jackets we tested.

The price tag certainly stings a bit on the Nordwand Advanced HS, but when it comes to an investment piece like a hardshell jacket, the absolute weather protection provided proved far worth the lightening of our wallets.

With almost 25 years under its hem, the Arc’teryx Alpha SV Jacket ($900) makes no excuses for itself when it comes to big terrain, rough weather, and the prospect of an extended stay. Arc’teryx has a well-worn groove in the hardshell game, and with its pinnacle Alpha SV offering being near archetypal at this point, it had little effort in proving itself the best for extreme alpine pursuits in our testing.

The Alpha SV (“Severe Weather”) truly shines when the sun doesn’t — thriving on the spindrift, driving rain, and howling winds that can turn an alpine route into a real sufferfest. A true ‘to-the-hilt’ build means this jacket is hewn from a 100D Most Rugged GORE-TEX Pro material, a new blend that ups the durability to easily the highest in our testing so far. And new updates for 2024 include reinforced cuffs and hem that wrap the Pro membrane onto the inside of the shell, creating a tougher interface with the elements.

The cut is pure alpine, tailoring to the movements of overhead ice tool swinging, ski touring, and the occasional chimney grovel. This articulated design is brought together with minimal stitching and makes use of narrow seam tape that both cuts down on bulk and increases available membrane for vapor relief. Smart.

While the jacket does lack hand-warming pockets, it makes up for it in other available storage for things like belay mittens or a V-thread tool. The twin Napoleon pockets on the chest are slant for easy access and are guarded by highly water-resistant zippers which in our own testing take their job seriously. No water penetrated through any of the zippers during a proper Pacific Northwest alpine storm.

We were a bit puzzled by the lack of a two-way front zipper (in fact, none of Arc’teryx’s hardshell jackets feature such a zip), which typically can be a boon for belaying while under cover. A bit of tucking makes it manageable. 

Compared to a more all-around hardshell like the Beta AR, the Alpha SV feels like an idea taken to its natural (and rugged) conclusion. And at only an extra 2 ounces of weight, the bump up to a total 100D outer weave and inclusion of a few other alpine niceties means the Alpha is the top dog in our book when the weather truly turns for the worst. We wouldn’t second guess ourselves to take this shell from the rime halls of Scotland to deep into the Kichatnas.

Read Review: Arc’teryx Alpha SV Review: Last Shell Standing After Alaskan First Ascents

At 8.3 ounces and about the size of a good offwidth fist stack when packed, the Patagonia Storm10 Jacket ($329) is a bit antithetical to the typical hardshell recipe. But with a true 3-layer build, this jacket was created with the mountains in mind and makes a compelling argument for going light with your hardshell when it makes sense.

Made from the same H2No membrane as its burlier sibling the Dual Aspect, the Storm10 boasts admirable waterproofing and acceptable breathability. It isn’t quite the action piece you’d want to be huffing and puffing all day in, but for passing squalls and dry snow, its shedding abilities impressed us.

We used the Storm10 this spring as our volcano skiing outer layer, where it turned stiff winds and blown snow with ease. The helmet-compatible hood, while only adjustable via a single cordlock at the back of the head, does feature elastic at the periphery of the opening that keeps the hood out of the way when turning your head.

Astute observers will note the lack of pit zips on this jacket, which while certainly cut to obtain the overall featherweight, do limit the ability to really move moisture out of the jacket. 

In terms of feature set, the Storm10 comes stripped down of a lot of the bulk that weights down more fortified hardshell jackets, but retains a number of important ones, such as dual handwarmer pockets (with internal hem adjustment), water-resistant zippers, a RECCO reflector, and a single chest pocket with hang loop for parking the shell on the back of your harness.

It won’t be your alpine fortress for everything, but for low-probability, high-consequence weather forecasts, the Storm10 Jacket more than makes the grade in our books.

Another season, another killer ski touring shell from Ortovox. Compared to our previous award winner, the Ortler, the Ortovox Westalpen 3L Jacket ($640) has a longer-cut torso and sleeves, making it more amenable to overhead ice axe plunging, as well as an added torso pocket for your skin wax, ski straps, and sunnies. 

