The joys of a new coat

I had the luck of getting a new coat this year.  While I loved my old jacket, my husband felt it was time for me to have a change.  So enter my new Salomon Speed jacket.  I grabbed this jacket in the magenta colour, that has a great green detailing.  Very sharp!

I love the fit of this coat.  Being small, jackets can swim on me, but this has their "active cut", which I find to have the perfect curves.  Curvy enough to give you good shape, but relaxed enough to not feel constrained in any way.  Great to not look like a line-backer on the hill.  It also has a PRIMALOFT insulation ®  (100gr/m²).  This makes the jacket super warm, while at the same time keeping it slim.  Added to that is that it's water resistant.  All great features in a ski jacket.

The jacket has great sized and placed pockets, including a pass/key clip.  Can't lie, I use it to hold my hair elastics.  What girl can ski without a back up hair elastic?  There is also an attached goggle cloth.  Does anyone ever use these?  I know my husband would freak if he saw me using it. He's a bit persnickety about the cleaning of goggles and sunglasses.  But it's there if you want it.

Oh and it has wrist cuffs with the thumb loop!  I don't know what it is about this feature, but I really love my jackets having this.  I think it adds a little extra warmth, especially at those moments when you have to go gloveless for a minute or two.  It just seems to make it cozier.

There are a few tweaks I would make to this jacket.  The powder skirt is great, nice and tight, and snaps away if need be.  But is lacking that little snap on the back that attaches it to your ski pant belt loop.  Gotta keep one's back warm on the cold days or during big tumbles.  Also, the hood is on the small side for fitting a helmet under.  This is a hot look that I like to rock on the lift when the wind is hollowing.  Maybe not cute, but super warm.  Don't get me wrong, the hood will pull over a helmet, but it's tight.  Not a comfortable fit for sure and you wont forget to pull it off before you head down.

Overall, this is a great jacket!  I would recommend to any girl looking for a great ski jacket.  Oh, and how could I have forgotten to add that this jacket is casual enough that it can pull double duty and be worn around town as well.  My dog has gone for more than one walk with me in this coat this year.  If you're looking for a new jacket this year, you should go give this one a try.    

New ski year, new blog

Welcome!  With the start of the ski year, it seemed like the perfect time to start blogging about all things skiing.  We had our first day out yesterday, with the help of my mum to watch the little guy.  The sky was bluebird and the snow was amazing for the start of the season.  It was a little bony, with rocks to be found in many locations, just below the surface.  But if you picked your line, you could really let the skis fly.

I was riding my K2 Misbehaved  - twin tip, 133 tip, 102 underfoot, and 127 tail.  I have a sweet Marker Squire 11 binding on them.  A very sharp setup thanks to my wonderful husband.  Maybe not the best ski choice for the start of the year and a lack of fluff, but I do love these skis.  Even on a groomer I can make these skis react.  While they are wide underfoot, I find that they are still really responsive.  So these skis give me the chance to really play on the groomers, but then pop over into the chop and see how rusty my skills are.   While small, I am a powerful skier, but still don't have a lot of weight to put behind these skis.  But even with that, I find that I only have to put a bit of effort in and they will react very quickly.  It's been awhile since I've played with these skis in the powder, having to take last year off to have a baby, but I loved them last time.  I will post more on the wonders of these skis and powder on the first dump that we get.  

I think this ski is a great choice for someone who likes to have a poppy ski, but one that covers a wide variety of terrain.  I would fully recommend this ski to an intermediate to advanced skier, who is looking for a good all round ski, but aiming towards something a little wider underfoot.