So, I have a Couloir ski jacket from several years ago. It has many
features: It has oodles of pockets. It covers my butt and has a powder
skirt. It fits. It's comfy. It looks good. It's warm. For Maine and
A-Basin, it's great.

Did I mention it's warm? God, is it warm. Toasty. Roasting. This
weekend, which was sunny with highs in the mid-30s and no wind, I
stripped down to just a synth thermal shirt, foregoing the usual
turtleneck, and I was *still* sweating by the first few turns.
(Granted, it was a mogul run, and some of that sweat was certainly from
fear.) It finally occurs to me that I can't strip much farther than
that without peeling off layers of skin.

This problem is pretty new to me, as my life is spent seeking out extra
layers, blankets, and hot beverages to keep myself from freezing. I'm
practically cold-blooded; that is to say, my circulation doesn't
circulate very well.

Anyhoo. My s.o. gave me a $100 REI gift certificate for Christmas, and
he recently suggested that maybe I should hunt down a lightweight shell
for spring conditions. Something wind- and waterproof with no liner
whatsoever. Being soaked in sweat on the lift is just no fun.

Off I go ...

So, apparently, lightweight stuff is just as expensive as heavy stuff.
Furthermore, lightweight stuff does not tend to have much in the way of
pockets. Women's lightweight stuff appears to be designed without any
thought to fitting layers underneath, not to mention the truly butt-ugly
shades of grey and beige that seem to be preferred. Men's lightweight
stuff is much roomier, except in the hips, which makes it difficult to
zip up.

I finally settled on this:

http://tinyurl.com/2qk6z

(REI Ultra Light Jacket, Women's XL)

$125. One breast pocket and two huge hand-level pockets, but no inside
pockets or arm pockets. It comes down far enough over my snow pants
that I'm not worried about wind sneaking in the sides. The hood is
removeable, and will certainly be removed, as it won't fit over my
helmet, anyway. It has *huge* pit vents; more like full arm and side
vents.

It sure seems like a lot of money, but there were much more expensive
options, and anyway, I could use this both as a generic rain jacket and
as a cycling layer (neither of which I currently own).

The question: does anyone have experience with this or similar styles of
jackets being used for skiing? Could anyone share their advice,
alternate suggestions, etc?

Sorry for the great american novel.

--
monique