Angela Hawse, a Marmot Athlete for over ten years, is one of just a handful of women mountain guides in the U.S. to receive full Alpine Guide Certification from the American Mountain Guides Association. It is her latest accomplishment in a career full of highlights in the mountains and outdoors. Learn more about her on marmotpro.com. Your “Queen of Jackets” is back with a review of her favorite new piece of Outerwear: The Women’s Fjell Jacket. The Fjell is, hands down, my new go-to jacket in the quiver for alpine climbing and ski mountaineering. The combination of materials, features and technical details all add up to the most superbly functioning piece of Outerwear I’ve yet to abuse. Gore has revolutionized Gore-Tex® once again with the advent of their Pro Shell 3 layer fabric. They’ve achieved even greater breathability, and what’s a huge step up in performance is the feel and mobility of the fabric. It gives in the right places and stretches with your movement, rather than inhibiting it. Even better, it has lost that slippery, plastic-ness that reminds us of the 80’s. Pro Shell Gore-Tex ® is starting to feel and perform a lot more like soft shell than traditional Gore-Tex®. Gore’s revolutionary new material, coupled with Marmot’s world-class attention to detail, technical features and function have combined to make what I believe to be the best women’s outer layer available. This baby will keep you dry and keep the wind out in the wildest of weather. And you will look good. The palette of colors is awesome. I chose the Lithium, which I’m growing to like more all the time. The fit is designed specifically for a woman and it’s perfect. It’s roomy enough to accommodate plenty of warm layers underneath and it feels good with just a thin base layer as well, in warmer temperatures. The technical features are what I appreciate most. It has all the key components, and none of the bells and whistles to make it look better, or weigh more. Under a harness, the angel-wing design keeps it from pulling out when I reach up for a hold. The pockets are placed perfectly and both outside and inside pockets easily accessed while donning a harness or backpack. The hood works great with a helmet and gives excellent protection for my chin and neck when I’ve got it all zipped up and sinched down. And the super fuzzy chin guard doesn’t chafe. My head can actually move around without the jacket getting pulled out of my harness or the hood impeding my view. The pit-zips are essential for temperature regulation and the flat, waterproof zippers make them next to unnoticeable. Coolest is the removable snow skirt that cuts weight if I’m climbing or skiing in milder conditions, but zips in for those powder days or when you just need to keep the warmth in. This is one of many super innovative features that set this jacket apart from the pack. And in the pack, it doesn’t take up much space but does provides that insurance policy from rogue weather. The cut is trim but functional with the back slightly longer than the front and not too much extra material below the waist. The beveled cut of the sleeves and the tidy new low profile Velcro® closure at the wrist works great with either over or under the cuff gloves. These and all the features above combine to make this jacket feel more like a well fitting and functioning component of a layering system, rather than like wearing a tent over it all. My favorite layers to wear under the Fjell to create a bomber system are the Reyna Softshell Jacket for full-on conditions, or the Flair Jacket on milder days. Check it out and go get out there and use it girl!