The 21 best ski outerwear kits of 2020

Welcome to a special Buyer’s Guide feature from FREESKIER. Here’s a close-up look at the best ski outerwear kits of 2020. Can’t get enough gear? Click here to explore the entire 2020 Buyer’s Guide.

The North Face Purist Jacket & Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $649

Buy Now (Bib) – $549

Built for big days, the women’s Purist kit, part of The North Face (TNF) Steep Series, is getting a brand-new update for 2019-20 with the unveiling of TNF’s FUTURELIGHT technology. Through a special nanospinning process, TNF is able to create a membrane that’s air permeable to allow water vapor to escape but remains waterproof. The process also accommodates the tweaking of weight, stretch and durability depending on the intended use of the garment. Whether you’ve got a multi-day approach ahead of you or an extreme amount of vertical to overcome, this kit will adjust to you, keeping you cool or warm, and always dry, in the harshest of high-alpine conditions.

FW Manifest 3L Jacket & Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $599.95

Buy Now (Bib) – $449.95

FW’s Manifest 3L kit exists at the intersection of style and protection. The jacket gives you a 20K/16K waterproof/breathability rating, a backpack/harness-friendly design, jacket-to-pant connection to thwart invading snow and a storm hood with a built-in visor to improve visibility when pulled over your helmet. Pair it with the Manifest pant that comes with oversized, top- and side-accessed thigh pockets built for stashing your skins during hot laps in the backcountry.

Columbia Powder Keg III Jacket & Snow Rival II Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $349

Buy Now (Pant) – $199

This kit from Columbia seeks to make the paradoxical idea of supreme warmth and breathability a reality. By using a special pattern of 3D silver reflectors, the garment retains a tremendous amount of heat, but is also a champion of moisture-wicking, ensuring you won’t overheat when your heart rate rises or the sun begins to beat down on you. The use of microscopic fiber clusters creates enough gap between your body and the fabric to provide next-to-skin smoothness that’s sure to keep you comfortable all winter long.

Columbia Women’s Powder Keg II Down Jacket & Snow Rival Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $399

Buy Now (Pant) – $199

Implementing Columbia’s proprietary Omni-Heat  3D technology, the Powder Keg II Down Jacket and Snow Rival Pant are made for winter’s harshest days. Omni-Heat 3D uses an updated pattern of silver reflectors to retain heat and small pods of soft fibers to create a warm air gap for next-to-skin comfort. Both the jacket and pant are also equipped with the brand’s Omni-Tech, known for its top-notch exterior waterproofing that’s breathable enough to let interior moisture escape. No matter how low the mercury plummets, this kit from Columbia will keep you feeling warm and looking hot.

Elevenate Bec De Rosses Jacket & Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $820

Buy Now (Pant) – $700

Named after the legendary peak in Verbier, Switzerland, the Bec de Rosses combo is tailored to freeride skiing. It’s a fully seam-sealed, three-layer jacket and pant that’s reinforced with stitching on the critical seams to prolong each garment’s lifespan. Elevenate took cues from water-sport clothing and implemented them into the fit of this kit, which gives similar freedom of movement as a surfer’s wetsuit. Multi-colored zipper backings bring the Bec de Rosses alive and help you to stand out from the crowd.

Spyder The All Out GTX Anorak & The Terrain GTX Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $349

Buy Now (Pant) – $299

Spyder is taking a revamped approach to style for the 2019-20 season. A prime example is the All Out GTX Anorak and Terrain GTX Bib for freestyle-focused females. This baggier-fit, side-entry anorak comes in a white, teal or purple print, while the bibs are available in gray, pink and teal, allowing you to mix and match to fit your personal style. Sporting 100 grams of PrimaLoft insulation within its two-layer GORE-TEX shell and another 40 grams in the bib, you’ll be out shredding park laps no matter how big of a nosedive the temperature takes. A kangaroo-style front pocket and two hand pockets give ample space to hold all of your ski-day goodies.

Backcountry Rustler 3L Jacket & Men’s Cottonwoods Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $479.95

Buy Now (Pant) – $349.95

Backcountry roars into its second season of outerwear production with this burly, stylish kit. The Stretch and Heavyweight are made of a three-layer GORE-TEX fabric for waterproofing, breathability and durability, and both boast fully taped seams for an extra blockade against moisture. The jacket features an interior loop for your avalanche transceiver and an oversized chest pocket intended for radio storage. This kit is for 100-day skiers who need gear to withstand their obsession.

