Best Winter Coats for Extreme Cold, 2026

Six winter coats built for genuinely extreme cold, around -20°F and below: verified specs, fill power, RDS-certified down where it exists, and PFAS-free DWR where brands have made the switch.

Updated 22 min Winter Outerwear
Two people in heavy hooded parkas standing in driving snow beside a snow-buried car during a blizzard.

A US mountain-winter publication for skiers and snowboarders.

The Feed

The Latest

A small white curly-coated dog in a bright orange padded winter coat bounding through snow, ears flying, bare trees behind.
Winter Gear

Best winter jackets for dogs

Six dog coats for genuine cold, sorted by how much of the dog they actually cover.

Winter Gear12 min
A pair of black insulated ski gloves resting fingers-up on ski poles against a snowy backdrop.
Ski Gear

How to wash ski gloves without wrecking them

Leather, synthetic, and GORE-TEX membrane gloves each want a different soap, rinse, and dry.

Ski Gear7 min
A man wearing a headlamp kneeling on a frozen lake at night, jigging a short rod over a drilled ice hole, a lit tent and a thermos beside him.
Snow & Ice

How to use lights in ice fishing

Submersibles, tent lighting, and headlamps, plus the state-by-state legal patchwork that catches anglers out.

Snow & Ice11 min

Gear Guides

A skier in a white Smith helmet and mirrored Smith goggles with a fleece neck gaiter, ski poles behind, on an overcast day.
Skiing

Best women's ski goggles, 2026

What lens tint and VLT actually change on-snow, plus fit notes for smaller faces and glasses-wearers.

Skiing13 min
A snowboarder in a sticker-covered helmet and orange-mirrored goggles with a camo neck gaiter, carrying a green Völkl board across the shoulders, snowy peaks behind.
Snowboarding

Best snowboard goggles, 2026

Cylindrical versus spherical lenses, low-light tints, and the fit that keeps a goggle sealed to a helmet.

Snowboarding14 min
A skier in a red jacket and black backcountry backpack carving through soft snow on a steep open slope, spray kicking up behind.
Skiing

Best backcountry ski backpacks, 2026

Airbag systems, day-tour capacity, and how a pack carries skis, shovel, and probe without fighting you.

Skiing15 min

Deep Reads

A snowboarder sitting back into a turn on a bright day, snow spraying off the edge, seen from behind against an open sky.
Guide

How to learn snowboarding

Why the first day is the hard one, why a lesson beats a friend, and the skill order from sideslip to linked turns.

Snowboarding9 min
 Layering & Care

What to wear under ski pants

Base layers, mid-layers, and the mistakes that leave you cold or clammy under a shell — sorted by temperature.

Layering9 min
A powder-snow avalanche cascading down a steep alpine ridge under blue sky, glaciated peaks above.
Health & Safety

The complete guide to avalanche safety

A field guide to reading terrain, carrying the beacon-shovel-probe triad, and understanding why prevention is the only rescue that reliably works.

Health & Safety18 min