Helly Hansen Atlas Infinity Stretch Ski Jacket Review

Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘what’s the nicest ski jacket money can buy?’ If you have, you’re probably the type of person that Helly Hansen is hoping will notice their Atlas Infinity Stretch Jacket. This little number will set you back a pretty penny, but in return you get basically every feature you could want in a jacket coupled with high-performing Primaloft Gold Cross insulation and an environmentally friendly fabric.

Helly Hansen Atlas Infinity Stretch JacketFeatures:

• HELLY TECH® Professional with LIFA INFINITY™ waterproof/breathable membrane
• PrimaLoft® Gold Cross Core insulation
• H2FLOW™ ventilation system for temp regulation
• RECCO® reflector for added safety
• LIFE POCKET+™ and internal device storage
• Helmet-compatible, adjustable hood
• Adjustable powder skirt (stowable)
• Articulated fit with reinforced shoulders and ski-specific pocket layout
• MSRP: $825

They thought of everything:

We always start these reviews with a list of a product’s features. I always trim these down to the highlights, and I tried to do that here: but, holy cow, there’s a lot to talk about. So let’s dive into this fully-featured resort jacket and all of its goodies.

Helly Hansen built this specifically for resort skiers. It’s heavy, insulated and built to last. At the heart of the jacket is the PrimaLoft Gold Cross Core insulation. This is a high-performing synthetic insulation that has been out for a few years with a great track record. PrimaLoft Gold is the pinnacle PrimaLoft insulator, offering an exceptional warmth-to-weight ratio that I’ve enjoyed in several jackets. The CrossCore fuses synthetic fibers with aerogel, and the idea is that there’s more warmth retained with compression. I noticed that my back wasn’t as cold on the chairlift, and I think there’s benefit in contact with cold surfaces.

The other key piece here is the Lifa Infinity fabric, which I just discussed in detail in this review of the Helly Hansen Odin Ultimate Infinity jacket. In brief, this is a solvent-free waterproof/breathable membrane developed in-house by Helly Hansen. As a general rule, I don’t think fabric performance is quite as important for insulated ski jackets. We need it to be waterproof, but if you’re asking for it to keep up with aerobic activity and sweating then you have made the wrong layering choice. The synthetic PrimaLoft Gold Cross Core will breathe better than a down jacket, but not by much.

With that said, I really liked the Atlas Infinity Stretch for climate control purposes. I tend to run hot and love to make lots of tight twisty turns, but I didn’t overheat. My testing days were mostly in the high 20’s and low 30’s with a mix of sun, overcast and precipitation. This is a well insulated jacket, and I’d be comfortable into the teens with just a base layer. Everyone’s heat and cold tolerance is different, but I put this in the ‘warm’ category. The back of the jacket has some subtle venting to help wick moisture, and there are tiny pit zips to dump a little heat. These were hard to open with gloves on.

Some of the features feel really quite extravagant, and I like it. The cuffs have a buttery-soft gauntlet with a thumb hole, making sure you don’t have any drafts around your wrists and forearms. The cuffs are a little bulky, and I sometimes had trouble getting them comfortable either over or under gauntlets. The front left pocket is called their ‘Life Pocket+‘, and it has extra Prima Loft Gold Cross Core insulation to keep your phone warmer and the battery lasting longer. I also loved the built-in phone leash that might save your expensive smartphone from flying off the chairlift.

There’s plenty of storage in the Atlas Infinity Stretch. There are two big front hand pockets, as well as the two chest pockets one of which has a goggle wipe. The inside of the jacket has a zippered security pocket too. I really like the main zipper on this jacket, which is super beefy. I expect it to last for many years of hard use. Everything else is here, too: RECCO, powder skirt, removable hood. This jacket has every imaginable feature.

I really enjoyed skiing in the Atlas Infinity Stretch this season. As you know, it was a rough ski year, and it didn’t make it easy to test winter gear. But I did get to test this in a wide range of conditions, including warm sunny days, cold clear days, and a couple of nasty wet ones. The jacket did really well across a wide range of conditions. What I love it for most, though, is that it’s easy to just pull it on over a base layer and be ready to handle 90% of skiing weather.

Fit: I’m 5’11” and 195 lbs., waring the size large.

Buy Now: Available at EVO.com