Thankfully, Ortovox is still using the same killer Dermizax NX fabric in this jacket, and we’re still impressed with it. In a field dominated by GORE-TEX Pro, this unique nonporous membrane specs out at 20,000 mm of waterproofing and an impressive 28,000 g/m² breathability rating, placing it head and shoulders over many other membranes.

This fabric also boasts a great amount of stretch across the material, which is key since the Westalpen has what many in North America would call the Euro fit — a slimmer cut that prioritizes moving with the body over an ability to layer under the jacket. This is something we can absolutely get behind during high-output activities like ski touring.

The shell does gain a little weight for the added coverage and features (to the tune of about 2.5 ounces, on our scales) but we find it to be a better jacket for it. Rounding out the shell is a set of three chest pockets, 12” pit zips, and a two-way front zipper to accommodate ski-mountaineering harnesses.

For straight-ahead ski touring, the Ortler is still an excellent shell, but we found the new Ortovox Westalpen 3L Jacket to be a more well-rounded shell that still leans hard into its skiing roots. The zippers are still of the sometimes-frustrating fine-tooth variety, but with enough use, they run a bit better.

Ski-mountaineers might also consider the Outdoor Research Skytour AscentShell (an air-permeable jacket, but less waterproof than the Westalpen), as well as the Mountain Hardwear Viv, a fully specced-out GORE-TEX Pro shell that offers a much roomier fit, but asks $85 more for it.

After expanding the legendary Alpha line to include a rainbow of different specialized cuts, Arc’teryx has recently undergone a distillation to just two highly capable hardshells, and while the new Arc’teryx Alpha Jacket ($700) is said to have previously been the Alpha AR, we see it as an amalgamation of multiple of the best features of the previous shells, all mixed into one burly climbing-ready hardshell.

So what’s new? Plenty. Most notable will be the new Hadron LCP face fabric used in the torso, a 20D weave that incorporates ultra-fine threads of liquid crystal polymer into the ripstop (think a tough fishing net overlayed into the fabric.) This greatly ups the durability, allowing for a much lighter fabric to be used overall, and bumps up the breathability (and knocks off weight, too).

Complimenting that is a 40D Most Rugged GORE-TEX Pro across the hood, shoulders, and sleeves — everywhere on a hardshell where mountaineering becomes a contact sport. It’s no 100D brick wall like the Alpha SV, but we found it well up to the task of thrutching around on ice and snow. 

The Alpha cut is decidedly longer in the rear and shorter in the front compared to the Beta line of jackets, which allows for easier high stepping and protection from the elements while facing into a wall. In terms of feature set, the new Alpha Jacket sticks with the same set-up as the previous AR, incorporating Napoleon chest pockets, long underarm zips, and a broad protective hood that is helmet-compatible. 

Compared to the do-it-all Beta AR jacket, the Alpha is more climbing-focused, and is both lighter (13.1 oz. to the Beta’s 16 oz.) and packs down smaller thanks to the Hadron panels. The twin chest pockets are also better poised for access while on route, and the added RECCO reflector makes sense in deeper backcountry scenarios.

Similar to the Norrøna Trollveggen Pro Light or Rab Latok Mountain, the Arc’teryx Alpha Jacket is an excellent all-around climbing shell — primed for ice cragging one day, and ski touring the next. If your alpine adventures require you to be discerning about weight, this is a shell that’ll serve you well into the future.

While the name may not be familiar to some, the Norwegians behind Norrøna certainly know harsh weather — and how to protect against it. Norrøna was the first company to bring GORE-TEX to Europe, and since then has been refining its use for high-end hardshell wear like the Trollveggen Pro Light Jacket ($649).

This jacket certainly lives up the history as well. The shell is a more well-rounded version of the company’s straight-ahead Trollveggen Jacket, a storm bunker that uses 70D fabric throughout. In contrast, the Pro Light aims to be a more active and svelte version, opting for a 40D GORE-TEX Pro Most Breathable across the jacket, in addition to 70D reinforcements on the hood, shoulders, and elbows.

Given a “technical” fit label from Norrøna, the Trollveggen Pro Light is a bit trimmer than the rest of the brand’s more ski-focused shells, but that isn’t to say it’s snug. We find that Norrøna is second to only Arc’teryx when it comes to savvy articulated cuts that anticipate the maximum of motion the hardshell might expect to see during use.

