Mountain Hardwear BoundarySeeker Jacket and Pants

These shells are made from 40D Polartec NeoShell nylon: a promising new material that is advertised as the most breathable waterproof fabric yet. This material is resistant to abrasion and stretchy, thus enhancing durability, versatility, and performance. Polartec NeoShell requires a lower internal pressure to release excess heat through the fabric membrane ensuring superior wicking capabilities. Dynamic air exchange at the surface of the garment means that excess heat and water vapour can escape the material while moisture beads and rolls off the exterior. The manufacturers also state that this material blocks 99.9% of wind.

The jacket features three-way adjustability and is large enough to be worn over a helmet. A soft collar ensures the neck stays protected even when the hood is down. The Cohæsive Embedded Cord Locks allow for simultaneous or individual adjustment across both the brim and the periphery of the hood from either side. Two press studs at the back of the hood create the 3rd dimension of adjustability. The hem at the waist also features the embedded, low profile cord lock adjustability. 

 The hem at the waist also features the embedded, low profile cord lock adjustability. 

Extra long pit zips are equipped with 2 zippers allowing maximum ventilation as well as extra adjustability.

The jacket has long zippers on each side of the chest that create quick access to the inner drop pockets and zippered media pocket. The more visible zipper on the chest is an exterior pocket. Want more pockets? No need to ask; two zippered hand warmer pockets at the waist and a dual pocket on the sleeve bring the total pocket tally to 8. Scratch that, there’s an extra drop pocket on the outside of the interior media pocket bringing the number of pockets up to 9. Good luck finding your ski pass. 

The final touch on the BoundarySeeker Jacket is the removable powder skirt. A powder skirt is a fairly simple yet crucial fixture to a ski/snowboard jacket. One of the advantages of this skirt is that if one were to choose to remove the skirt, the jacket can be integrated with a compatible pair of pants with the same zipper. And what better pair of pants to zip into than the BoundarySeeker Pant.

In order to integrate the BoundarySeeker pant to the jacket, one must simply remove the suspenders (and the snow skirt) and then zip into the jacket with the same zipper. If integration is not desirable, or not possible in the case of a non-compatible jacket, the decision to rock the suspenders is up to you! The pants feature velcro waist adjustment as well as belt loops, so how you keep your pants up is up to you.

The pants have articulated knees to ensure comfort and style are maintained, and long vents on the outer thigh provide all the ventilation one could want. Dual zippers on the venting give the option to adjust the vents as much or as little as you would like. The bottom of the pants on the heel side are finished with durable ripstop material on the heel to increase the longevity of your gear.

Unlike the BoundarySeeker Jacket, the pants only have two pockets. What they lack in number, they make up for in size; The pockets are massive and each feature a small mesh pocket on the inside for your transceiver. 

The integrated gators feature velcro openings that can be sealed with a press.

Finally, both the jacket and pant are equipped with RECCO avalanche rescue reflectors.
 

Fabric accent: 40D Polartec® NeoShell® Ripstop
Fabric Body: 40DPolartec® Neoshell® Stretch Plain Weave (100% nylon)

Mountain Hardwear BoundarySeeker Jacket

• Helmet compatible hood with Cohæsive™ Embedded Cord Lock adjustability
• Extra long pit zips with dual zipper adjustability
• Removable powder skirt with pant integration option 
• A total of 9 pockets, 6 of which are zippered
• RECCO® avalanche rescue reflector
• Seam-sealed 3L construction with Polartec® NeoShell®

Mountain Hardwear BoundarySeeker Pants

• Articulated knee
• Removable suspender with jacket integration option
• Adjustable waist
• 2 large zippered pockets with internal mesh pocket
• Long vents on outer thigh with 2 zippers for adjustability
• RECCO® avalanche rescue reflector

Polartec NeoShell is very promising material. This fabric is very thin and super light but still lives up to its claims of weather proofing. It’s so thin that the backing of the zipper housing are actually visible up close, so one could argue a loss of style points in that regard… but the jacket still looks quite good and the material performs as advertised. While the material is thin, it still feels quite strong and is beefed up with ripstop in high abrasion areas. Another great feature is the stretchiness; this really adds to the athletic performance and is quite rare in a hard shell. Rest assured that you can comfortably squat thrust even in the most inclement of weather.

In my opinion, the only downside to this kit is the pants only have two pockets. If you were to wear both the jacket and pants, the number of pockets in the jacket would make up for it, but I would rather have the pockets spread more evenly. I personally really enjoy having the classic bum pockets, and a pocket lower on the leg is a big plus in my books. All that said, one could make arguments for having fewer pant pockets; if you’re spinning laps on the chairlift, having something in the back pocket could be uncomfortable, and there are also those who find any kind of extra bulk on the legs to be vexing. 

All in all, both the BoundarySeeker Jacket and Pant are a great buy. If you can't commit to a full-on onesie like The North Face Haines Tuxedo, but still like the idea of being sealed up tighter than tupperware, the jacket pant integration option is a great alternative that still leave the option to rock each garment solo. In terms of price, the duo is comparable to other top shelf duos like the Under Armor Nimbus Jacket and Pant, or the Solomon Soul Quest BC GTX Jacket and Pant; a little pricey but you get what you pay for!