Lets face it.  Your ski jacket is the gear that will be noticed most by your friends and passersby.  So, you want it to look cool.  Dig down past a ski jacket’s skin deep appearance and you’ll realize that this is the one piece of gear between you being cold, wet, and miserable and you being warm, dry, and happy.

A quality ski jacket is a must in the mountains and it certainly doesn’t hurt if drags some style along with it.  Check out these award winning ski jackets for an ideas of what’s hot – both literally and figuratively – in 2015.

THE AWARD WINNING SKI JACKETS OF 2015:

SKI JACKET:  2015 Patagonia Women’s Snowbelle Jacket

AWARD:  OnTheSnow.com Editors’ Choice Award

– OnTheSnow.com gave their Editors’ Choice Award to 10 Ski Jackets skis this year, but the Patagonia Women’s Snowbelle Jacket got the highest rating of them all.

• Face Fabric:  H2No® Performance Standard Shell – 2-Layer, 5 oz. 75 denier 100% Polyester, (54% recycled) micro-twill weave with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish
• Powder Skirt: 2oz 100% polyester plain weave with DWR finish
• Insulation:  Thermogreen® 100% Polyester (90% Recycled) – Arms: 60g // Body: 100g
• Lining Material:  2-oz 100% Polyester plain weave

– PIck up a the Patagonia Women’s Snowbelle Jacket at evo.com:  2015 Patagonia Women’s Snowbelle Jacket

What OnTheSnow.com had to say about the Women’s Snowbelle Jacket:

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Patagonia’s design aesthetic and color combinations never fail to please our eye, and the women’s lightweight Snowbelle shell is no exception. Although I’m usually slightly inconvenienced by Velcro along the center zipper, the application on this jacket is in such small doses, it’s super easy to zip down through without having to pull it apart and not bothersome at all. The H2No Performance Standard two-layer polyester micro-twill weave features windproof/waterproof/breathable technology with taffeta and mesh lining to enhance wick-ability. Furthermore, the fabric is treated with DWR (durable water repellent) fabric finish and 54 percent of the polyester has been recycled. FAVORITE FEATURES: This super comfy resort-focused jacket feels a bit more substantial than your everyday shell thanks to its two layers. We love the somewhat relaxed, flattering fit and perfect jacket and arm length for easy skiing movement. A zippered chest pocket provides not only a nice style addition, but a functional storage compartment, and that’s in addition to the two zippered hand pockets, a somewhat hidden internal pocket along the zipper plus another internal zippered pocket opposite the goggle stash. We also appreciate that this performance piece sports a high collar with soft microfleece panel, an easy-to-adjust removable hood, an almost unnoticeable fixed powder skirt, and two-way pit zips. – OnTheSnow.com

SKI JACKET:  2015 Patagonia PowSlayer Jacket

AWARD:  Freeskier Magazine Editors’ Pick Award

– Freeskiing Magazine gave 9 ski jackets their “Editor’s Pick Award”, but the Patagonia PowSlayer is the cream of the crop.

– PIck up the Patagonia Powslayer Jacket at evo.com:  2015 Patagonia PowSlayer Jacket

• Face Fabric:  3.72 oz 40-denier 100% Nylon ripstop, DWR (durable water repellent) finish
• Powder Skirt:  3.5 oz. 91% Recycled polyester / 9% Spandex
• Membrane:  GORE-TEX® Pro Membrane – Highest level of durably waterproof / breathable and windproof construction.

What Freeskier had to say about the 2015 Patagonia PowSlayer Jacket:

The Patagonia PowSlayer jacket is made from three-layer Gore-Tex Pro that’s so light it barely feels like it’s there. When things heat up, underarm venting on the jacket and rear thigh venting on the bib keeps you cool. You’ll find a total of eight pockets, tastefully highlighted in purple and well placed to hold the small amount of personals you’ll need with you. The seat of the bib unzips so it’s easy to get the pants on and off or just take care of business. Go forth, slay pow and stay dry in this quality combo.– Freeskier Magazine

SKI JACKET:  2015 Armada Stealth Jacket

AWARD:  Powder Magazine Skier’s Choice Award

– Powder Magazine doesn’t rank their awarded ski jackets.  We chose the 2015 Armada Stealth Jacket from their 18 ski jackets given the Skier’s Choice Award because it’s strong, clean, and simple  

Pick up the Armada Stealth Jacket  at evo.com:  2015 Armada Stealth Jacket

• Face Fabric:  75D Polyester micro-rip, 80D Nylon plain weave (Red colorway)
• Membrane:  GORE-TEX® Waterproof Breathable Membrane – 28,000mm / 20,000g
• Lining Material:  Bronze camo mesh

What Powder Magazine had to say about the 2015 Armada Stealth Jacket:

Clean lines, simple design, roomy (not baggy fit), the two-layer Stealth, featuring Gore-Tex, fits the bill for a versatile resort-oriented jacket.  Fixed hood, waterproof zips, roomy wrist gaiters.  Pit zips are short in length; zippers are hard to use while wearing gloves. – Powder Magazine