Wearing the Formula Sync Jacket
For those of you who dont know, Eastern Mountain Sports is a retail chain that spans most of the North Eastern United States. EMS as they are also known as specializes in adventure sports equipment ranging from Rock Climbing and Kayaking to Mountain Biking and beyond. They also carry there own line of Clothing and equipment available at there stores and on the website.
For quite some time I have desired a jacket for my outdoor endeavors that was light weight and thin enough to pack, and layer under, but have solid wind stopping power. the problem was that most of the quality jackets in this realm were quite expensive, and considering my track record with ruining clothing I decided I wanted something versatile but cheap. One evening when I was in the North Conway EMS location I happened upon The EMS Formula Sync Jacket. at first look I was impressed with the look of the jacket as well as the 120 dollar price tag.
Asthetics
This jacket has your general winter soft shell, Two Tone color scheme, draw string billed hood, with two hand warmer pockets and zippered breast pocket. I personally was immediately drawn to the Pesto/Granite colored jacket, but is also available in Estate Blue/Granite and Granite/Black.
Functionality
My first use of this jacket was quite a trying test. I had picked this jacket up the night before I climbed Mount Washington, and I figured the high winds common to this mountain would be a fitting test.
Internal Stash Pocket
One of the features I immediately found useful was the under arm zips, they quickly helped cool me down after a bit of trekking. when I started for the day I had a fleece vest and fleece pullover on, but quickly found myself removing them and just wearing my base layer and the jacket which provided ample warmth.
The wind stopping capabilities of this jacket were clearly evident on the ever windy mountain summit. The wind was easily 30 – 40 miles an hour and only felt a mild drop in temperature. the hood also played a major roll in this by keeping tight around my head, though at times the bill slightly obscured my vision. the back of the hood also draws tight for use with a helmet.
I found the internal pocket extremely useful for storing my phone, It kept the phone close to my body to help keep it warm allowing better battery life. another nice internal feature of this jacket is the powder skirt which was adjustable to two sizes and helped keep the snow out of my shirt during a few sit down glissades I made during descent.
One other notable feature of this jacket is the Sync System. this is a 3 point system that allows you to snap in other Sync branded warm layers for those extra cold adventures.
Powder Skirt
The only gripe I had with this jacket at first was the zippers which seem to not want to zip without effort, but after a few uses they have seemed to get better.
Final Thoughts
While this jacket is officially intended for skiing and boarding, I have found this jacket extremely worthy of other winter activities. Like I mentioned, I used this for a Mountaineering outing on Mount Washington, and it was highly adequate. I have also used this on several other winter hikes. If you find yourself In an EMS location I highly recommend checking out this jacket.
More Info available at WWW.EMS.COM
