Gear Review: Marmot Women’s ATV Jacket

Growing up in a suburb outside of Chicago, you learned that bitter-cold weather was inevitable and layering became your best friend.

I can remember many times when my mom would usher all us kids into the mud room and slap on every bit of scarves, wool sweaters, socks, and jackets she could find. We ended up looking like stuffed marshmallows with small twigs sticking out of various areas that served as our arms and legs. We were warm, that’s for sure, but we could also barely move and after any amount of sledding or snowball fights we’d become so sweaty and itchy that our outdoor adventures didn’t last very long.

However, those days have past as I can now dress myself for cold weather and I no longer live in the frigid and often sub-zero weather of the Midwest. The Rocky Mountains, however, provide a need for warmth when you’re snowshoeing in the heart of the winter season.

Recently I was given Marmot’s Women’s ATV Jacket to wear during my snowshoeing adventures…and oh my goodness has that thing been a little-drop-of-heaven. Not only is the ATV Jacket specifically designed to fit a women’s body (and not merely just a smaller men’s size) but it has technology that cures all the problems I’ve normally incurred with similar jackets.

Because the jacket is designed for a variety of weather conditions and high-adventure activities, Marmot knew certain criteria were crucial. First, they knew to design a jacket that eliminated the “creep up” factor. I’m sure most would agree that one of the most annoying things is to be running a snowshoe race and finding that your jacket is continually creeping up your mid-section. Often it gets to the point when you feel half your energy is spent pulling your jacket down. Well, fret no more, because Marmot has equipped the Women’s ATV jacket with its Angel-Wing , which allows for a full range of arm motion so the jacket won’t ride up. That’s beautiful.

The shell of the ATV jacket is made of Schoeller Extreme NP-820 Dryskin with 3XDRY. Additionally, 3XDRY was designed by the Switzerland-based Schoeller Technologies and is what they consider “the feelgood-technology.” In a nutshell, 3XDRY means dry outside, dry inside and dries fast.

The finish on the jacket repels moisture and is highly breathable, transfers your own moisture to the outside where it can evaporate, and will dry within 15 minutes of activity to prevent the shivering that is so common after completing a grueling and active workout.

I can understand that all the “technical jargon” I just spewed may sound impressive, but might not be easy to understand. How about an example of how fantastic the technology works?

Recently, I completed another race as part of the Beaver Creek Snowshoe Adventure Series…and it was a tough one. The first part of the course was a quick-paced decent towards the bottom and the latter was a grueling uphill climb to the finish. Aside from my legs screaming for mercy, my entire body was in complete comfort. The 30-degree weather combined with the intensity of the race could have joined forces to make for a very uncomfortable experience. But the ATV Jacket kept me warmed-up at the start line, cool throughout the one-hour and 10-minute race, and shiver free at the finish.

I was amazed to find that my base layer was soaked with sweat, but the ATV Jacket was completely dry as it was constantly transporting moisture to the outside to evaporate. Now that’s a cool jacket.

Price: $180
Contact: http://www.marmot.com