I was at Devils Lake State Park the other day XC skiing with a few friends. There were a few trails with tracks down and the snow was falling. It warmed up to about 26F, so I put on a light weight long underwear shirt under my Paceline Jacket and off we went. I started at the car shivering, so it was a perfect clothing combination for the new snow falling and the cool temps. We started off on the flats and soon took our first small uphill rise. We got to the first junction, looking to take the longer trail but it was not groomed, bummer! So, we took a right, and stayed on the Steinke Basin loop that was groomed, but not as technical and shorter. I warmed up by this point and was also staying dry on the outside from the watertight construction of the Paceline. We did the short loop and decided to take the spur trail that was groomed all the way down to the lake and check out the Ice Fisherman. I opened up my large front vents on the jacket by this point as I was really working up a sweat. The venting cooled me back down and keep be comfortable for the weather and activity level.
We made it down to the lake and rested for just a bit with a large gulp of water that I carried with me, and the other guys reapplied some Kick wax for the long uphill climb back up to main loop. We watched a few fisherman for a bit then turned and went back to the top. Before we set out on the uphill section, I opened up core vents all the way for maximum venting as I knew I would be over heating soon. I took off for the top with a bit of vigor and made it back to the parking lot before the others, but I knew they were just sandbagging me! We all waited for each other at the parking lot, then did one more lap, but this time faster than the first in the Basin. While I was striding out, I really noticed the stretch in the jacket across my back and shoulders, It didn’t bind me at all. We all made it back to the car and I immediately put on my Baffin jacket to stay warm and suck the moisture off my body to get dry. You got to love synthetic!
Overall, I really enjoyed this jacket and liked how it preformed in “warm” snowy weather. Dry from the outside snow and minimum wetness on the inside due to the large venting in the front that also doubles as pockets. My only one complaint, Is that I wish the sleeves were just a bit longer. The gauntlets on my gloves kept my wrists covered at all times, but I would like to see another ½ inch of material there. 9 out of 10! - J. Jugenheimer
We made it down to the lake and rested for just a bit with a large gulp of water that I carried with me, and the other guys reapplied some Kick wax for the long uphill climb back up to main loop. We watched a few fisherman for a bit then turned and went back to the top. Before we set out on the uphill section, I opened up core vents all the way for maximum venting as I knew I would be over heating soon. I took off for the top with a bit of vigor and made it back to the parking lot before the others, but I knew they were just sandbagging me! We all waited for each other at the parking lot, then did one more lap, but this time faster than the first in the Basin. While I was striding out, I really noticed the stretch in the jacket across my back and shoulders, It didn’t bind me at all. We all made it back to the car and I immediately put on my Baffin jacket to stay warm and suck the moisture off my body to get dry. You got to love synthetic!
Overall, I really enjoyed this jacket and liked how it preformed in “warm” snowy weather. Dry from the outside snow and minimum wetness on the inside due to the large venting in the front that also doubles as pockets. My only one complaint, Is that I wish the sleeves were just a bit longer. The gauntlets on my gloves kept my wrists covered at all times, but I would like to see another ½ inch of material there. 9 out of 10! - J. Jugenheimer
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