[Review] The Powderqueen Jacket by Helly Hansen

The Powderqueen Jacket by Helly Hansen is the ultimate one-quiver jacket complete with PrimaLoft insulation, crucial wind/waterproofing, and a durable material to ensure it won’t bust apart on you when you hit a tree. Either way, I love it when you get a jacket and you can feel the durability in the fabric right away.

The PrimaLoft insulation throughout makes this much more than a shell and while shells are great for some circumstances, I’m a huge fan of having insulation whether I’m riding the resort or the backcountry.   I get cold easily and often and so the 40g of PrimaLoft Silver Insulation really take the chill off. Even with the insulation, it is not an overly bulky jacket and hard to notice that there’s more to it than just a shell.

For what I would classify as a freeride or performance jacket, I really love the fit of it! The Powderqueen is loose but not baggy and is very comfortable to ski in. It’s length gives it a flattering look and the arms are plenty long (which is not always the case for me). I love the sleeves, as they are long, not too tight, and have a huge adjustable cuff. They fall easily over my mittens and don’t get annoying throughout the day.

One thing I have noticed in this jacket and the Aurora Shell, is that in the waist where the powder skirt is it tends to “dip” in. I only notice it when I’m getting ready in the morning and it doesn’t affect me when I’m skiing but I do find it kind of quirky that it does that.

Speaking of powder skirts, it does have one that easily connects into your Helly Pants (and you could easily adapt the interface to work with other pants too). It’s not a removable powder skirt which is never a deal breaker for me but I do find that with jackets that have a removable powder skirt, I tend to remove it for the majority of the season. When I’m skiing on deep powder days I usually wear a one piece baselayer and since peeing becomes such a pain in the ass when you hook in to your pants, I tend to skip it.

On cold days, you can basically crawl into the high collar like a turtle would into it’s shell as it zips nice and high up on your face. It’s so nice to have the protection from the wind and cold on cold days and on sunny days, protection from the sun. Many companies have a hard time getting that collar science down but not Helly Hansen. The collar zips easily up and is not so tight that I can hardly move once it is zipped all the way up.

If you’re looking for a comfortable, durable, waterproof and weatherproof jacket for any of your skiing endeavors, look no further than the Powderqueen Jacket by Helly Hansen. It has all of your traditional jacket features and more and executes the features in ways that make your experience more comfortable and enjoyable. I pair my Powderqueen Jacket with the Sensation Pant but be sure to check out Helly Hansen to see all of the possibilities!