Patagonia 3-in-1 Snowbelle Review

The Patagonia 3-in-1 Snowbelle is a jill-of-all-trades, master-of-none kind of jacket. It performed just okay in all of our metrics, but the updates are an improvement to its style and function over previous models.

Performance Comparison

Weather Resistance

The Snowbelle has decent weather resistance. It uses Patagonia's H2No shell material, used in many of its rain jackets. We suspect that when put to the test, the H2No will not hold up as well as products with Gore-Tex that Patagonia uses in the higher-end products. The hood of this jacket has been majorly improved. It is now huge and will fit over any ski helmet — we're stoked on that!

Comfort and Fit

The Snowbelle is quite comfortable and performed relatively well on the slopes. The H2No material is stiffer and less forgiving than a jacket with stretchy shell materials and so felt slightly more restrictive. This jacket is Patagonia's “relaxed fit,” which we find to be slightly on the larger, baggier side, so if you're debating whether to size up or down, go down.

Warmth

The Snowbelle's inner jacket has 60 grams of synthetic fill insulation, which is on the light side. Nevertheless, because it is two jackets in one, the Snowbelle feels slightly warmer than the amount of insulation it has. We did not notice any drafts coming through the zipper when traveling downhill at speed.

Ventilation

This 3-in-1 jacket has a problem with ventilation common with 3-in-1s. The pit zips only vent the outer jacket, not through the insulation. We do not think the Snowbelle's shell material is very breathable, but the pit zips helped ventilation. The Snowbelle's insulation is synthetic and will breathe slightly or wick away moisture from the inside.

Style

Sometimes 3-in-1 type jackets appear bulkier and less flattering than regular insulated ski jackets. However, the Snowbelle maintains a relatively flattering silhouette. Patagonia's relaxed fit sizing was on the large and bulky side. We like the contrasting inner lining color and think the liner jacket is cute on its own.

The white color we tested this jacket in is a poor choice, and we would never recommend anyone buy a white ski jacket. We shouldn't have bought it in white, we quickly realized. First, because it gets instantly dirty. Chairlifts are known to leak grease on riders, which is exactly what happened on day one of wearing the Snowbelle. Second, you blend into the mountain, which is a safety concern as other riders will have difficulty seeing you. We felt like a floating pair of legs in this jacket. Thankfully Patagonia has updated this jacket's colors this year and no longer offers it in white.

Ski Features

The outer shell jacket of the Snowbelle contains most of its features. It has all the ski-specific features you could hope for, including a powder skirt, pass and goggle pockets, as well as a media pocket with a headphone port. The problem with most 3-in-1 style jackets is that when the inner jacket is zipped into the shell, most of these features become inaccessible. We can solve this problem by just wearing the two jackets as independent layers instead of zipping them together.

The best feature this jacket has is RECCO technology, which usually only comes in higher-end jackets. Our favorite thing about the liner jacket is that it has zippered handwarmer pockets, so we can store things like keys or a wallet in them if we wear just the liner out. There is now one accessible chest pocket in the liner jacket, which is helpful if you want to wear these jackets connected.

Should You Buy the Snowbelle?

The Patagonia 3-in-1 Snowbelle is one of the more expensive 3-in-1 jackets on the market, and we're not sure this jacket is worth the money. It is okay at most things and will keep you dry and comfortable on the slopes. Still, we suspect it will wet out sooner than a higher quality Gore-Tex jacket, and it is not as warmly insulated as something with down or more synthetic insulation.

What Other Women's Ski Jackets Should You Consider?

In most metrics, the Patagonia 3-in-1 Snowbelle scores evenly with the Columbia Whirlibird IV Interchange but costs significantly more. If you're set on a 3-in-1 style jacket, our top choice for performance and value is the The North Face Thermoball Eco Snow Triclimate 3-in-1. But if you plan to buy a jacket at this price point, it is also worth considering a single-layer, insulated jacket like the award-winning Helly Hansen Powderqueen 3.0.