Helly Hansen Verglas 3L Jacket Review
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Helly Hansen’s Women’s Verglas 3L Jacket features top notch fabric that provides ultimate weather protection. The Verglas 3L feautres HH’s Helly Tech R O2 that comes with the highest waterproof and breathability rankings; with 20,000m waterproofness and 20,000g breathability. You get all of this weather protection in a super light-compact package that can be easily stuffed in a pack without taking up space or increasing your load: the Verglas 3L weighs about 520 grams, or 1lb 2 oz.
The Verglas 3L does not disappoint when it comes to features. This jacket has extra long pit zips, two small chest pockets that are easy to access even with a sternum pack strap, and two super sized hip pockets for snacks-extra gloves-etc. All of the zippers are 100% waterproof and have yet to disappoint. There are small polymer reinforcement prints, or extra reinforcement at the areas of greatest stress on the jacket; over the shoulders and along the hips, which will help with the longevity of the jacket in high pressure areas that come in constant contact with your pack. Okay, so that may seem like a lot of features for a shell, but there is more; the Verglas 3L has a removable snow skirt that has definitely come in handy this season. Colorado has been getting some decent early season snow, and the snow/powder skirt has come in handy already. If you are not a fan of the snow skirt, it is easy to remove and the bottom hem can easily be cinched down with one hand.
I really wanted to love this jacket, but unfortunately this jacket just was not made for my body. I have studied the size guide and it makes me a bit confused because my measurements fit mostly into a size small, however I tested a size medium and was surprised to find that the arms were way to short for me. No matter how I work my gloves/mitts, even a pair with a high gauntlet cuff, I seem to have some flesh showing at the wrist! The body fits great, I have plenty of room to layer up underneath and the jacket hits well below the hip. In addition, I was a little bummed that I cannot fully zip up the hood over my ski helmet; it fits great over a climbing or cycling helmet, but I was really hoping that I would be able to seal out the elements when skiing alpine. When zipping the jacket up all the way, sans helmet, your face is truly protected due to the high collar and you can adjust the hood with a single pull; which is a great feature when you have trekking poles, dog leashes, etc to worry about.
Overall, the Verglas 3L is one bomber jacket. My only complaint is the fit, perhaps a re-working of the size guide is in order or maybe I just need to jump up another size for the extra arm length. For more information on the Verglas 3L Jacket and other HH gear, please visit www.hellyhansen.com or www.amazon.com/hellyhansen.
