Finals week was terrible for me this quarter. Tons of personal issues
coupled with one of the hardest classes I've ever taken had me feeling
destroyed. At the very height of it all, I noticed that a JL suit I had
my eyes on once was back on Ebay. Long story short, I ended up winning
the auction and buying it. One of those "Everything-is-shit-so-I-need-to-feel-better" buys. I came back from my vacation yesterday, and
it was here. Immediately, I put it on (it was 7 am and I was on no sleep cause we
drove from Salt Lake to Seattle overnight). It's amazing. Just amazing.
I guess this is where my review should start. Where to start? Well, its
green. Algae actually. Other than that, its the exact suit that Jon
Olsson wears. I'm about 5'10", and I went for a large, as it was the
only thing available. As size goes, I could probably be happy with a
Medium, but Large fits me just fine. It isnt over the top baggy, but
kinda like the size of my large Orage jacket. Pants are a little more
fitting than my large Oakley Lab Pants, but again, it fits perfectly.
So, the styling. Lets start with the pants. The material thats used for
the black parts (around vents, zippers) is actually some sort of thin
rubber. Very pliant, but also really water resistant. All of the vents
and zippers are taped with it, as mentioned. As for pockets, there are
two side (zippered), two back (zippered), one small magnetically sealed
one on the left thigh, and another small magnetically sealed one near
the back calf of the right leg. As for vents, there are two on either
inside thigh, both zippered and have this cool electric green mesh
inside. And yes, all the zippers have that JL logo, its a cool touch.
Ok, so the jacket. This thing is more than deluxe. Hands: bum gloves
rock, period. The sleeves are also really really big, and have huge
velcro straps to seal them up. I can get my huge Dakine ski gloves
inside them comfortably - I repeat, they're huge. Working up the arms,
there are two more magnetically sealed small pockets on the left arm. I
play with these way too much already, but they're just so damn cool I
cant stop opening and closing them. Augh. Anyways.
The hood on this thing is possibly the most rediculous part of the
package. Its large. Bigger than large. Gigantic. I cant see shit when I
put it on. But it does have a draw at the back for adjustment, so it
can be smaller. Fur: Yes, its fur. Pretty soft and comfy at that too. I
also really like the high collar it has. Inside the jacket, the liner
is a kind of thin layered mesh. Sorta strange, its like a mesh fabric
with all the small holes filled with another type of fabric, so its not
really a mesh, kinda more like a layered... something. Pictures dont do
it justice. Anyways, there are two hidden pockets on the main body, one
inside thats zippered and another you can access from the outside, near
the main zipper. There are also two mesh pockets inside, kinda where
those classic 'inside pockets' go on most suits.
So, now to one of my favorite pieces: the snow skirt mechanism. This
thing rocks. So not only does the jacket have a fully adjustable snow
skirt on it, but it also can link to the pants via a zipper. Nothing
will get through it once its sealed up. Completely bombproof. Its a
little unwieldy at first to zip, but I kinda figured out the trick to
doing it, and can actually zip it up pretty quickly. Its really kinda
overkill, as the powder skirt should keep most of the snow out except
on huge powder days. Last but not least, the top has four vents (thank
god, I always overheat!): two that start above the shoulder and zip
down, and another two running from the armpit to the hip. All have that
cool green mesh lining too.
Hahah, and yes, that is my best 'model' look. I'm absolutely unphotogenic, it took a lot to get those shots where I dont look possessed or something. Call it a curse. And my room usually isn't that messy, I'm moving some furniture around, leftovers from the finals week disaster.
So, closing notes. Uhm, I love this thing. Though I couldnt imagine
spending the $1100 for it up front, if you can find one at a discount,
get it. I bough mine for about the same price as a Helly Hansen suit,
and I like this better than the Logan 5 getup I tried on earlier this
year. I still have yet to ski it, as my knee feels oh-so-fucked right
now, but I'll have more notes once I actually use it next weekend.