Rounding out the alpine-centric feature set is a pair of Napoleon pockets on the chest, asymmetric wrist cuffs with generous hand protection, a two-way front zip, underarm pit zips, and a long drop hem that provides protection for your backside. Set beside other jackets in our mix, this compares well to the Arc’teryx Alpha SV or Mammut Nordwand Advanced HS.

The hood, while generous and made to fit climbing and ski helmets alike, is only wrangled by a single cordlock at the rear of the head — which we found to be a bit light in the adjustability department. Without the further ability to batter down the hatches, this hood can flap a bit more than other hardshells.

Perfect for long alpine ridge routes or mixed terrain where the difference between making the move is mere inches, the Norrøna Trollveggen Pro Light has all of the baked-in mobility and durability to see you to the summit.

Hewn from a new waterproof-breathable membrane from GORE that promises to be PFC-free and have a lower carbon footprint, the Mammut Crater IV HS Hooded Jacket ($449) is at the forefront of a new breed of hardshell jackets that balances the scales of performance and environmental impact.

GORE’s new ePE (that is, expanded polyethylene) membrane represents a seismic shift in the hardshell market, and it’s very likely that we’ll see more brands and jackets in the future taking up this new membrane. While the membrane has been rolled out in a number of different ski-styled jackets, the Crater IV is one of the first true hardshells to make use of the barrier.

It’s always tough to mess with a good thing, so in testing, we wanted to see how exactly the new membrane stacked up to our experiences with 3-layer GORE-TEX and Pro membranes. During an unseasonally wet spring in the PNW, we sloshed about in the Crater IV on the flanks of the stratovolcano Kulshan (Mt. Baker) and found it to be every bit as waterproof as the high-end membranes.

We’d never imagine that GORE would put out a half-baked membrane, but it was validating to know that the new stuff gives up very little in the waterproofing department. Long-term durability is an area where we do expect to see a quicker degrading DWR finish (as this finish is PFC-free), and we will update our review as we notch a few more seasons under the jacket’s hem.

The downside to the new membrane (there’s a tradeoff for everything, it seems) is that its ability to move out moisture is a bit staunched at a RET rating of <13. In the field, our testers agreed that the breathability felt similar to the traditional 3-layer GORE-TEX that specs out at 17,000 g/m². A deal breaker? Hardly, but it is something to keep in mind when you’re choosing your jacket for the day. 

Mammut certainly didn’t forget about the rest of the jacket when brewing up the Crater IV, and it is kitted out in everything we’ve come to expect in a good hardshell jacket: Long underarm pit zips, a two-way waterproofed front zip, three-way adjustable hood, and an articulated fit that felt toward the roomier side of the spectrum.

We’re excited to see Mammut and GORE working on new textiles that push waterproof-breathable fabrics into the future, and the Crater IV Jacket is an excellent first effort.

In the world of alpine adventures, there are few things more demanding of your flexibility than ice climbing (save for the first few kick turns of ski season). And with this oft-contortionist sport comes the requirement of a hardshell jacket that can twist and bend with you, rather than against you. The Outdoor Research Archangel Jacket ($699) is just that — a burly hardshell that incorporates stretch in all the right places.

Built with 70D GORE-TEX Pro Most Breathable across much of the jacket, Outdoor Research saved the good stuff for where it counts — patterning in the Stretch Technology version of the Pro membrane across the shoulders and the lower hood. And this is no gimmick, as we found out after multiple pitches of ice.

Our Climbing Editor wore the Archangel for a month of ice hunting in Alaska and came back with high praise: “In the end, the Archangel is a super-capable workhorse shell that has excellent mobility, durability for alpine pursuits, and the features needed with nothing superfluous. A solid choice for mountain endeavors in challenging conditions.”

Besides the praise-worthy mobility, the jacket hits the mark in all the other areas we were expecting, including a wire-brimmed and helmet-compatible hood, two-way front zipper, and articulated cut that accentuates the built-in stretch. The twin handwarmer pockets are also placed high and tight, and have long openings for jamming gloves into. We did formulate some grumbles over the sizing of the jacket, as it tends to fit tight in our normal sizing (athletic builds are urged to size up), and due to this, the weight did begin to creep up there at 1 pound, 3.4 ounces in a men’s medium.

