Many people like to engage in sports like snowboarding. It’s an intense sport, which requires you to remain in the snowy outdoors for long periods. To ensure that you have a great experience, you must invest in high-quality outerwear. Suitable clothing keeps you warm, dry, and comfortable. Reliable snow clothing is made from sweat-wicking and breathable material to help you get maximum comfort and coverage. You can hike or fly down the snowy slopes without feeling too wet or cold when you don such clothing. Keep reading to know some of the characteristics of good snow outerwear.
Material
When you go through the manufacturer’s catalogue that sells snow outerwear, you can find apparel made from various fabrics. Their names may seem fancy, but at its core, each of them is a derivative of either nylon or polyester. Polyester is the base fabric for every type of apparel. It’s a strong fabric that’s resistant to stretching and shrinking. When it’s tightly woven, it’s also durable and water-resistant.
Nylon is another incredibly strong material. It’s a resilient fabric with low absorbency and elastic characteristics. Often a supplementary coating is added to this fabric to enhance its protective ability. Some shell garments are also made using polyester and or nylon microfibers. By utilising exceptionally fine fibres, nylon and polyester materials are woven into durable, high-performance and breathable outerwear. Snow outerwear like snow pants, anoraks and cyclic jackets should be made of such material.
Waterproofing
Snow outerwear should have a considerable level of water resistance to keep the wearer protected from rainy or snowy conditions. The more extreme the climate is, the greater the level of water resistance should be. Usually, fabrics like nylon and polyester get coated with porous membranes, each having a specific amount of waterproofness. The companies assess the ratings of the garment to give you an idea of what water protection you can expect. Note that a waterproof rating of 20000 mm is more than that of 10000 mm. It’s best to buy snow clothing that’s fully sealed with GORE-SEAM taped, GORE-TEX 2-layer fabric. GORE-TEX is a waterproof fabric membrane, which stops rain from getting in, but directs the sweat out. Such snow outerwear also has ample venting, a water-resistance zipper, and a rider-driven articulated fit.
Breathability
An apparel’s breathability is commonly noted in grams. The unit is g/24hrs/meter square. It means the number of water vapour grams that can pass via a square meter of the fabric in 24 hours. This measurement denotes moisture like condensation and sweat inside of the apparel. They convert to water vapour and are passed through the pores. It, in turn, cools the rider down. The greater the breathability rating, the less humidity will develop inside the apparel.
Fit
You can explore a variety of fits in your snow garments. The fit of your snow outerwear, be it a jacket, pants, or baselayers, should be according to your tastes. For some people, baggy clothing allows them to experience a full range of motion. But some find baggy outerwear restricting their movements. In such a case, you can opt for body fit snow outerwear. Such apparel will keep everything close to your body. So pay attention to your activity and clothing style before deciding to buy an item of a specific fit.
It’s essential to invest in quality clothing items when spending much time outdoors in the snow. Keep the features listed here in mind while exploring the various options.
