Salomon Snowtrip - Women's Review

Warmth

The Snowtrip is very wind resistant because it consists of two layers of softshell material that are both made from Salomon's climaWIND material that helps keep the cold wind out and seal warm air in. It is not the warmest jacket we tested because it has no insulating layer to hold in heat like the Columbia Bugaboo Interchange - Women's or the Helly Hansen Enigma jackets do.

Water Resistance

This jacket was the least water resistant of all the jackets we tested. We found that the water was quick to absorb into the material, meaning that this jacket is better suited for dry climates and not somewhere you may get rained on frequently. Even though Salomon's climaPRO and climaWIND technologies are water resistant, the water seems to soak into this jacket rather quickly — although it does not soak all the way through the jacket.

Ventilation

Softshell material is more breathable than a hardshell material such as Gore-Tex or the North Face Boundary Triclimate HYVENT material, and this jacket is no exception. The material will allow moisture easily through its permeable fabric. Unfortunately this jacket does not have pit-zips so when you are really working hard in deep powder you will not have the added venting that pit-zips allow.

Ski Features

This jacket fell in the middle of the pack as far as ski performance. The special ski features it has are a powder skirt (that is not removable) and ski pass pocket. As we mention in the buying advice section, we don't find powder skirts particularly useful and wish we could remove this powder skirt for when we wear it around town. The hood fits relatively well over a ski helmet and we found that the jacket moves well with the wearer while skiing. We liked that the interior jacket did not zip in to the exterior, instead it just zipped up like a regular mid-layer, making it easier to switch between the two layers.

Style

We found that this jacket has the most flattering fit and is the most form fitting of all the jackets in this review. The interior soft shell layer is equally as flattering when worn by itself. With its tailored fit and fashionable colors, you are sure to look good whether skiing the groomers or at happy hour.

Comfort and Fit

As mentioned in the style section, this jacket is the most form-fitting of all the jackets, which means some people may find that it fits small. We noticed that the testers who were normally a medium could not fit many layers underneath this jacket without it feeling tight. Our testers who usually wear a size small or extra-small found that the size medium fit them comfortably. Go up a size for better comfort with this jacket.

Best Application

We wore this jacket at the resort as well as around town. We also took it on a backcountry ski trip and found that we could wear the outer shell while hiking up and it worked pretty well — although it is a heavier layer than a regular shell.

Value

The Snowtrip is the most expensive ($300) of the 3-in-1's but both of its layers are windproof and water resistant as well as having the most flattering fit. It is not as comfortable or warm as the other 3-in-1's in this review since it does not have an insulating layer.

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