A zipper here, a tab there ... most of these little things fly under the radar. But sometimes it’s those tiny little details that make a huge difference. Like saving your life – by keeping your avalanche beacon safe and secure – or just a small clip keeping you from losing your keys in a snowball fight. Here, we present Outdoor Research’s top 10 most underrated features. The little things you didn’t know you totally loved.

1: TorsoFlo™

Simply the best mechanical venting for fully waterproof construction, products with TorsoFlo™ features a hem-to-bicep zipper venting which opens the jacket fully on the sides for ‘poncho-style’ ventilation. Find this feature in our Foray, Aspire, Skyward, Furio, Maximus, Horizon, and Valley jackets.

2: Jacket Stuffs into Pocket

Want to bring an extra layer but don’t have the space? We have an entire collection of jackets that stuff into their own pocket, making it easy to carry that extra waterproof insurance while remaining ultra compact. The Helium II, Transcendent, and Ferrosi jackets are a few of our most lightweight, compressible, and popular designs. Use the Carabiner Loop to clip them onto your harness, or stow them in your Internal Stuff Pocket.

3: Removable Powder Skirt with LockDown™ Technology

Sometimes that snow-shielding skirt is absolutely necessary, and sometimes it’s extra weight and bulk. Our removable skirts come with something extra special: LockDown™ technology. Located inside of hem of your White Room, Igneo, or Stormbound jacket, these lockdown tabs secure directly onto your pant belt loops to ensure your powder skirt doesn’t drift up when you’re getting down the mountain.

4: Internal Stretch Gaiter with PowerStrap Slot

Much like the LockDown™ technology in our powder skirts, the inner gaiters of our White Room, Skyward, and Igneo ski pants can be kept secure by running the power strap of a ski boot through a slot in the gaiter. This also allows the ski boot to be tightened without having to pull the gaiter up over the ski boot.

5: Internal Stuff Pocket

Perhaps the most useful feature a jacket can have after a hood – these large, stretch mesh inner pockets are perfect for storing essential items and keeping them warm. Thaw out frozen gear, keep wet items from freezing, stash your hat and gloves when you’re moving fast, or make sure that Clif bar doesn’t turn into a tooth-chipping brick. Find these in our Floodlight, Skyward, UberLayer, White Room, and Bolin jackets.

6: Glove Carabiner Loop

We’ve added an extra finger loop on our most popular gloves that make it difficult for moisture or falling snow to penetrate the opening, whether you’re out in the field or drying back at home.

7: Avalanche Beacon Pocket

Safely secure your avalanche beacon in the inner beacon pocket, located inside the right hip zip pocket of the Women’s Trailbreaker Pants and the Men’s White Room Pants.

8: Thumb Drive

Over the cuff, under the cuff... through the cuff? The Men’s White Room Jacket features a Velcro wrist closure that cleanly secures to your jacket so your cuff doesn’t ride up.

9: Instep Lace

Post-holing through snow without any gaiters? The Men’s Cirque Pants and Women’s Cirque Pants both feature an inner ankle drawcord that doubles as an instep lace, so your pants (or snow) won’t drift up past your boots.

10: Pocket Key Clip

Carrying keys in the snow is scary business. That’s why we added a pocket leash to our entire Ascendant Collection for extra insurance. In fact, most of our technical jackets have a key clip included in either the chest or side zip pockets. Start exploring Men’s Jackets and Women’s Jackets to see for yourself.

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