Yahoo News 9 best kids’ ski jackets for keeping warm both on and off the slopes
Nothing beats the excitement of the first flurry of snow. If you’re a parent, this is often closely followed by a blind panic when you realise your children have out-grown all their cold weather gear and everything in their size is completely sold out.
Get ahead this year and buy their ski jacket before the temperature plummets. Whether they’re a budding snowboarder with a trip abroad planned or just love building snowmen in the park, a ski jacket will keep them snug and dry whenever they encounter the white stuff.
All are designed with clever features to maximise cosiness including serious waterproofing, roomy pockets, taped seams and detachable hoods.
If you’re a family of keen skiers, it’s worth paying particular attention to technical extras including breathability, insulation and snow skirts, while it’s sensible to choose a colour to suit all if an expensive jacket is likely to be passed on to siblings. However, we have also included some more affordable and wearable options that would be just as suited to the school run as the slopes.
How we tested
We asked junior testers between the ages of five and 15 to wear a range of ski jackets and be brutally honest with their feedback. They judged whether each jacket withstood the cold, wind and rain, whether they could move easily in them or felt restricted and – most importantly for older testers – whether they would be seen in public wearing them. We also looked at cost, practicality and whether there were matching ski trousers available in the same range.
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The best kids’ ski jackets for 2021 are:
Best overall – Isbjörn junior carving winter jacket: £145.82, Exxpozed.co.uk
Best coat younger kids will love – Dinoski sparkle the unicorn kids winter coat: £95, Dinoskiwear.com
Best for serious snow – Polarn O. Pyret kids padded waterproof coat: £90, Polarnopyret.co.uk
Best for stand-out prints – Frugi snow and ski jacket: From £70, Welovefrugi.com
Best suits-all style – Lands’ End kids’ squall waterproof insulated jacket: £37.80, Landsend.co.uk
Best British brand – Tog24 savick kids insulated ski jacket: £60, Tog24.com
Best for growing kids – Columbia Sportswear youth alpine diva ski jacket: £115, Columbiasportswear.co.uk
Best for the slopes – Dare 2b kids’ glee waterproof ski jacket blue zebra print: £100, Dare2b.com
Best buy on a budget – Wedze kids’ warm and waterproof ski jacket 500: £39.99, Decathlon.co.uk
Isbjörn junior carving winter jacket
Best: Overall
Rating: 10/10
There’s not much Swedish company Isbjörn don’t know about snowy days. The brand was started in 2005 by two mums looking for clothes to keep their children cosy during icy Stockholm winters and now they make some of the world’s best ski gear for children up to the age of 16.
This jacket has all the technical tricks to keep any child dry, however cold or wet it gets. Breathable and windproof, it has an exceptional 15,000mm waterproof rating – meaning how much pressure is needed to push water through a material – and is made of Taslan, which has twice the durability of polyester. The super-soft 100g/m² (a measure of thickness short for grams per square metre) PrimaLoft padding adds warmth without weight.
Plus, the jacket is also brilliantly packable, folding down into a tiny space to help that stuffed ski trip suitcase. There are two waterproof chest pockets too, a ski pass pocket on the sleeve, a three-point adjustable hood and 100 per cent sealed seams. It’s even machine-washable and has clever cuffs which can extend a further 3cm to squeeze out wear for an extra ski season. It’s a winter win-win.
Buy now £145.82, Exxpozed.co.uk
Dinoski sparkle the unicorn kids winter coat
Best: Coat younger kids will love
Rating: 8/10
Our smallest tester fell head over heels for this coat from the moment it arrived, packed in a matching lilac drawstring bag inside a leopard print box. If you have a unicorn-obsessive in your hands, they will never take it off.
Made from eco-friendly recycled plastic bottles, it’s super-snuggly but not too bulky, so it’s ideal for making an entrance in the school playground. It has 10k waterproofing, aqua-seal zips and taped seams, and is tested and comfortable to a bone-chilling -20C. The buttons and zips are all really easy for little hands to tackle and we loved the detachable lined hood.
It’s available for ages one to eight, with the real draw for any tot being the distinctive ears, unicorn horn and wings attached to the jacket, which will have them begging to wear this even when spring comes. There’s also a beanie hat, puddle suit, snowsuit and a swimsuit in the same range, which all come in a green dinosaur version (£95, Dinoskiwear.com) too.
Buy now £95.00, Dinoskiwear.com
Polarn O. Pyret kids padded waterproof coat
Best: For serious snow
Rating: 8/10
Swedish brand Polarn O. Pyret has been making organic children’s clothes for over 45 years, and knows a thing or two about harsh winters. So, there’s no chance of feeling the chill in this wonderfully warm coat.
This hard-wearing, water-repellent jacket is designed to withstand even the harshest weather conditions. It is wind and snow proof with an excellent 12,000mm waterproof-rating, but it’s also surprisingly breathable, with lightweight PrimaLoft insulation and one of the softest fleece linings we tested.
Available in navy, pink and green with reflective details, it has an adjustable bottom hem and snow skirt to stay snug, pre-shaped sleeves for freedom of movement, zippered fleece-lined pockets and a thumbhole in the cuff, which our tester loved. The detachable hood was one of the best we tested too, with a chin guard to stop rubbing on the chin and cheeks and a storm flap to keep out the cold. A great buy all-round.
Buy now £90.00, Polarnopyret.co.uk
Frugi snow & ski jacket: From £70
Best: For stand-out prints
Rating: 7/10
For one jacket that does it all, this one from Cornish brand Frugi is hard to beat. Suitable from ages two to 10 – and available in a fantastic bright blue and pink print from 18 October – the coat is made from recycled plastic bottles and is blissfully snug with a cotton-wool soft fleece lining.
