Flylow Lab Coat
This shell boasts the perfect balance of breathability and durability for backcountry skiing.
Powder-mad testers loved this shell’s balance of breathability and durability. To achieve the former, Flylow uses eVent’s DVexpedition fabric, which dumps moisture through an air-permeable membrane. (A pair of 14-inch pit zips also help.) “While lapping Dream Lake Chutes in Rocky Mountain National Park in a mild, wet snowstorm, I never felt swampy on the ups,” our tester says. However, just because the Lab Coat kept us from boiling over doesn’t mean it’s thin and fragile: Its 40-denier nylon handled a season of shouldering skis and tumbling down a rocky slope or two without suffering any damage. “The route up to the chutes is tight and treed, but the Lab Coat shrugged off branches like a champ,” our tester reports. Dings: The shell is bulky, packing down to volleyball size, and a bit heavy; it also doesn’t come in women’s sizes.
$525; 1 lb. 5 oz.; m’s S-XXL