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Backcountry Outerwear

Volcom Iguchi Slack Vest 2022-2023 Snowboard Jacket Review

Tested and selected for our top 100 snowboard products of the year: the Volcom Iguchi Slack Vest

  • Price: £250 / €290 / $325
  • Waterproof / Breathability: 600mm
  • Category: Backcountry
  • Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL

Why We Chose The Volcom Iguchi Slack Vest: It offers almost all of the functionality of your backcountry pack, in a design that sits closer to your body, with a ridiculous amount of useful features. And, if we’re being totally honest, it looks pretty badass too.

Listen, backpacks are great. We all have ‘em and we all use ‘em. Also, for the vast majority of riders out there, they’ll do the job just fine. But “fine” never won itself a spot in our Whitelines 100. When Bryan Iguchi sat down with Volcom a few years back, the goal was to rethink and redesign the way in which riders could carry essential gear in the backcountry, while making it feel as natural and unintrusive to ride in as possible. The end result is this: the ultra-utilitarian, meticulously engineered Iguchi Slack Vest.

“The backcountry is a pretty broad church these days, and the Slack Vest is primarily aimed at those looking for fast and short bursts of time out of bounds”

Who Is The Volcom Iguchi Slack Vest For?

The target market of the Iguchi Slack Vest can be split into two, distinct categories: those venturing into the fictional Central American banana republic of Val Verde to engage in deadly combat with a biologically and technologically superior enemy, and those venturing into the backcountry on their snowboard.

That said, the backcountry is a pretty broad church these days, and the Slack Vest is primarily aimed at those looking for fast and short bursts of time out of bounds, be that on foot, on the skin track, on a sled, or (for the lucky few) in a heli. 

MORE INFO:
VOLCOM.COM

 

Materials and Construction

Material-wise, think of Iguchi Slack Vest as a wearable backpack more than an outerwear layer. It’s made from 100% nylon, with a modest amount of water resistance, but you’re gonna need your three-layer outerwear to keep the elements out. It does have some mesh down each side, however, and the ergonomic cut of the Slack Vest mitigates any bulky or unnecessary coverage, so your jacket can continue to do its job and breathe while you’re out riding.

What it lacks in wafer-thin, techy materials it more than makes up for in rugged, functional durability. It’s designed to carry your board, stow your backcountry gear and be in constant exposure to the elements. The Slack Vest excels in this department.

“Asides from dedicated compartments for your probe, shovel head and shovel handle, there’s also a radio pocket, various accessory pockets on the chest, and a detachable backpack lid”

Fit and Features

Volcom’s outerwear is split into three different fit categories: Standard, Athletic, and Drop Tail. The Slack vest opts for the latter, which worked very well when paired with a technical shell jacket. It leaves ample space for mobility around your hips (whether that be skinning, boot packing, or reaching for the grab), while the slightly extended coverage in the back increases storage capacity and protection. 

On that note, the Iguchi Slack Vest comes with a decent bit of foam padding around the back and shoulders. Not enough to warrant being called a back protector, but enough to give you a buffer between your body and the various bits of kit you’ll be loading into the vest.

As for the features on this thing? Well, they’re in no short supply here. Asides from dedicated compartments for your probe, shovel head, and shovel handle, there’s also a radio pocket, various accessory pockets on the chest, and a detachable backpack lid for the days you need some extra litres.

The straps on the Slack Vest can be used to adjust the fit on the front and sides or to carry a snowboard on your back when the boot pack gets technical. Should you ever find yourself needing to cool off in a hurry, the YKK water-repellent zip runs right through the centre of the vest, so you can open it fully in a matter of seconds while keeping it secure with the buckles on the top and bottom.

“When something not only gets Bryan Iguchi’s seal of approval but has been essentially been designed by him at every stage of the process, you can rest rest assured it’s fit for the task”

Roundup

Products designed in collaboration with pros are sometimes approached by us consumers with a healthy dose of skepticism. After all, it’s hardly snowboarding’s best-kept secret that some pro models share little more than a top sheet in common with the ones stocked on the shop floors. 

On top of that, any potential overlap in the pros’ requirements and our own are often miles apart. If all the needs of your average rider were compared with those of a professional and presented as a Venn diagram it would look more akin to a map of our solar system. 

Perhaps the one area this trend no longer applies is in the backcountry. The conditions and risks don’t discriminate against who falls victim to them, nor does the essential safety gear checklist change depending on your experience levels. 

As such, word of mouth and recommendations on backcountry gear often counts for as much as any online review or targeted ad campaign. When something not only gets Bryan Iguchi’s seal of approval but has been essentially been designed by him at every stage of the process, you can rest assured it’s fit for the task. 

Pros:

  • Amazing functionality. We’re talking Mary Poppins’ handbag levels of seemingly impossible storage space.
  • Creates a more natural riding feel than a backpack which can either limit mobility or place weight further from your centre of mass.

Cons:

  • If you’ve already dropped the cash on a backpack, you may struggle to cough up the extra dough on what is essentially a non-essential accessory item.
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Tester’s Verdict 2022/23

Coming soon…

Trade Secrets

Volcom

 

“When you’re touring some of the world’s best backcountry in adverse conditions, you need kit that has your back. The Iguchi Slack Vest provides a host of storage for crucial recovery tools, with a probe sleeve, shovel handle pocket, and interior blade pocket, as well as external snowboard/ski straps and a Guide Proven radio chest pocket. The tough design has been designed and tested by the backcountry innovator and our resident guide Bryan Iguchi as part of his signature collection to deliver hands-free function when you’re digging, hiking, splitting and snowmobiling.”

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