Strafe Outerwear Sickbird Hooded Suit - Men's for Sale, Reviews, Deals and Guides

I've only worn this skiing a couple times, so this review is a bit preliminary. So far I'm loving the suit. I was careful to buy a bright color and it gives me a very distinctive and recognizable look on the mountain. The biggest thing to note is that sizing on this more than a whole size off for a normal fit. I'm 5'10" 195 lbs and typically wear XL for loose fit, L for tight/athletic.. I'm usually right between the two. I got a Medium in this and it fits loosely. Loosely enough that sometimes it feels like the crotch falls low enough to constrict leg movement when walking. This must have been designed by people who walk around with pants around their knees. A belt-loop would be a big help here. Second biggest note is that the design and material changed significantly over the past few years. The material changed between eVent to neoshell. detachable suspenders were added, and some of the internal horizontal loops for suspenders were removed (now only the provided suspenders will work). I purchased the neoshell version without detachable suspenders, but I tried the other kind and disliked the detachable suspenders provided. I would rate that version a star less if I had bought it. The provided suspenders are seem designed only to allow wearing the suit half-on/half off to cool off or apres. They do not work well to hold the suit up during actual skiing, the more customary use of suspenders. This is because the attachment points are all in the back of the suit and the suspenders will stress your neck if you tighten them up enough to actually hold the pants up. The placement of attach points in this version also means normal suspenders can not work. The suspender/belt issue is a design fail from my point of view. I hope they change the design to allow a normal belt and suspenders that can hold the suit up higher on the body during active use. I've skied in this at freezing and below and I definitely needed a warm midlayer to keep warm. breathability and windproofing seems good so far. I haven't used it in rain/wet conditions yet so that will be a tougher test. I haven't used it above freezing but I don't anticipate that it will overheat until spring skiing. It's been easy to get into/out of. A crotch zip has made going to the bathroom easy. (only #1 so far.. #2 is going to be more tricky.) I haven't needed the hood yet, but I doubt its big enough to go over a helmet and actually be used skiing. It fits over my helmet but my head can only turn a little bit with it on. I could see walking around with the hood on, but I need my full range of motion for skiing. This is just preliminary but I don't think it's going to work well. This doesn't change my score because I do not typically use a hood. The biggest positive is that this replaces two older articles of clothing and is just simpler. Wearing this gives the feeling of doing more with less stuff. Overall a strong recommend due to distinctive look and functionality/simplicity. But there are a few gotchas on this you should be aware of before purchase. ----- Update - After many more days skiing in this suit I'm still loving it. The Medium (which is about 1.5 sizes down for me normally) works fine for me in most freezing conditions with a light mid insulation layer under it. I can see now that if it's super cold or I'm out for very long time I'd want use a much puffier midlayer (or two) and medium would then get tight. If I bought it again I'd probably get a Large (which is still 1/2 a size down for me normally) Just to cover the case when it's super cold. Suspenders become essential in that case.