UKC

Hi, I am looking for a durable, waterproof and wind proof jacket to last me for a ski season. I no that the crux flak jacket is aimed at mountaineering and am wondering if it would be suited to skiing as it is hard wearing and in the future could be used for mountaineering purposes. I have looked at the north face free thinker but it is way out of my price range. The thing I like about the crux flak jacket compared to ski jackets is that it is only a shell so I can layer rather than get to hot compared to overly padded jackets. If you guys have any alternatives fire away! As you may have guess I am not overly experience in the knowledge of jackets! Also any layer to wear underneath it in very cold weather would also be appreciated! I am on a budget guys but I see sense in getting quality as I need it to last! Thank you for any help and advice offered!

In reply to climbin_chris:

I looked at the same jacket recently. Its beautifully constructed and the fit was great, but with so many waterproof jackets in various sales, it is expensive.

I ended up going for:

http://www.climbers-shop.com/1186/outerwear_and_fleece_sale/Montane_Superfl...

which is a real bargain. It is made of exactly the same fabric. The fit isn't quite as good but at £100, it is a great price.

I'm a climber who does a bit of skiing so I always wear my climbing gear - paramo salopettes and the above jacket - a far better combo than overpriced ski gear.

In reply to RichardBennett: Cheers for the advice! when you ski with it what do you wear underneath it?

In reply to climbin_chris:
depends how warm it is?

surely thats the point of a shell?
I often get by with just a thick baselayer
and maybe a waistcoat or similar.

In reply to climbin_chris:

The good thing about shells is that as you say you can vary what you wear depending on the conditions.

This year I'm going to try...

a base layer, a thin fleece and a shell for good weather

and,

a base layer, a primaloft jacket and a shell for bad weather.

I seem to guess wrong most of the time though so I've taken to carrying a thin fleece in my rucksack incase I'm cold. The fleece in question is quite cheap so I sometimes leave it tied to a convenient fence in a stuff sack with my sandwiches - I don't really like skiing with anything but a very small rucksack if I can help it.

Above advice is based on my experience of Europe and Scotland, people say that America and Canada can be colder.

In reply to climbin_chris:

A very late reply: I normally wear a base layer, thin fleece and a thicker Patagonia fleece. I know a lot of people wear less but they must be more 'active' skiers than me!

In reply to climbin_chris:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=275351

Some relevant stuff on this thread.

In reply to climbin_chris: I use the Crux Flak jacket all year round as a waterproof and windproof from hill walking in the UK to ice climbing to Skiing and find it superb. It is light, durable and breathable. Go for it!

Rob

In reply to climbin_chris: Do you ski in the rain? If not why do you need a waterproof for ski-ing when a good softshell or windproof would do the job a lot more comfortably?

The great drawback with the Flack Jacket is that it has no hand pockets. This is fine when you are actually climbing (or ski-ing) but a real pain wandering around town or at basecamp.