After lounging around my house all day in it tho, I'm still impressed
by it.
coupled with one of the hardest classes I've ever taken had me feeling
destroyed. At the very height of it all, I noticed that a JL suit I had
my eyes on once was back on Ebay. Long story short, I ended up winning
the auction and buying it. One of those "Everything-is-shit-so-I-need-to-feel-better" buys. I came back from my vacation yesterday, and
it was here. Immediately, I put it on (it was 7 am and I was on no sleep cause we
drove from Salt Lake to Seattle overnight). It's amazing. Just amazing.
I guess this is where my review should start. Where to start? Well, its
green. Algae actually. Other than that, its the exact suit that Jon
Olsson wears. I'm about 5'10", and I went for a large, as it was the
only thing available. As size goes, I could probably be happy with a
Medium, but Large fits me just fine. It isnt over the top baggy, but
kinda like the size of my large Orage jacket. Pants are a little more
fitting than my large Oakley Lab Pants, but again, it fits perfectly.
So, the styling. Lets start with the pants. The material thats used for
the black parts (around vents, zippers) is actually some sort of thin
rubber. Very pliant, but also really water resistant. All of the vents
and zippers are taped with it, as mentioned. As for pockets, there are
two side (zippered), two back (zippered), one small magnetically sealed
one on the left thigh, and another small magnetically sealed one near
the back calf of the right leg. As for vents, there are two on either
inside thigh, both zippered and have this cool electric green mesh
inside. And yes, all the zippers have that JL logo, its a cool touch.
Ok, so the jacket. This thing is more than deluxe. Hands: bum gloves
rock, period. The sleeves are also really really big, and have huge
velcro straps to seal them up. I can get my huge Dakine ski gloves
inside them comfortably - I repeat, they're huge. Working up the arms,
there are two more magnetically sealed small pockets on the left arm. I
play with these way too much already, but they're just so damn cool I
cant stop opening and closing them. Augh. Anyways.
The hood on this thing is possibly the most rediculous part of the
package. Its large. Bigger than large. Gigantic. I cant see shit when I
put it on. But it does have a draw at the back for adjustment, so it
can be smaller. Fur: Yes, its fur. Pretty soft and comfy at that too. I
also really like the high collar it has. Inside the jacket, the liner
is a kind of thin layered mesh. Sorta strange, its like a mesh fabric
with all the small holes filled with another type of fabric, so its not
really a mesh, kinda more like a layered... something. Pictures dont do
it justice. Anyways, there are two hidden pockets on the main body, one
inside thats zippered and another you can access from the outside, near
the main zipper. There are also two mesh pockets inside, kinda where
those classic 'inside pockets' go on most suits.
So, now to one of my favorite pieces: the snow skirt mechanism. This
thing rocks. So not only does the jacket have a fully adjustable snow
skirt on it, but it also can link to the pants via a zipper. Nothing
will get through it once its sealed up. Completely bombproof. Its a
little unwieldy at first to zip, but I kinda figured out the trick to
doing it, and can actually zip it up pretty quickly. Its really kinda
overkill, as the powder skirt should keep most of the snow out except
on huge powder days. Last but not least, the top has four vents (thank
god, I always overheat!): two that start above the shoulder and zip
down, and another two running from the armpit to the hip. All have that
cool green mesh lining too.
Hahah, and yes, that is my best 'model' look. I'm absolutely unphotogenic, it took a lot to get those shots where I dont look possessed or something. Call it a curse. And my room usually isn't that messy, I'm moving some furniture around, leftovers from the finals week disaster.
So, closing notes. Uhm, I love this thing. Though I couldnt imagine
spending the $1100 for it up front, if you can find one at a discount,
get it. I bough mine for about the same price as a Helly Hansen suit,
and I like this better than the Logan 5 getup I tried on earlier this
year. I still have yet to ski it, as my knee feels oh-so-fucked right
now, but I'll have more notes once I actually use it next weekend.
After lounging around my house all day in it tho, I'm still impressed
by it.
