Obermeyer Kennedy Jacket Review
Active Gear Review is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
If you are looking for a jacket that has all the bells and whistles needed for a full day at the resort, look no further. Obermeyer’s Kennedy jacket is packed full of features, including the RECCO Avalanche Rescue Reflectors to assist on mountain rescuers equipped with the RECCO rescue system track you down if something happens when skiing in bounds. The availability of the RECCO system varies from resort to resort, check www.recco.com for added information.
The Kennedy Jacket is definitely an in-bounds kind of jacket that demonstrates Obermeyers’ ability to think of everything that you may want in a jacket. For starters, there is a left wrist zippered pocket to place your season pass in for resorts that use RF ID, or radio frequency identification. Vail Resorts switched to this mode of pass scanning a few years back and it is great because you don’t have your pass flapping around and there is decreased chance of loosing it. If you don’t want to use the wrist pocket, no worries there is are 3 other zippered pockets on the outside and two additional pockets on the inside, one with a zip and the other without. The internal pockets feature super soft-spandex material that can be used to safely stow your electronic goods. There is a detachable goggle cloth in the front chest pocket, a key holder in the front right hip pocket, and a D ring in the front left hip pocket. Speaking of zippers, the Kennedy has fully waterproof zippers and these plastic pull ties added to the zipper which makes zipping and unzipping a cinch even when you are wearing a pair of mitts with liners.
What I really liked about the Kennedy was the Lycra wrist warmer with thumb loops, which eliminates the gap you sometimes get with the wrist cuffs of a jacket and your gloves. The cuffs are adjustable and go over most of my gauntlet style gloves/mitts. The Kennedy also shines in the fit department; it packs a lot of weather protection in a streamlined package without a lot of bulk. Like all women’s jackets by Obermeyer, sizing gets a bit more specific thanks to their sizing system of 2-16. Per the sizing guide I should wear a size 8, which is the size I tested; I feel that it was a perfect fit. On colder days I can throw a mid-weight fleece underneath. However, on most ski days with temps in the teens on up, I am perfectly cozy with only my base layer and lightweight ¾ zip underneath thanks to the Kennedy’s Thinsulate insulation. If you do start to over heat, there are underarm zips; they are not the full zip variety that are seen in shells designed for backcountry use, but they definitely do the trick. The Kennedy features a removable hood that does fit over my ski helmet. The inside of the collar is super soft thanks to some added fleece and has a good fit to seal out the elements, without feeling overly constricting, which I love. Did I mention it also has an adjustable snow skirt? Wow, the list of features goes on and on:)
The Kennedy Jacket retails for about $385 and definitely is worth a glance if you seek a jacket that is packed with features and plenty of warmth. If you need a lot of color options, Obermeyer offers the Kennedy in 9 fun colors!
For more info on the Obermeyer Kennedy Jacket, visit www.rei.com or www.amazon.com/obermeyer.