Dakine Beretta GORE-TEX 3L Jacket & Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $450

Buy Now (Pant) – $440

The Beretta 3L kit from Dakine is made for women who frequent the skin track, or just prefer to sport shells and layer underneath. Outfitted with GORE-TEX and a PFC-free DWR, you’ll stay dry no matter how soggy the conditions are outside and with a surplus of pockets, you’ve got spots for an extra set of gloves, spare goggles and a healthy supply of candy. Vents in the chest and inner thighs dump heat when you start working up a sweat and a half-moon drop seat makes for quick relief when your bladder starts screaming.

Backcountry Women’s Cottonwoods Jacket & Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $399.95

Buy Now (Pant) – $349.95

In the brand’s second year producing outerwear, Backcountry is introducing the Heavyweight kit for your deepest mid-winter days. Utilizing three-layer GORE-TEX and YKK Aquaguard zippers on both the jacket and bib, this kit will keep you dry no matter how hard the flakes are falling outside. With a detachable top, the bib can be transformed into a pant with built-in belt loops for a secure fit. When you find yourself waist deep, an integrated powder skirt on the jacket secures to the pant for premium pow protection. Oversized chest and hand pockets in the jacket plus chest and leg cargo storage in the bib provide ample spots for an extra pair of gloves, goggles and the ever-important pocket bacon.

Dakine Gearhart GORE-TEX 3L Jacket & Stoker GORE-TEX 3L Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $520

Buy Now (Pant) – $420

The Gearhart/Stoker combo is a master defender against the elements—think NBA star Ben Wallace circa 2003. Both three-layer GORE-TEX garments are waterproof and incredibly durable, while the Gearhart boasts a GORE-TEX C-Knit fabric—a soft, smooth blend of three layers of material that promotes dryness without bulk—which ups the comfort factor tremendously. The Stoker Bib is reinforced with scuff guards in the knees and ankles, meaning you’ll be able to rely on it for bootpacks, snowmobile treks and general, everyday use for years to come.

FW Root Anorak & Catalyst Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $249.95

Buy Now (Pant) – $299.95

Inspired by retro pull-over designs, the Root Anorak is a comfortable head-turner that can hold up to most conditions on most days at the ski area. A long fit keeps style at a premium, while a Polartec fleece collar and two handwarmer pockets ensure you won’t be chattering while sitting on the lift on those cold winter mornings. The Catalyst 2L Pant provides 40 grams of PrimaLoft Black Eco insulation—made in part from post-consumer recycled materials—for further warmth, a 15K/10K rating to block moisture and promote breathability and oversized cargo pockets that ensure you’ll have plenty of room for sandwiches, brewskis or anything else you need to stow away.

Mammut Haldigrat Jacket & Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $499

Buy Now (Pant) – $399

This hardshell kit is a dream for hardcore backcountry tourers and ski mountaineers. Both garments boast an excellent 20K/20K waterproof/breathability rating, elongated zip vents for easy heat dumpage and an elasticated fit that promotes mobility and freedom of movement up top. The Haldigrat’s hood also provides a single-pull vertical and horizontal adjustment system to dial in your level of head protection when the weather gets nasty. Down low, the Haldigrat Pant also comes with a dedicated beacon pocket, complete with an inner loop, to prevent the unsightly beacon bulge from wrecking your style game.

Flylow Domino Jacket & Siren Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $460

Buy Now (Pant) – $460

Built with backcountry ski tourers in mind, the Domino and Siren combo is light, tough, breathable and sexy as hell. The kit utilizes Flylow’s “the Perm” from Intuitive Fabrics, which is stretchy for incredible mobility, air permeable to allow trapped heat to escape easily and boasts a 20K waterproof rating. Talk about the ultimate touring package, eh? The bib sports a kangaroo pocket for additional storage—gummy bears, anyone?—as well as Cordura cuffs that’ll protect the garment from crampons, ski edges and any other sharp surfaces that threaten to tear your threads. Delectable for weight freaks, the Domino weighs 498 grams and the Siren, 545 grams.

686 GLCR Hydra Thermagraph Jacket & GORE-TEX Smarty 3-in-1 Cargo Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $260

Buy Now (Pant) – $350

The Hydra is the best-selling jacket ever to be produced in 686’s GLCR line; no wonder our testers loved it. While a 20K/15K waterproof/breathability rating protects from precipitation and helps release water vapor from sweat, Thermagraph body-mapped insulation ensures you’ll keep warm when Jack Frost strikes. Its asymmetrical front zipper sends the style factor into the stratosphere, too. Complete the look with the GORE-TEX built Cargo Pant, which comes with a removable fleece midlayer; keep it in when you’re cold, rip it out when the sun is shining, simple as that.

