The ultimate in Northwest spring jackets

Finding the right jacket for spring in the Northwest can be difficult. You need something that is equally adept at shedding snow as it is in transporting sweat moisture. The jacket should insulate, but not allow you to overheat. It should cut through wind and rain, yet not feel clammy or cold.

We found a couple that seem to rise above the rest in this class. First up comes from a new company based in Boise, Core Concepts. Their Cowboy Pow Full-Zip starts with Polartec's hard-face version of Wind Pro. This high-performance fabric blocks upward of 80 percent of wind that hits it, while the slick outer face lets rain and snow sluice off effortlessly. The inner face feels great on bare skin and pulls sweat away while providing a measure of insulation to keep you warm and dry.We "Cowboy'ed up" in this jacket while skiing on Mount Rainier, paragliding on Tiger Mountain and hiking in the Columbia Basin. We got rained on, snowed on, blasted with gale-force winds and scorched in unseasonable heat. In every situation we stayed dry and comfortable.

The folks at Core cut the Cowboy Pow into a snug, athletic fit, yet it doesn't bind or bunch even when stretching and twisting through telemark turns or climbing moves. I loved the fact that the sleeves were long enough to stay in place down over my wrists even when stretching, though some (shorter) testers had to cuff the sleeves up a bit to prevent them from dropping over their palms. I also loved the broad, tall collar that, when zipped up all the way, kept wind off my neck and snow out of my shirt. The Core Concepts Cowboy Pow carries a suggested retail price of $145. More information: www.corelayers.com.

If you want a bit more protection from more extreme (winter) conditions, consider the Patagonia Ready Mix Jacket. Available in men's and women's sizing, the Ready Mix uses welded seams (rather than stitching) to reduce weight and increase weather-proofness. The proprietary soft-shell material has a hard face treated with a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) finish to ensure you stay dry during rain and snow squalls, while the inner material wicks sweat out and away to keep you dry from the inside out.

This hooded jacket is closer to a parka than a jacket in length and body cut, though the tail of the jacket is a bit too short to really seal out spindrift as a parka does. Our female testers loved the length, though the men (size medium) thought the sleeves were several inches too long.

The Ready Mix offers features ideal for winter as well as shoulder-season use, such as a hood that can be used with or without a helmet, and a spindrift cuff at the hem to seal out billowing snow. The jacket seems perfect for spring skiers and climbers, though perhaps a bit too much for high-aerobic pursuits like snowshoeing or trail running. The Ready Mix runs $199. See www.patagonia.com.