Dakine Sawtooth Jacket and Stoker Bibs

Dakine Sawtooth Jacket and Stoker Bib

Sawtooth Jacket

Size Tested: Large

Blister’s Measured Weight: 820 grams

Blister’s Measured Front Zipper Length: 89 cm

Material: GORE-TEX® 3L Polyester Plain Weave

Stated Features:

• 2 Year Limited Warranty
• 2-Way adjustable hood
• YKK® AquaGuard water resistant zippers
• 2-Way center front zipper
• Wrist gaiters
• Media compatible chest pocket

Pockets:

• Zippered RF pocket on sleeve
• 2 interior drop-in goggle pockets
• Exterior zipped chest media pocket
• 2 handwarmer / skin pockets

MSRP: $450

Stoker Bib

Size Tested: Large

Blister’s Measured Weight: 857 grams

Material: GORE-TEX® 3L Polyester Plain Weave

Stated Features:

• 2 Year Limited Warranty
• YKK® AquaGuard water resistant zippers
• Mesh-lined inner leg vents
• Reinforced hems + Scuff Guard
• Stretch back panel
• Zip lower fly access

Pockets:

• 2 zippered hand pockets
• 2 zippered cargo pockets
• 1 zippered wallet pocket
• 1 zippered beacon pocket
• 2 zippered chest pockets
• 1 snap chest pocket

MSRP: $420

Reviewer: 6’0”, 175 lbs

Days Tested: 8

Test Locations: Grand Targhee & Teton Pass, WY

Intro

While Dakine is probably best known for their backpacks, they’ve been making outerwear for a while now, and it’s appeared on the likes of Chris Benchetler, Eric Pollard, Karl Fostvedt, and more. The Sawtooth Jacket and Stoker Bib combo is their top-of-the-line Gore-Tex option, and Dakine says they’re “built for winter’s worst weather.” I’ve been doing some early-season touring in the Sawtooth / Stoker combo, and they’ve quickly become one of my favorite 50 / 50 outerwear kits, competing favorably with the Armada Sherwin / Crest combo I reviewed last year.

Fit

Dakine calls the fit of both the Sawtooth and Stoker “tailored.” That’s really not the word I would use, unless we’re talking about someone with the body type of Hagrid. A list of words that might describe this fit better would include: generous, long, loose without being overly baggy, freeride, etc. But no, not tailored.

All that to say, personally, I absolutely love the fit of the Sawtooth and Stoker. It’s long and generous enough that it masks the flailing of my body and keeps snow out very effectively, all without being so baggy that I’m tripping over myself, or feel like a wannabe park rat during apres.

I wear a Large in just about everything, and the Large Sawtooth Jacket’s fit is similar to the Large Armada Sherwin, but a bit longer in the front and the sleeves.

The Stoker Bibs feel bigger than other Large pants I’ve been in, but I think that’s just because there’s a lot more material up top, and without a belt the waist feels larger. If I don’t cinch the straps of the bib up, I get a bit of a saggy crotch that can impede kick turns, but if I tighten the straps up a little the Stoker Bibs fit just like any other baggy inbounds pant.

To offer some comparisons, the fit of the Sawtooth and Stoker is much longer and baggier than Patagonia’s “Regular” fit, and is a touch bigger than Armada’s “moderate tailored fit.” I’m a tall, skinny guy who loves long, baggy outerwear, so I get along very well with the Sawtooth and Stoker, but if you prefer shorter and / or slimmer outerwear, you may want to look elsewhere.

Materials

The main material used on the Sawtooth and Stoker is pretty simple: standard 3L Gore-Tex with a tricot backer. In this case, simple is great. We’ve talked a lot about Gore-Tex in the past, and you can check out our Outerwear 101 and 201 articles if you want more info, but for this review, I’ll just say that it’s a great choice for inbounds and 50/50 outerwear. It’s reliably waterproof, reasonably breathable, fairly packable, and plenty durable.

While the Stoker and Sawtooth’s Gore-Tex fabric is not as quiet or soft as the Gore-Tex C-Knit used on the Armada Sherwin and Crest, it’s not too loud or crinkly, and I barely notice the difference during use. I haven’t had any issues with the DWR or membrane wetting out yet, but I’ll report back here if I do.

Jacket Pockets

The Sawtooth Jacket has a pretty comprehensive pocket layout. I appreciate the RFID pass pocket on the sleeve, and I’m a huge fan of the zippered external media pocket. I really prefer this to an internal media pocket since I can access my phone without opening my jacket, but the headphone port still lets me run wires inside the jacket. The handwarmer pockets are large and unlined, which means they work well for skins too. They fit a pair of 110 mm x 189 cm skins just fine, but I don’t think they’d fit skins much larger than that. However, since the pockets are unlined, they don’t do much good when you’re just trying to warm up you hands, as is the case with most shells.

