Helly Hansen Verglas Shell: The Best Rain Jacket for Late-Season Ski Touring

Here’s the thing about rain jackets – they used to be a slouchy, awkward piece of gear that you wore because you had to. Because otherwise, your entire day would, or could, be ruined by a sudden downpour, especially if you’re ski touring. Rarely did a shell jacket match an outfit but it would do a fantastic job of making you feel like an oompa-loompa waddling your way down a soggy trail.

Those days, fortunately, are behind us. Case in point: the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell. I acquired this jacket in August and after one use made the decision to retire the tired shell jacket that had been hanging in my closet and around my body for nearly a decade. The jacket actually fit me well in a size small, and its solid black color properly matches the majority of what I now realize is a rather drab touring wardrobe (what can I say, I grew up on punk rock and never escaped the pull of its monochrome fashion.) But what really won me over was the Verglas’ performance. For about $227, the jacket is available in men’s and women’s varieties — and as I found, it’s not only great at keeping its wearer dry on late-season ski tours when rain is in the forecast, it’s a great all-around rain jacket that looks and fits great for just about any outdoor activity where you must battle to stay dry.

Shopping for a new rain jacket? Check out Matador’s detailed rain jacket reviews:

• We Tested Patagonia Rain Jackets in the Real-World and These Are The 6 Best
• Matador Tested: The Best Alternatives to Patagonia Rain Jackets for Every Type of Activity
• Fjällräven HC Hydratic Trail Jacket: Best Rain Jacket for All-Season Sustainability
• Mountain Hardware Premonition Jacket: The Best Ultralight Rain Jacket Alternative to Patagonia
• Kuhl Stretch Voyagr: Best Rain Jacket for Windy Storms

We hope you love the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell! Just so you know, Matador may collect a small commission from the links on this page if you decide to book a stay. Listed prices are accurate as of the time of publication.

Buy Now – Men’s

Buy Now – Women’s

How the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell jacket performs on a wet ski tour

Photo: Tim Wenger

Ski touring equipment has become more specified over the past few years, specifically since Covid sent way more people into the backcountry. I live in western Colorado, and the snow lingers in the high country until early summer – and I tend to keep touring into mid-May, at least. I wore this jacket to my normal zone on the Grand Mesa for a foot-and-then-skin-powered expedition, and ended up wearing it just about the entire time. The thing is, it’s waterproof but isn’t super hot – it’s breathable, so even though I was working hard I never found myself pouring sweat like I have in heavier jackets or even in a fleece during spring. The hood is helmet-compatible, and can also be tucked down nicely when wearing a hat on the ascent, as in the above photo.

It rained a bit on me at the bottom when I was bootpacking, and the jacket performed great. I was dry and able to move quickly into the trees without feeling uncomfortable. As I ascended and the rain turned to heavy slush, I appreciated the slickness of the shell in sliding the moisture off me with alacrity. The jacket has RECCO reflection, making it a good piece of avalanche safety gear (which can also come in handy if you simply get lost on a hike and need rescue).

The jacket is flexible and loose, making it easy to transition at the top of the ascent and get ready to ride down. With heavier ski jackets I rarely wear them on the uphill and never wear them during the transition because they get in my way and slow me down, but that isn’t the case with this jacket. I wore it from trailhead to trailhead, and it’s a dependable piece of gear I use for late-season touring that never comes off at any point during the tour.

How the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell jacket performs on rainy hikes

Good fit and easy to layer underneath. Photo Tim Wenger

Despite what all those social videos of people spraying themselves with a garden hose might have you think, hiking in the rain is the best way to test a rain jacket. You get a feel for how it performs under pressure, while you’re actually in motion, and if all goes well, can do a hike when you otherwise probably wouldn’t have. Fortunately for me? The Helly Hansen jacket arrived just in time for monsoon season in western Colorado. For nearly two weeks straight, it rained every day – an act that is nearly unheard of in the high desert outside of the period of mid-to-late August.

During this time I took the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell on four hikes during various levels of downpour. Throughout all four, the jacket remained comfortable. The first big win I noticed was how my neck and chin remained covered by the Brushed tricot chin guard with the jacket fully zipped up. The hood fit nicely over the hat on my head, and the visor ran the rain right off the top instead of into my face. Even when fully zipped, the front of the jacket wasn’t annoying slapping me in the chin as I walked, which has been an issue with previous rain jackets.

To get more specific, I’ll break down how the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell performed during various stages of a rainy hike.

How the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell performed during a light drizzle

The water rolls right off. Photo: Tim Wenger

I don’t tend to put on a rain jacket until the downpour is sufficient enough that there’s water running off my arms. For the sake of being thorough, I put on the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell preemptively the first hike I took it on because I sensed the rain was coming. The jacket kept me dry, of course, and it was during this jaunt that I began to appreciate that the jacket is relatively short cut at the bottom, fitting more like a shirt than a traditional rain jacket. I was still moving at a quick pace because the trail wasn’t wet enough to slow me down, and the jacket kept up with my haste. The wind picked up but the jacket kept me warm and with it fully zipped even my face felt protected from the blast of wind as I made my way down the trail.

How the Helly Hansen Veglas Shell performs during a torrential downpour

The jacket kept me warm and dry during a very wet hike. Photo: Tim Wenger

Any outdoorspeople who live in the high country can recount at least one time in which they were stuck on the trail during a sudden torrential downpour. This happened the second day I took out the Helly Hansen Verglas Shell. I was about 400 feet above and a mile away from the trailhead when all hell broke loose. Suddenly, pellets of rain were pounding the hood of the jacket at a furious rate, the quietness of my surroundings became infiltrated by the incessant plopping of fat droplets, and after a few minutes the trail itself had morphed into a miniature version of the Nile.

Still, I remained dry and actually quite warm, having the jacket on top of just a t-shirt. The articulated sleeves moved with my arms as I walked, legs on the edge of the dirt straddling the trail, keeping my entire arms and hands dry rather than sliding up and down with each step.

Buy Now – Men’s

Buy Now – Women’s