Throughout our testing, we’ve found that full-stretch membranes tend to wet out a bit faster than their solid counterparts, which is why we think the Outdoor Research Archangel is so novel. By limiting the stretch to only on panels where it’s needed, the overall integrity of the shell is maintained and can stand up to more abuse over the long haul.

Perfect for ice climbing, or really any mountain endeavor where flexibility is in high demand, this jacket won’t hold you back as you pull the move.

Read Review: Outdoor Research Archangel Review: GORE-TEX Pro for Stretch in a Workhorse Shell

Made for a new generation of alpine climbers, the Patagonia Super Free Alpine Jacket ($599) makes some big departures from the typical recipe to brew up a hardshell jacket that’s ready to ascend into the high country — all while limiting your impact to the bootpack and some screw holes.

The big news here is the introduction of 3L GORE-TEX ePE, a newly debuted PFC-free membrane that removes the fluorinated chemicals from within the construction to finally unlock one of the last hold-ups in going fully PFC-free in alpine hardshells. This is a huge advancement in the quest for a shell that isn’t so hard on the mountains we love to recreate in, but it’s also not even half of the exciting new design functionality Patagonia brewed up for this jacket.

First up, an elasticized gasket at the top of the hood seals tight to your helmet, and is insulated with Patagonia’s synthetic PlumaFill. We’re gobsmacked that this hasn’t been thought of before, but its application in the Super Free Alpine is genius. Similarly, functional gaskets (non-insulated) seal both cuffs, and in practice, they both keep the sleeves in place while swinging tools and keep snow out.

The hem of the jacket has been let in on both sides of the hips a few inches, in order to clear the landing zone for clipping kit to your harness. Slick. Rounding out the feature set is a set of two-way underarm zips, hand-warming chest pockets, as well as two large drop-in stretch mesh pockets on the interior of the jacket for stowing gloves.

When it comes to the membrane, we found it to function about on par with classic 3L GORE-TEX, which is to say not quite as impressive as GORE-TEX Pro (namely in breathability), but still dang good for most use. The new fabric still sports the same 28,000 mm waterproofing as the classic stuff, but suffers a bit at a RET of >13. So: ideal for swinging tools up spindrift, not the best for high-output speed runs.

The Patagonia Super Free Alpine also comes in a bit under the typical 1 pound for a hardshell at 14.8 oz. (the thinner ePE membrane is to thank, here). Time will tell if the market is ready to fully abandon the best waterproof membrane du-jour (GORE Pro may be a hard vice to quit) but we’re excited by the prospect of seeing a true PFC-free hardshell jacket come to market.

Trust the Brits to nail the idea of a hardshell jacket. With two weights of GORE-TEX Pro Most Breathable, a two-way harness-friendly zipper, and one of the best hoods we’ve draped over our noggins, the Rab Latok Mountain ($550) hits all the high points we’re looking for.

With 80D GORE across the shoulders and sleeves, and 40D elsewhere, this jacket aims to shore up the durability where it’s needed and cut the weight where it’s not. A YKK Vislon front zip brings it all together, and is two-way directional to accommodate easy belaying while maintaining good coverage. There’s even a snap to keep the jacket from flapping away while opened.

While it does sport a generous opening for a gloved hand, the single chest pocket, unfortunately, shares volume with the left-hand warmer pocket, and in circumstances where both are occupied it can be a fight to get storage out of either.

We’ve always been fans of the care that Rab gives to the hoods of their hardshells, and the Latok Mountain is no different. The hood is three-way adjustable, with concealed cordlocks for the side adjustments tucked away near the chin of the hood. A wire-stiffened peak stays where you want it, and the whole hood can be stowed away when not needed. 

The only fault we can find is that this jacket’s hood lacks the unique ability that its higher-end cousin, the Latok Alpine, does: stashing the loose cord ends when extended and avoiding being flayed in the face by them in a stiff wind.

Rounding out the Latok Mountain are 15-inch underarm pit zips that feature two different types of zipper pulls — one plastic, one knotted cord — to help with differentiating which will open or close the vents. A smart design, which is actually something we could say about the whole of this jacket.