Bib Pockets

These bibs have a lot of pockets, and after a few days in them, I’ve found myself wishing that every pair of pants was this well-equipped. The hand pockets are big (you could fit smaller skins in there if you wanted) and the right hand pocket has an internal beacon pocket with a long leash.

The cargo pockets below the hand pockets have a snap and zipper closure. I firmly believe that every ski pant should have at least one cargo pocket like this. When touring, I find that these kind of cargo pockets are the perfect place to stash gloves, a hat, or facemask when I overheat on the skin track since it’s accessible while skinning with no need to stop. The rear zippered pocket is a nice touch, but I don’t anticipate using it much.

I really like the zippered chest pockets on the bib. They fit my wallet, phone, and some snacks perfectly, and they’re easily accessible, even with a pack. I don’t like having my wallet and phone in my jacket when touring since, if I take off the jacket to skin, they’re inaccessible, but with this bib they’re always right there, and unlike some bibs that only have snap closures on this type of pocket, the Stoker’s zippers make sure things stay secure.

Vents

I’m a big fan of the Sawtooth Jacket’s 12”-long diagonal vents. They’ve got a storm flap to keep wind and snow from entering, they’re big enough to actually cool me down, and they’re positioned so that it’s easy to open and close them even with gloves and a pack on. I’d take vents like this over a standard pit vent any day.

The Stoker Bib has two 11.5” inner thigh vents that are similarly easy to open and close. They’re mesh lined, which means they can’t open as wide, but if that’s really an issue for you it’s easy to cut out the mesh. If this was a touring pant I’d wish for some outer thigh vents too, but it’s not, and for inbounds and 50 / 50 skiing the inner vents are totally adequate.

Other Features

The Sawtooth Jacket’s hood has an adjustable cordlock at the back, as well as one at each side of the collar that allow you to dial in the fit to work well with a beanie, or a helmet. They’re not particularly easy to adjust with gloves on, but I don’t often do that anyway.

The Sawtooth Jacket’s sleeves have stretchy wrist gaiters. I really like this feature, but some people don’t, and for those people it would be easy to cut out the gaiters. They are a little more bulky than the gaiters on the Armada Sherwin jacket, but I only notice this when wearing tight-fitting gloves. The jacket’s powder skirt doesn’t zip off, and it has buttons to integrate with the bibs.

The bibs have a double fly system that allows you to relieve yourself without having to zip them all the way down. They also feature reinforced patches around the cuff, and long, stretchy interior ankle gaiters. The back of the upper portion of the bib uses a stretchy material that I’ve found to be very comfortable, even with a heavy pack, and it breathes a little better than the Gore-Tex fabric used throughout the rest of the bibs.

Durability

While I haven’t had many days in this kit yet, it feels sturdy and well made. I’ll report back if I have any issues. Right now, the only thing on my radar is the fact that the reinforced ankle patch on the bibs is not as hefty as some others I’ve used, and I have a tendency to whack my edges on my boots and tear up pants, so we’ll see how they hold up.

Who’s it for?

While I initially thought I would only want to use this kit inbounds due to its generous fit and less breathable materials, I’ve been pleasantly surprised while touring in it. The bibs don’t interfere with my pack, and the jacket’s vents work well and are easily accessible. I really appreciate the generous fit on deeper days — I crash a fair bit, and the longer jacket and full-length bibs keep the snow out of places it shouldn’t be. For that reason, this will be my go-to kit for deeper days both inside, and outside the resort.

On the flip side, this isn’t the most packable or breathable kit, so if those are priorities for you, look elsewhere (the Patagonia Descensionist is a better choice if that’s what you’re looking for). However, for inbounds skiing, and the sort of short tours that involve pillows, cliffs, and booters, I’d highly recommend the Dakine Sawtooth Jacket and Stoker Bib.

Bottom Line

While Dakine may not be known for their technical outerwear, their new Gore-Tex Sawtooth Jacket and Stoker Bibs are both thoughtfully-designed pieces that have performed very well during my time in them. Their combination of a reliably waterproof and fairly breathable Gore-Tex fabric, highly functional pockets and vents, and a more freeride fit is not too common, and they’re a great option for anyone looking for a high-performance, casually-styled outerwear kit that will keep them dry both in-, and out-of-bounds.