Strafe Hayden Jacket & Summit Pants - Men's Outerwear Kit Review
We’ve had a lot of fun adding outerwear review content to the mix here at SkiEssentials over the past couple seasons. Speaking to my own personal reviews, everything I’ve worn over the past two years has been relatively technical. From Armada to Strafe and Flylow last season then Norrona earlier this year, all the outerwear kits I’ve reviewed have been shells, and mostly relatively high-end, expensive shells. While the gear I’m talking about today isn’t exceptionally cheap, nor would I expect it to be, it differs from all the other gear in the sense that it’s insulated and designed almost exclusively for use within a resort setting. In other words, you wouldn’t want to go on a long backcountry touring trip or something like that. While you could, it’s certainly not how the gear is designed. On a cold day at the resort, however, it’s incredible. Bob had the opportunity to review this same kit last season, but now it’s my turn to benefit from the warmth and comfort of the Strafe Hayden Jacket and Summit Pants.
Before we get into the bulk of the review, a quick note this gear is actually on sale now! Prices on Strafe dropped a couple weeks ago, so you can pick up this whole kit either from us or directly from Strafe at a fairly significant discount. Sweet! Saving money is fun. Anyways…
Moving right into our 3 F’s of outerwear reviews, we’ll start with fit. I’m 5’10” and about 155 lbs plus or minus 5 lbs. Despite on paper being almost a perfect size medium for most outerwear brands, I generally opt for large as I prefer a looser, more park-inspired fit. The large in the Hayden Jacket and Summit Pants definitely fits a bit more conservatively than that pink Nomad kit I skied in most of last season. The jacket in particular isn’t as long as the Nomad, but I do like the fit overall. It kind of has early-2000s park vibes, like Jon Olsson in that camo kit in Teddy Bear Crisis. I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, go watch Teddy Bear Crisis. Afterall, it’s my favorite ski movie of all time. Anyways, back to the Strafe kit, the fit is great. It’s big enough that I can layer underneath and that I retain a touch of my park background for vibe checks, but not so big that it’s not functional. If it weren’t for the adjustable elastic waist on the pants, they would undoubtedly be too big in that area, but Strafe gives you a lot of room to adjust the fit around the waist. Some might want to opt for suspenders if they’re my size and choose large, but it’s certainly not necessary.
The fabric also actually helps with fit quite a bit. Before we get into other details, the main fabric is 86% polyester and 14% spandex. That spandex is SWEET! I honestly couldn’t believe it the first time I skied it in. The way the stretch of the fabric allows the jacket and pants to move with you is quite impressive. It’s kind of one of those things where you don’t realize what you’re missing until you try it. Not that I’m a full convert from shell outerwear to this gear, as technical shells will always serve a specific purpose, but I sure do appreciate the freedom of movement provided by the stretch in the fabric. It’s also nice for those who would want to size into a more traditional look. For me, in the medium, I would absolutely benefit from that stretch. I feel it in the large too, but I think the real benefit would be for someone my size in a medium. I know Bob appreciated it too last season. He talked about it all the time and I never really took him seriously until I tried it myself.
Of course, there’s more going on with the fabric than just the stretch properties. That outer fabric is called Recon 2L. It’s not quite as technical nor as waterproof as the 3 layer fabric found in the Nomad kit, but it’s certainly waterproof enough for normal resort use. I wouldn’t want to wear it in the rain, that’s about where I would make the cutoff. I’ve worn this gear in some wet, heavy fresh snow and didn’t have any issues with getting wet inside. I’d venture a guess that most skiers don’t want to spin lift laps in the rain anyways, so it really doesn’t feel like much of a concern that it’s not waterproof like a rain coat. The insulation is Primaloft Silver PURE, which not only functions super well, is also made from 100% recycled material. Cool! The body of the jacket boasts an impressive 100 g of Primaloft. The sleeves then get 60 g and the pants have 40 g. That 100 g insulation on your body helps a ton on really cold days. On some bitter cold days here at Stowe, my core has stayed completely warm, which then trickles down into fingers, toes, knees, and just makes you feel super toasty from head to toe.
With that amount of insulation, the gear really feels at home on relatively cold days. I do think the average ski day counts as a relatively cold day for more geographic locations, so there’s certainly no lack of opportunity to wear the Hayden Jacket and Summit Pants. It does, however, feel like a good opportunity to call out that on a warm, spring day, it can be a little bit too much. I think that’s exaggerated when you’re working hard. If you’re just lapping spring bumps on a warm day, you’ll get pretty hot and probably find yourself wishing you had on less clothing, but again, most ski days are cold, and most skiers spend most of their time cruising groomers and other more moderate terrain, not working up a sweat bashing zipper line bumps every run or hiking to sidecountry terrain. There are vents to let out some hot air, but not enough to counter the insulation on a warm day.
Lastly, we’ll take a look at some of the features. There are certainly fewer and less technical features compared to the Nomad kit I wore last year, but it all makes sense considering the intended use. The hood is helmet-compatible and also removable, which is a nice thing to have. I’m a big hood guy, so wouldn’t ever remove it, but I know there are lots of skiers out there who find hoods to be annoying. If you’re one of those skiers, go ahead and remove it! The jacket has a nice amount of pockets for stashing your valuables, snacks, and other belongings. Not quite as much room as the Nomad, but with that more technical gear, you’re likely carrying more stuff (skins, radios, beacons, etc, etc). There’s both an interior and exterior chest pocket, which often holds my phone, then two lower hand pockets. Those are perfect for keys, GoPros, wallets, that kind of stuff. The inside of the jacket features a powder skirt, which is nice to pair with the non-bib pants. Even when there’s not fresh snow, I find myself closing the powder skirt to help keep cold air out. Perhaps my favorite feature of the jacket is the microfleece lined collar and chin area. It’s so incredibly cozy to stick your face in there on a cold day, and even with the jacket completely zipped up, there’s enough room to burrow in there for a second when you’re frigid.
The Summit Pants follow a similar trend. There’s not a tremendous amount of technical features, just what you need. We get three front pockets, two on your right leg. For whatever reason, I don’t find myself using the two matching higher pockets on the pants very often. Not sure why, and talking to Bob, he was the opposite, so must just be a personal preference thing rather than something specific to the fit of performance of the pants. I do use the lower right leg pocket a lot, however. Sometimes phone, sometimes random slopestyle start lists or other documents that are handed to me while skiing. Whatever it is, I just find the pocket to be convenient and ergonomic. As all good ski pants should have, Strafe finishes the Summit Pants with Cordura reinforced scuff guards and stretch powder gaiters with gripper elastic.
All in all, the Hayden Jacket and Summit Pants are about as comfortable as it gets. Sure it’s not as technical as your Gore-Tex Pro outerwear or even Strafe’s own proprietary fabric in their Nomad kit, but I would venture a guess that the vast majority of the skiing population doesn’t need that super-techy, lightweight gear. If you’re spending most of your days riding the lifts at your home resort, whether east vs west, you’ll likely be very happy with this gear. It keeps you dry, it keeps you warm, it keeps you comfortable, and I would say it keeps you looking pretty darn fresh too, if that’s something you care about.