With a classic alpine cut, tasteful feature set, and waterproof fabric that puts big breathability numbers up on the board, The North Face Summit Torre Egger Jacket ($590) is hard to deny. We’ve been big fans of the FUTURELIGHT membrane since it debuted in 2019, and it finds an excellent application in the Torre Egger, a hardshell that’s meant to be climbed in all day.

While most of the high-ranking hardshell jackets in our review utilize some flavor of GORE-TEX, The North Face has a good thing going for itself when it comes to its FUTURELIGHT membrane, which claims a breathability rate of 75,000 g/m². Unreal.

Adding to those impressive numbers is a hybrid fabric design on the Torre Egger, which uses a 70D recycled nylon across the body of the shell, and a 20D in the underarms to further increase moisture management. This cut is all sewn up with no shoulder seams to reduce wear areas, and gussets under the arms for full tool swinging ability.

So how does the Torre Egger stack up in the mountains? It can definitely hang. During our testing, we intentionally battened down the hatches and set about hiking up the hill, aiming to overwhelm the breathability. While no hardshell is magic (we’re waiting …), we can say that the Torre Egger held out the longest of any jacket in our review when it comes to moving moisture out.

This jacket compares easily to the Mammut Nordwand Advanced HS or Arc’teryx Beta AR jackets when it comes to overall fit and function. All utilize a premium waterproof membrane, similar prices, and boast feature sets that put them in the middle-upper ends of their respective lines. But when you prioritize breathability over all else? Grab the Torre Egger.

With a full GORE-TEX Pro build, smart hood design, and close to the most pockets of any jacket in our testing, the Stio Objective Pro Jacket ($699) follows the ideal hardshell jacket recipe and delivers a solid shell.

Cut from the ski-centric patterns of Jackson Hole-based Stio, the Objective Pro was made for the deep powder of the Tetons, but is adaptable enough to be brought along on mountaineering objectives. 

During testing, we appreciated the two-way front zipper on this jacket — not something we typically see on more ski-styled shells — as well as the helmet-compatible hood that accommodated both climbing and ski helmets.

Instead of opting to deck out this jacket in either lower torso pockets or high chest pockets, the Objective Pro goes for both — though unfortunately at the expense of sharing volume between pockets. This means that the pocket space overlap, and that filling one pocket greatly limits the usability of the other.

One bright side, however, is the novel inclusion of a ‘pass-through’ pocket on the jacket’s right chest, which allows for layering adjustment and grabbing an avalanche beacon without totally stripping the shell. Smart.

At 1 pound, 5 ounces, the Objective Pro certainly tips the scales compared to the rest of our line-up and is likely due to its all-70D construction (versus hybrid fabric weights in other jackets). This undoubtedly ups the durability, though at the expense of weight.

Compared to the pared-down skimo styling of some jackets, the Mountain Hardwear Viv ($725) practically has the kitchen sink in additional features — even some we hadn’t encountered before. Among the most unique are a strip of fabric below the hood that functions as a radio mounting point, as well as deep internal drop pockets and a “skin pin” system for hanging climbing skins to warm.

All those features certainly don’t come for free, and the Viv is on the heavier end of the spectrum for jackets we tested at 1 pound, 2 ounces. But for those who need a hardshell jacket for a number of different mountain activities, this jacket fairly well covers the spread.

Made from a 30D GORE-TEX Pro waterproof membrane, you can be assured of high-level waterproofing and breathability performance with this jacket. Topping off the protection is a helmet-compatible hood, and underarm pit zips for venting off heat when the skin track turns into a booter.

When it comes to hood adjustments, the Viv is one of the few hardshell jackets that opt to route the front-of-hood adjustment cords to the inside of the hood (the other on our list being The North Face Torre Egger). The upside to this is no loose cords to fuss with, though adjustment will require zipping down the shell briefly to fine-tune the fit.

On the outside of the jacket, the Viv goes for the full compliment and integrates two Napoleon pockets, as well as two zippered hand pockets for the ultimate blend of storage and comfort. In terms of sizing, this shell certainly skews further toward the “ski” of ski mountaineering, and has a fairly roomy cut for getting insulation on board.

Made to do it all, the Viv Jacket from Mountain Hardwear is perfect for those with minimal closet space, or simply difficulty choosing exactly what they plan on getting into that day.