The suit is definately more of a shell. The jacket has little insulation and the pants have a bit more. As far a quality goes, it is top notch. There are no extra pockets that you ask yourself "wtf is this for" and there's lots of vents. I haven't skied in mine yet, but the waterproofing suposedly performs better than advertised and the fabric is really strong. I'm already in love with mine........ no homo