Pockets, Vents, and Hood
The Supernaut’s pockets are ample and well thought out. The two diagonal exterior chest pockets are easily accessible—even when wearing a pack—and are big enough to fit a pair of gloves or goggles. Since they are positioned up on the chest instead of down closer to the hem (like those on most other jackets), heavy items tend to swing around less, and are less noticeable in these pockets.
The interior pockets easily fit a phone and wallet, and the card / season pass pocket on the sleeve is handy if you ski somewhere with RFID ticket checkers.
Since the main exterior pockets are angled and back from the front zipper, there is little overlap between them and the interior pockets. That’s a nice touch, since it means that if you have something in both the outside and inside pockets on one side, they won’t line up and create a huge bulge.
The Supernaut’s pit zips are big and easy to use. They feature two-headed YKK coil zippers which makes them easier to open or close without having to recruit a friend’s help, and they’re big enough to dump heat effectively.
Ski jacket hoods can be a contentious subject, but the Supernaut does a nice job of fitting well over a helmet without being so large that it’s useless when wearing just a hat. It’s easy to cinch down when the weather gets nasty, and it never got in the way of my vision.
Other Features
Some people dislike wrist gaiters in ski shells, but I found the Supernaut’s to be very functional and comfortable. They are thin enough to fit under most gloves (including slim-fitting park gloves), and aren’t unnecessarily tight. In short, they help keep the sleeves in place without adding much weight or complexity to the shell.
The Supernaut also features a removable powder skirt. It works well, though like the rest of the coat, it fits very slim. I personally would remove the powder skirt from the Supernaut since I typically ski in bib pants, and the jacket is long enough that I never ran into issues with snow getting in.
In Use
So far, we’ve skied in the Supernaut for thirteen days, in conditions that covered a broad spectrum: touring on sunny corn snow, huddled on the chairlift in wind-blown sleet, and on one very good blower powder day. Throughout all this, the Supernaut kept me completely dry, and the Gore Pro fabric breathed well. It’s not the most breathable material on the market (see next paragraph) but we found that the Supernaut performed in line with other Gore Pro Shells.
So while I never felt stifled in the Supernaut, I traded it out one day for the Patagonia Reconnaissance Jacket, and immediately noticed the increased breathability. To be clear, the Reconnaissance is a hybrid soft-shell and hard-shell construction, and sacrifices a LOT of water resistance for that added breathability. But if your main objectives are high-output tours in drier areas, then the Supernaut may not be the absolute best option, but still a fine choice.
Weight and Price
The Supernaut weighs in at a svelte 587 grams in a Size Large, compared to 593 grams for the Patagonia PowSlayer (also Gore Pro); 690 grams for the Arc’Teryx Tantalus (Gore Pro hybrid); and 810 grams for the Flylow Lab Coat 2.0 (Polartec NeoShell).
However, at $699 it’s higher priced than the Tantalus ($575) and the Lab Coat 2.0 ($495), and the same price as the Patagonia PowSlayer.
Bottom Line
There is a lot to like about the Sweet Protection Supernaut. Highlights include the easy-to-use pit zips; removable powder skirt; well-designed, functional hood; stretchy wrist gaiters; and its very user-friendly, pack-compatible pocket layout.
For those looking for a slimmer-fitting Gore-Tex Pro shell, the Sweet Protection Supernaut is a compelling choice.
I might be mistaken here, but I’m pretty sure the front zipper is molded, not coil.
You’re right, Bjorn – good catch, and we’ve updated.
Sweet! ;) Nice review, and I can’t wait to try my new Supernaut jacket AND pants, which are on the way in the mail. Will you be doing a review of the pants too?
Seems like you demo’d this in conditions when a softshell would work fine. Since it’s a hardshell though, how about an update in wet conditions?
Hey Shawn,
Although I did do some balmy spring touring in this jacket (and all the pictures in the review were taken on nice days), I also skied several pretty terrible resort days in it, as I mentioned in the review. I dealt with some rain, as well as driving sleet, and the jacket did very well. Of course, that’s what you would expect from a Gore Pro hardshell, so I didn’t go too in depth about the waterproofing since we cover much of that in our Outerwear 101 piece. However, I would have no hesitation using this jacket as an everyday inbounds jacket at home in the Pacific Northwest. Hope that helps!
Thanks!