How Should a Ski Jacket fit?
Are you preparing for a ski holiday? If you are going through our Snow Clothing Hire Checklist, you might realize that one of the most important items for your holiday is your Ski Jacket as it’s essential to wear a jacket on the mountain if you don’t want to freeze!
Finding a ski jacket can be a hard task as there are endless brands, materials, designs and sizes. All these factors are important when choosing your ski jacket. In this blog we will focus on size and how to find the perfect fit for you!
What is the ski jacket for?
First you should ask this simple question, as it is not the same to hire or buy a ski jacket for a snow shoeing trip, than using the jacket for a holiday for freestyle snowboarding. Any activity in the snow will require a different fit so before choosing your jacket, think what you will use it for? Things to consider are, how much you will move, how much you will fall, how long you will be on the mountain, what’s the average temperature, etc.
If your plan is to go on a ski touring trip or snow shoeing walks on the mountain, you might want a slimmer and shorter fit which adjusts better to your body and doesn’t cover your legs. Making it more comfortable for walking and enough warmth as you will be sweating while hiking up the mountain!
If however your plan is to learn how to ski or snowboard and you have never tried before, then go for longer and looser fits. This will allow you to move and at the same time protect you from the snow, as you will no doubt fall a couple of times!
Finally when choosing a ski jacket you should consider the layers that you will be wearing underneath. A jacket might seem huge but once you wear a hoodie or base layer underneath it can feel much tighter.
Anatomy of the ski jacket
Arms: Sometimes we don’t pay attention to this important part of the ski jacket. Arms might feel too long but we need to remember that we will be wearing gloves underneath and we want to have covered that space between our gloves and our ski jacket. That’s why ski jackets usually have long arms as it is important to keep the snow out!
Chest: When you try a ski jacket remember to bring a few layers with you so you can see the proper fit. If the chest is going to explode you should choose a bigger jacket as you should always be able to breath and move comfortably. Don’t forget that skiing after all is a sport.
Back: If the back is pulling when you cross your arms you might need a bigger size. However if you choose a huge jacket and there is a gap at the back, the space will allow wind, cold and even snow in through the gap, so don’t go for an excessively loose fit.
Waist: It is the central part of the jacket. As well as the chest you don’t want a tight fit that doesn’t allow you to move freely. A sign that your jacket is too small in the waist is when you must tense up to get the zip done up. In this area you may also find pockets which you will fill with your phone, key, snacks etc, so leave extra space on the waistline.
Hip: Usually ski jackets end on our hips but you can also find longer jackets which cover your tights and shorter ones that end at the waist. Check how the jacket fits on the hips as we don’t want to compress our hips or tights as it will reduce mobility, but also it is another part where a too loose fit will allow snow to get inside.
In summary, the right ski jacket fit is always finding the balance between the loose and the slim. Giving space for movement but remaining tight enough to keep the warmth inside.
To help you find the right jacket for you, here at Snow Clothing Hire, we offer a Ski Clothing Fitting, service that you can book here . Come to our office for a fitting and we will advise you with the best size for you.