Technical Gear : Winter Jacket -

Quick note : today I’m rattling on about a product that I love (for good reason). It’s not a paid or perked post. Just a post from one mom to another – if you have kids and spend many winter days outside, buy this jacket.

I’m a little bit obsessed with my new winter jacket. (Sarah’s probably snort- laughing right now as she reads that; “a little bit” would be the understatement of the season.)

I tried to talk her into buying one of these for her last Nepal trek, and it was so obvious that I really wanted one for myself. Picking up on my ~~hints~~ overt gushing, I received this awesome gift for Christmas!

What it is? It’s the LOKI Mountain Extreme Hoodie.

My obsession is due mainly to the built-in mittens. Now that I’m always adventuring with kids, I find that no matter what gloves I’m wearing, I have to take them off multiple times during an outing to help the little guys with something or other. I’m always worried that I’m going to lose a glove during these moments and the last thing that I want is the trouble of having to go back and hunt for the crucial item.

Enter LOKI apparel: it’s made to simplify our gear needs. The jackets and hoodies have built-in mittens and face masks. Now I can walk out the door with just my coat and not worry about the losing anything. LOKI also sells a puffer that looks great, and I’m intrigued by the lighter weight zip-up (it could be perfect for spring and fall hikes in the mountains!).

I’ve skied, hiked, and sledded in this coat. It’s so cozy, and the fit has been great whether the gloves and face mask are on or off. Honestly, it’s the best active “mom” jacket around. Now I can adjust goggles on the lift without worrying about losing my gloves. And since that’s my biggest worry, I’m one lucky bum.

The only little change I made to my jacket was to add some conductive thread to make them touch-screen compatible for the moments when I want to take a quick phone pic without removing the mittens. You can see the thread in the photo below – I used quite a bit to make sure that I had a good connection between my finger and phone. I wasn’t ready to sew into that brand new thumb material yet, but I’m testing it out this weekend on a ski trip – if I like it, then I may go back and clean up my sewing job to make something that’s more refined.