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It’s a typical sunny midwinter ski day at Palisades Tahoe. The morning starts out brisk and breezy, and although I began the day with the vents on my Helly Hansen Alpha 4.0 ($485) open for the walk from the parking lot, by the time I’m halfway up the mountain to harvest some fresh morning corduroy, they are sealed shut to keep me warm. I only have a base layer on underneath, but I’m plenty warm despite temps that hover around 20 degrees. As midday approaches, the vents open again, and at lunch, I remove the detachable hood and stash it in a pocket. At 4 pm, as the sun angles lower in the sky, I zip the vents up for the last run of the day and point my skis down the mountain.
While insulated ski jackets present a compelling argument towards simplicity (why deal with layering if you don’t have to?), that simplicity can cut against one of a ski jacket’s most important aspects – versatility. To truly perform out on the mountain, an insulated ski jacket must strike a delicate balance between warmth and breathability.
Bottom Line: From our extensive testing experience, the Helly Hansen Alpha 4.0 provides one of the best balances between warmth and breathability, along with a full suite of resort-ready features, a great fit with a stretchy, reasonably durable shell material, and a competitive price to boot. The cut is fairly trim, and being an insulated design, it’s not quite as versatile as a shell jacket for backcountry use or spring skiing conditions, but if you’re looking for a well-tuned insulation system that will keep you warm when you need and ventilates incredibly well when you don’t, the Alpha 4.0 is a compelling choice.
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Testing the Helly Hansen Alpha 4.0
I spent much of last season skiing in the Helly Hansen Alpha 4.0 ski jacket. Mostly at my home mountain of Palisades Tahoe, it also made appearances at Mammoth Mountain, as well as Solitude and Brighton in the Cottonwoods of Utah. Due to the insulated nature of the jacket, I didn’t get out into the backcountry with it, but after spending plenty of time in it on the resort, as well as using it as a lightweight, comfortable jacket for around-town in Truckee and the greater Tahoe area, I got a pretty complete picture of its strengths and weaknesses.
The Alpha 4.0 is very much a resort-focused jacket — warm, protective, and polished — but it doesn’t feel bulky or overbuilt like some other insulated options. The insulation takes the edge off cold lift rides and early-morning starts, while the clean styling and soft feel make it one of those pieces you don’t mind keeping on long after you’ve clicked out of your skis.
Notable Features
Helly Hansen Alpha 4.0 ($485)
Style: All-around
Weight: 1120g (2 lbs 7.5 oz)
Fit: Trim
Notable Features: Wrist gaiters, removable hood, mesh-lined vents, LifePocket for phone
Pros: Great features, balanced insulation, smart ventilation system
Cons: Not a shell, so runs heavier/warmer, fairly trim fit
Insulation
The Alpha 4.0 uses PrimaLoft Black Eco material for insulation. A solidly performing but cost-effective option compared to more lightweight synthetic insulations (such as PrimaLoft Gold), I found it to provide an excellent balance of warmth for the conditions I tend to ski in. And while the insulation does add some heft and weight to the jacket compared to a shell, it doesn’t feel bulky like some other insulated ski jackets tend to be.
Ventilation
The ventilation system is the low-profile star of the show when it comes to the Alpha 4.0. Dubbed “H2Flow” by Helly Hansen, this system features well-sized, mesh-lined pit zips that work in tandem with two mesh back vents to evacuate hot air when necessary. Mesh-lined pit zips are not usually my favorite as they don’t dump heat as well as fully open designs, but in conjunction with the back vents, plenty of air can move through the jacket as needed, and being mesh-lined means you can keep the vents open while skiing in powder.
Removable Hood
A fun feature on this jacket is the removable hood. While it’s certainly not mission-critical, it can be nice to remove for bluebird ski days when the wind isn’t ripping. I also like how the collar and the hood are two separate pieces of material, which lets the hood lie flatter against my back when I have the hood down, but the collar zipped all the way up.