Eddie Bauer Men’s BC Freshline Jacket & Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $549

Buy Now (Pant) – $449

Built for big-time adventures in the mountains, the BC Freshline kit was a hit in Retallack. The three-layer, polyester/nylon shell is as strong and durable as they come, and its eVent waterproofing helps bead up moisture quick and easy as it hits the fabric. The kit comes in an athletic fit, ideal for those who spend a lot of time touring and bootpacking, but is also engineered to be worn with midlayers, ensuring you can up the warmth should you catch a chill out there.

Strafe Outerwear Nomad Jacket & Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $549

Buy Now (Pant) – $479

We’re absolutely in love with the subtle camo print that Strafe used in its Nomad Jacket and Pant—quite simply, it’s badass. The Nomad kit utilizes a three-layer eVent fabric that’s waterproof, air permeable and incredibly durable—a toughness you can feel as soon as you touch it and put it on. Oversized, pack-friendly chest pockets allow for stowage of skins, a radio and other essentials, while dual chest pockets on the four-way stretch bib allow for more subtle storage. Both garments are also Bluesign-certified, meaning they’ve kept potentially harmful chemicals and manufacturing processes out of the supply chain.

Strafe Outerwear Meadow Jacket & Scarlett Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $529

Buy Now (Pant) – $469

In Strafe’s home of Aspen, Colorado, style is just as important as performance and fit. That sentiment is brought to life in the women’s Meadow Jacket and Scarlett Bib. Available in a multitude of colors, including two variations of camo, the combination checks all of the fashion boxes. A durable three-layer waterproof and air-permeable shell combined with a full-length interior powder skirt, underarm vents in the jacket and hamstring zips in the bib help regulate body heat whether you’re huffing and puffing to the top of Highland Bowl or taking a frozen ride to the summit lift station. When nature calls in the backcountry, the bib’s side-entry access lets you drop trow faster than a group of frat boys streaking the quad.

The North Face Brigandine Jacket & Bib

Buy Now (Jacket) – $749

Buy Now (Pant) – $649

The North Face (TNF) equates its Brigandine kit as body armor, and it’s an apt comparison. The North Face’s highly publicized FUTURELIGHT is utilized here. Through a special nanospinning process, TNF is able to inject air permeability into its fabric membrane, making it ultra-porous to allow water vapor to escape without compromising waterproofing. The process also gives TNF the ability to adjust weight, stretch, breathability and durability for the specific needs of the garment’s intended activity—in this case, high consequence big-mountain skiing. The Brigandine kit is TNF’s burliest ski offering and is sure to protect you from anything you encounter in the mountains. Editors’ Note: Both men’s and women’s versions are featured above. 

Oakley Spellbound 2.0 3L GORE-TEX Jacket & Pant

Buy Now (W Jacket) – $590

Buy Now (W Pant) – $390

Oakley Alpine Shell 3L GORE-TEX Jacket & Pant

Buy Now (M Jacket) – $590

Buy Now (M Pant) – $390

The Spellbound 2.0 3L GORE-TEX kit from Oakley will have all onlookers swooning under its trance. The tri-color blocking design on both the jacket and pant is bewitching and its three-layer GORE-TEX shell treated with Oakley’s FN Dry Technology stands up to the most brutal winter conditions, keeping you warm and dry all day long. Underarm and thigh vents provide a reprieve when things start heating up under the sun and spacious pockets in both the jacket and pant give enough storage to warrant going without a pack on an inbounds day. No voodoo was used in the creation of this enchanted kit…. we don’t think so, anyway.

Catering to those that believe in the mantra, “If it ain’t neon, it shouldn’t be on,” the Alpine Shell combo from Oakley is as protective as it is bright. The three-layer GORE-TEX builds of these garments are highly adept at keeping water out, breathing and standing up to the day-in, day-out abuses of a long ski season—ideal for big-mountain enthusiasts and ski tourers. The elbows of the jacket and knees of the pant are built utilizing an articulated, three-dimensional design for better mobility, and both garments are packed with a bit of spandex for superior freedom of movement.

Picture Organic Clothing Naikoon Jacket & Pant

Buy Now (Jacket) – $350

Buy Now (Pant) – $230

Picture Organic Clothing has been driving the eco-friendly outerwear manufacturing movement since its inception in 2008. The Naikoon kit utilizes DryPlay, the first 100-percent recyclable membrane, which is durable, waterproof, windproof, breathable and can be tossed in the recycling bin like a standard plastic bottle. While being extremely protective against the forces of Ma’ Nature, the Naikoon is also supremely toasty thanks to the jacket’s Thermal Dry knit liner and use of Thermal STD—thin, recycled polyester—in the pant that provides warmth similar to down insulation.