jello24

If I had an unlimited budget I would buy a Volcom Goretex jacket or a Burton AK. or any Goretex jacket for that matter.

Realistically, I buy whatever looks good. Right now I use both Analog and Sessions jackets. You can definitely find better performing jackets, but I've never been soaked in either brand.

lonerider

The more "fashionable" a brand is... the more it probably can get away with shoddy materials in their mid/lower wear and people will still buy it to look "steezy." For that reason, I generally avoid recommending Oakley, Volcom, Analog (and Burton to a lesser degree) as you are often paying more for the brand name and the style than the actual performance.

Arcteryx is top-end, some of the best stuff you can buy... but priced that way too. I got it for my wife because she gets cold very easily and I'd rather pay now... than "pay" on the slopes. Luckily, there was summer sale on backcountry.com (30-40%) as Arcteryx isn't as popular among mainstream snowboarders/skiiers.

I have a Burton AK Cyclic jacket with Goretex and it is good, but again pricey (I grabbed mine 40% off). I haven't like the pants Burton has been making as they tend to rip at the butt seam (pretty common if you are failing on your butt a lot like me ).

I am currently using a pair of Stoic pants that are solid after two years of "abuse". They are not quite as waterproof as Goretex, but have handle plenty of wet snow storms. However, Stoic's fit is very slim athletic (I'm 5'9" 150lbs with a 30" waist) - so it might not be for everything. I also have a Stoic puffy jacket that I absolutely LOVE. It not down or waterproof, but it so comfy and reasonably warm that I wear this thing virtually every day of the year. My friend has the Stoic Bombshell jacket and really likes it.

Columbia and Marmot are good too, if they are on sale.

snowklinger

I like my Volcom stuff its bomber, you can't beat GTX, Ziptech owns.

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is it late october yet?

tonyisnowhere

I think you should start with what your budget is. Go from there. I mainly do resort riding and don't care for the typical name brands. I am not out there to look good while riding I am there to get good at riding. So what ever fits and keeps me dry and warm will work. But that said I checked out brands like 686 and Burton and that stuff seems really nice!

lonerider

I should add that the waterproofness/breathability rating is generally a good guide for how good the clothing is. 5k/5k is the worse, spring weather only. 10k/10k is ok. 15k/15k better. 20k/20k or higher is ideal. Just pick according to your needs and budget.

Nivek

At this point I'll only wear L1, Bonfire, or maybe Volcom.

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Snowboarding Sucks.

mtw

Homeschool Naked Raygun Shell - Men's | Backcountry.com

How's that jacket fare? 50% off currently as a black friday special.

LuckyRVA

looks like a solid jacket, although I can't speak from personal experience. I was thinking of picking up some homeschool stuff as well. Buy it on whiskeymiltia though, much cheaper...

WhiskeyMilitia.com: Homeschool Naked Raygun Shell - Men's - $149.99 - 60% off

WhiskeyMilitia.com: Homeschool Outerwear

mtw

Wow, cheers - that's almost $40 cheaper... So basically I could buy a pair of pipe gloves just to try them out and be no worse off by buying from Whiskeymilitia instead of backcountry

EDIT: I take that back, they want $105.27 to ship to Australia.

LuckyRVA

sorry bro, didn't see you were from Aus