Wrist Gaiters
Wrist gaiters are a favorite ski jacket feature of mine, being thin undersleeves that help prevent snow from entering your jacket at the wrists. Helly Hansen wrist gaiters are some of my favorites, with rounded, sewn edges that don’t dig into the webbing between your thumb and index finger. Made of a stretchy Lycra, they’re low-profile and fast-drying if they do get wet.
Pockets
The Alpha 4.0 has plentiful, well-placed pockets. Two zippered hand pockets have a cozy fleece lining to warm up frozen digits, and there are also two chest pockets, one of which is what Helly Hansen calls a “LifePocket” lined with AeroGel to keep the cold from killing your phone battery. A forearm ski pass pocket and interior mesh drop-in pocket round out the storage options. There’s no internal media pocket, but with the LifePocket, that’s sort of redundant.
Material and Overall Comfort
The overall comfort is one thing about this jacket that cannot be overstated. A large part of that is due to the slightly stretchy shell material that does a great job of moving with you. The interior fabric lining is also nicely soft to the touch, meaning this is a jacket you can wear with just a t-shirt on, and not have that clammy shell material feeling against your skin. Durability-wise, I’d place the shell material solidly in the middle of the pack. It’s not bombproof like the material you get in, for example, the Flylow Quantum Pro ski jacket, but it feels very robust, and the stretch gives it some tear-resistance to boot.
Drawbacks
Trim Fit and Short Length
The main drawback I’ve experienced with this jacket is the fit. I tend to wear a size medium for ski jackets, which is what I went for here, and there’s no doubt that it’s the correct size for me. That said, I prefer a ski jacket that has a bit more of a roomy fit – for layering, yes, which is a bit redundant here with the insulated design, but also from a style perspective. I’m not looking for a super-baggy freestyle fit a la Henrik Harlaut, but something with a bit more room to move fits my vibe better than the trim “euro-inspired” fit of the Alpha 4.0. The jacket also has a relatively short length compared to other ski jackets I’ve been testing, and while it does have a snow-skirt, those looking for a bit more material coverage that extends past the waist should look at other jacket options.
Insulated Design
As I’ve hinted at elsewhere in the review, insulated jackets are simply, by nature, less versatile than shell jackets. The Alpha 4.0 is one of the most versatile insulated jackets I’ve tested, but it still doesn’t perform quite as well as most shells in warmer conditions or high-output activities. As such, I would not recommend this jacket for backcountry skiers, and even if you are someone who often hikes inbounds to find fresh tracks, or explores the side country, a shell jacket and insulating mid-layer is likely your best bet.
The Competition
Patagonia Storm Shift
The Patagonia Storm Shift is another insulated/semi-insulated ski jacket that delivers on warmth and versatility, and is available in two different configurations. The “uninsulated” Storm Shift has a cozy fleece lining that adds a surprising amount of warmth — certainly not as warm as the insulation of the Alpha 4.0, but compared to a pure shell, it’s quite noticeable.
The Insulated Storm Shift instead makes use of Thermogreen recycled polyester insulation for a heftier dose of warmth, and as such, runs a bit warmer than the Alpha 4.0. For a jacket with a bit more all-season applicability, that will require extra insulation on colder days, the uninsulated Storm Shift is a great choice. If you ski somewhere that rarely sees temps over 20 degrees Fahrenheit, the insulated Storm Shift could be a better choice for layering-free grab-and-go simplicity. For more options, see our Best Ski Jackets review.
Final Thoughts
Overall, there’s a lot to love about the Helly Hansen Alpha 4.0, and not much to complain about. The combination of well-tuned insulation and innovative ventilation gives this jacket a much wider temperature range than most insulated ski jackets, making it incredibly versatile. A slew of smart features (such as wrist gaiter, pockets, and a removable hood) and stretchy, waterproof material give the jacket a premium feel that is belied by the $485 price tag. The trim fit won’t be for everyone, but for those who don’t mind or perhaps even prefer that close-to-the-body feel, the jacket’s smart balance between warmth and ventilation will have them at just the right temperature from first chair to last lap, with the simplicity of an insulated design.
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Related: Best Ski Jackets | Best Ski Bibs | More Ski and Snowboard Gear Reviews
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