Helly Hansen’s Enigma jacket is not only the most expensive piece of outdoor clothing I’ve ever tested — it retails for $700! — but it also is one of the more feature-loaded and unique. The Norwegian brand is known for building high-end adventure wear and pieces tough enough to be used by guides and professionals who work outdoors. This jacket is no exception.
But beyond quality manufacturing, the jacket is a unique winter creature: It looks and functions like a hard shell jacket, including a waterproof/breathable fabric. But unzip and look inside: Those are pillows of goose down insulation that polka-dot the interior.
In all, Helly includes 15 hexagonal, down-filled pillows scattered throughout the interior. Air fills in between the pillows, Helly touts, adding warmth but also helping with airflow and breathability if you vent the jacket when things heat up. There’s PrimaLoft insulation in the shell, too, making the Enigma one super cozy coat.
But in testing, my best experiences in the jacket were in more active moments. The Enigma lacks the warmth of a full-down puffy, so standing around in the cold is not its best use. It’s tailored to move, and specifically move with a skier who is shredding the white on a high mountain run.
Indeed, this is a ski-specific jacket, and with that you get the many bells and whistles that often accompany jackets of this ilk. There are several stowable or removable features like the hood, powder skirt, and a balaclava. Everything that could be made adjustable is in fact adjustable. Got foggy goggles? Just reach into the chest pocket and use the goggle-swipe. It’s attached to an alligator-clipped, stretchy leash. No kidding.
