We’ve arrived on-site at British Columbia’s world-famous Retallack Lodge for the second annual FREESKIER Apparel Test. Fourteen of the top outerwear brands in skiing have joined us to put next year’s best threads to the test over four days of cat-skiing. This week we’ll be testing kits from Backcountry, Elevenate, The North Face, Forward Apparel, Oakley, Dakine, Strafe, Picture Organic Clothing, Columbia, Eddie Bauer, Spyder, Mammut, Flylow and 686. The kits that rise above the rest will be featured in our annual Buyer’s Guide, hitting newsstands this September.

Over the next four days we’ll be skiing from sun up to sun down, keeping close tabs on each piece of apparel’s performance when it comes to waterproofing, breathability, durability, fit, pocket placement, venting and much more. Be sure to follow FREESKIER this week for more action from Retallack.