It also has all you need to guard against even the worst weather, with a 4.7 tog rating, a waterproof rating of 8,000HH (a unit describing the pressure needed to push a column of water through a material), fully taped seams and an internal snow skirt. Plus, there are coordinating snow and ski salopettes and mittens for top-to-toe print perfection.
Best of all, it’s just as good if you don’t plan to go anywhere near a mountain but just want to keep out the chills at the local park. It has a detachable hood, and a breathability rating of 5,000MVP (a unit which describes the breathability by testing the amount of water vapour that can pass through a square meter of fabric over 24 hours).
There’s also popper and Velcro fastenings to make it perfect for everyday wear. We especially loved the fact the durable fabric finish is dirt repellent so it will keep looking good all winter. In fact, as the sleeves adjust to grow with your child, they might still manage to wear it next year too.
Buy now £70.00, Welovefrugi.com
Lands’ End kids’ squall waterproof insulated jacket
Best: Suits-all style
Rating: 8/10
We didn’t think it was possible to find a winter jacket our coat averse junior tester would agree to wearing, but this one got the thumbs-up. When we picked ourselves up off the floor, we discovered this was largely due to the fact this Lands’ End jacket doesn’t feel bulky at all, so the wearer doesn’t feel all bundled up. It also comes in passable, don’t-look-at-me, black although it’s available in rose, teal and orange and in a range of sizes for children age two to 14.
Despite its slimline profile, it still has the technical wizardry to defeat the elements, with a waterproof and windproof shell, an antistatic fleece lined hood and body and 150-gram insulated sleeves. It also has snow-guard cuffs with a thumb loop, an adjustable hood with elasticated sides and a dipped back hem. And did we mention it’s machine washable? You’re welcome.
Buy now £37.80, Landsend.co.uk
Tog24 savick kids insulated ski jacket
Best: British brand
Rating: 9/10
Tog24 are a no-nonsense family company from Yorkshire that believes winter wear shouldn’t cost the earth. Practicality is paramount and this smart jacket, available in an unusual camo print or a dark red, has bucketloads of it. Windproof, shower-proof and breathable, it has clever bands of stitching to hold thermal insulation in place, which keeps the heat in without adding bulk. It also has an adjustable hood which can be worn forward around the face or pulled back depending on the weather.
But it’s the added extras designed strictly for the slopes that really make this jacket a great buy. Keen skiers will love the elasticated snow skirt to help them keep dry (even if they end up face planting), the ski pass pocket on the sleeve and the internal mesh pocket for goggles with an attached wipe to keep them clean. Even our teen tester looked impressed.
Buy now £60.00, Tog24.com
Columbia Sportswear youth alpine diva ski jacket
Best: For growing kids
Rating: 8/10
If you hate the thought of forking out cash on dedicated ski-wear you’ll only wear for a week, this jacket from Columbia Sportswear offers an alternative. It comes with adjustable internal sleeves that can extend the length by a further 1.5 inches in case your child shoots up before you make it back to the mountains.
Our tester was surprised by quite how warm this jacket felt too, as it’s certainly not bulky. Instead, it has a waterproof, breathable Omni-Tech exterior that offers incredible protection against wind and seems to simply repel rain. The usual fleece inside is replaced by a thermal Omni-Heat reflective layer too which reflects and retains body heat for maximum lightweight warmth. Our teen also loved the cosy lined pockets for an on-the-go warm up, as well as the fact there was a crucial pocket inside the jacket for a phone.
Buy now £80.50, Columbiasportswear.co.uk
Dare 2b kids’ glee waterproof ski jacket blue zebra print
Best: For the slopes
Rating: 9/10
Though the vivid turquoise and patterned zebra print design on this Dare 2b jacket were a little too bright for our teen to wear to school, this coat would look brilliant on the slopes where different style rules apply. Available for ages two to 14, the jacket is exceptionally waterproof so your child won’t need to head indoors once snow starts falling. Better still, it’s made of breathable recycled Ared 20/20 fabric (a highly waterproof polyester), which means they won’t pour with sweat while all bundled up either.
Taped seams, a cosy fleece back panel, fixed snowskirt and warm inner sleeve cuffs mean it will withstand a full day on the slopes, while the integrated zip pocket will keep their ski pass dry. Our testers loved the fact the label told us this jacket recycled seven 500ml plastic bottles too. And if your child prefers something a little darker, we also rated the same jacket in go-with-anything blue and grey (£100, Dare2b.com).
Buy now £100.00, Dare2b.com
Wedze kids’ warm and waterproof ski jacket 500
Best: Buy on a budget
Rating: 8/10
We were delighted by just how well this jacket held up to bad weather for the fantastic price. With 150 g/m² wadding, the coat kept our tester really cosy, and he especially liked the fact it was a little shorter than some of the other jackets, so didn’t stop him running around.
Its 100 per cent taped seams and 5,000mm-rated waterproof coating held even a bad rain shower at bay yet still didn’t feel steamy inside. There’s a snow skirt that closes automatically with the jacket to keep them snug, while the rip-tab hood stays fastened securely to make this coat a fantastic all-rounder, and excellent value too.
For an even more waterproof option, choose the kids warm and waterproof ski jacket 900 (£64.99, Decathlon.co.uk) which has a superior 8,000 mm-rated membrane and can withstand even the worst downpour. Our teen loved the neon zip, chic colour scheme and stretch built into this coat, which made it comfortable to wear all day.
Buy now £39.99, Decathlon.co.uk
The verdict: Kids’ ski jackets
With its amazingly high waterproof rating, lightweight insulation and extendable cuffs, the Isbjörn junior carving winter jacket is an investment you (and your children) won’t regret. We also rate the feature-packed Tog24 savick kids insulated ski jacket, which will keep your child warm and dry but won’t blow the budget.
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