I was drawn the W Quasar by Helly Hansen jacket for its bight colours, plaid design (I do love plaid), and for its insulation and breathability – but admittedly, its was the design that swung it for me.

All ski and snowboard jackets have some level of insulation and breathability, and I was looking for an entry level jacket. Once the initial technology was in place, it came down to design and price.

Was I right to choose the jacket, letting aesthetics guide my final decision? On this occasion I was.

Over the last two months the W Quasar has been tested in a vvariety of conditions. Its first outing was in Big White, a ski resort in the British Columbian interior. With -10 temperatures and a wind chill plunging the mercury down further, it was not the most pleasant of conditions to be snowboarding in.

While on the chair lift, a particularly fierce wind whipped snow in our faces, and it’s easy to get cold siting on a moving chair that hangs 60 or so feet above the ground. As my face, toes and hands felt the bitter cold, my body did not – nor did I feel the wind cutting through the jacket. I was nicely insulated.

With such brutal weather comes some amazing powder. As I snaked down the mountain I didn’t feel restricted by the jacket at all – it gave me plenty of room to move, even with three layers underneath.

A month later, and while the countries on the Atlantic have been freezing under the polar vortex, or battered by a series of storms, the Pacific North West has been having a very mild and dry winter. Lovely for day to day life – not so good if you want to hit the slopes. Due to the lack of snow and mild temperatures, the jacket didn’t have its second outing for another month.

In Whistler the sun was shining and the beauty of the coastal mountains was stark like the rocks that should have been covered in white fluffy powder. In a quirk of nature, the Alpine level temperature (7 degrees) was several degrees higher than down the in the village (2 degrees). Dressed in a baselayer, midlayer, and the W Quasar jacket, I was hot. Time to test its breathability. I unzipped every zip going on all my clothes; the W Quasar has a ventilation zip under each armpit, and I carried on down the two kilometre long trail. I could feel my body cooling nicely, and soon I was back at a comfortable temperature.

The jacket has a number of deep pockets – so many in fact I though I’d lost my iPod since I couldn’t remember which one it was in. The jacket is not fitted – and though this gives you plenty of room to move, it not the most flattering. It has a ski pass pocket but the zips do not allow you to attach a pass onto them and my whistler pass wouldn’t fit into the pocket – however it is handy for keeping your bankcard in.

When you go on your ski trip, if you are happy, like me, to stay on the designated runs and not go off-piste then this is the jacket for you. If you want to go and shred up the back country, or snowshoe in extreme cold temperatures, this is not the right jacket.

It’s a good quality, entry level jacket that will see you through a few ski holidays and those cold winter storms that seem to love the UK right now.

£240

www.hellyhansen.com
The Technology 

Helly Tech Protection: for moderate weather conditions it lets sweat and condensation escape – while keeping the rain out.

Prima Loft: a synthetic thermal insulation that is water repellent.

RECCO: reflectors sealed inside the fabric of your jacket. It helps detectors used by the ski patrol to find you if you are in an avalanche.