Is the Marmot Nabu jacket with Polartec Neoshell the holy grail of backcountry skiing jackets? Let’s see… it would have to provide the ultimate in waterproof protection. Check. Then it would have to offer up twice the breathability while still keeping you warm and comfy. Check. It can’t take up too much room in a pack and it would be great if it could provide protection from the wind while not blocking it out completely. Check. Typically all of these requirements are hard to come by in a single layer, or so I thought. Sure, I have owned soft shells that breath well and provide some insulation but they would wet-out easily. I own several hardshell waterproof/breathable jackets that use other membrane technologies that compact down well and keep me super dry when the weather changes, but they can be cold and don’t typically breathe as well as promised. Herein lies the problem of the quest for the one jacket quiver.

Read the rest of the Marmot Nabu review here.