Gear review: The North Face Odyssey jacket

January 19, 12:35 PMSalt Lake City Outdoor Recreation ExaminerJared Hargrave

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Skiing with the Odyssey at Alta. Photo by Dan Kovach

After the tragic, in-bounds avalanche that killed a skier at Snowbird earlier this season, I decided to buy a new ski jacket that has a Recco reflector in it. The Recco reflector is a small device sewn into the sleeve of a jacket that allows the ski patrol to find you with a Recco detector. Although a Recco system is no substitute for an avalanche beacon, it is just one more safety device that increases the chances of surviving an avalanche burial.

After doing some research and comparing prices, I bought the North Face Odyssey soft shell jacket. After using it for three days in different conditions, I decided that the Odyssey is good, but not quite worth the almost $300 price tag. It is very warm, flexible, water resistant, and has the Recco reflector that I've been looking for, but it's still hard to justify the cost.

The first day I took it out was on a cold, windy day at The Canyons. The temperature was 28 degrees with 40 mile-an-hour wind gusts. The Odyssey jacket kept me warm and I never felt the wind except for the zipper on the left sleeve. Wind got in through that zipper where the goggle wipe is stored, but it wasn't a big enough problem for it to be a deal breaker.

Next I wore it at Alta on a 30-degree day with little wind. This time, I got hot and had to remove my mid-layer fleece. The Odyssey jacket is insulated and boy did it get warm when I skied hard on moguls under the Wildcat lift. The rest of the day, with just a capeline shirt underneath, the jacket kept me plenty warm.

The third day I wore it was again at Alta when there was 9 inches of fresh powder. Without having to work too hard and getting sweaty, I stayed cool enough to keep my fleece on, but I did heat up while working my way across traverses.

Overall, it's a nice jacket. It looks good and keeps me plenty warm, almost too warm. The soft shell material kept light snow from soaking in and allowed better freedom of movement than typical hard shell material, but I doubt it would keep me dry when snow is dumping. Also, after my first day wearing it, I realized that I have to figure out a new layering system as the insulation in the jacket is toasty. But if it's a cold, windy day, the North Face Odyssey jacket steps up.