Sierra Designs Cold Canyon Fleece

Our take It’s rare to get a technical winter piece for less than a Benjamin, but the Cold Canyon delivers. It has a thin polyester grid throughout for warmth, a wind-resistant nylon shell on the chest, and a snug fit that makes it easy to layer. One tester integrated it into his ski-touring kit in Hokkaido, Japan, on just about any day the temperature was somewhere between 0°F and 65°F. “Without the nylon wind-barrier on the sleeves and back, I could push hard while skinning without getting too sweaty,” he says.

The details The Cold Canyon’s tightly woven face fabric held up well to grabby branches and didn’t pill over a season of use. It has dual zippered hand warmer pockets, and packs down small—to the size of a softball. Tradeoff: no hood.

Trail cred “During cool morning bike rides, the wind protection on the chest was vital to keeping me comfortable, while the breathable back kept me from getting clammy as I pushed hard on the hills along the coast,” one tester reports.

12 oz. (m’s L); m’s S-XXL, w’s XS-XL