Skiiers wearing Cortèz jackets
If you’re serious about the outdoors, you’ve got to be just as serious about the gear you use. It’s important to buy quality equipment made by people who share your desire to explore, play in the snow, and scale mountains. Case in point: the Cortèz jacket, which has just secured enough crowdfunding to begin production. “We used our love for skiing, passion for the outdoors, and 40-plus years of experience in outerwear production to create the perfect jacket for all your adventures,” explains the Amsterdam-based design team Wiebe, Wouter and Herman. It took a year of development and constant tinkering with prototypes to create the first Cortèz collection, whose jackets boast a remarkable 20 features.
Of course, the creators’ primary concern was warmth. Most of the company’s mid-layer jackets are lined with 3M’s Thinsulate to protect the wearer against the harshest of weather conditions while maintaining a light weight. “The mid-layer is highly breathable and warm, perfect for layering in colder conditions or just as a standalone piece,” reads an online description.
Cortèz Jacket Production
The jackets’ high-tech shells are made from Dermizax EV, a company-developed material. The designers have billed it as “the perfect membrane that redefines comfort and protection for high-performance fabrics.” The three-layer fabric is nonrestrictive, 100 percent water and windproof (perfect for skiing), and comfortably airy. Since the shell allows your sweat to properly evaporate, you can stay cool when hurtling down a steep hill or hiking up to a scenic vista. Dermizax EV is also durable and lightweight, making it the ideal outerwear for almost any kind of weather, activity, or sport.
Cortèz Jacket Layers
You may be asking, “what about the rest of the 20 features?” A closer look at the Cortèz collection reveals some very clever innovations. For instance, the jacket’s hood is large enough to accommodate most bicycle helmets, its neck is high enough keep out the wind and rain while simultaneously providing the wearer with a soft chin guard, and there’s a pathway built specifically into the body for your headphones to run through. Cortèz jackets also include convenient arm pockets for ski passes and a built-in Recco rescue reflector for safety.
But wait, there’s even more! You’ll easily be able to store your gloves inside of a hidden inner pocket and to adjust the jacket’s cord pulls with a single hand. Each piece of outerwear is also equipped with adjustable cuffs and a detachable snow skirt to protect you from any potential spray.
Cortèz Jacket - Forest Green

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You’d probably expect a hefty price tag on all these high-tech features and gizmos, not to mention the one-of-a-kind shell material. While the Cortèz collection isn’t exactly cheap, the design team has stated that their “disruptive direct-to-consumer model,” which eliminates all middlemen, has allowed them to cut retail prices while continuing to match the high quality of leading industry brands. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. The first collection of jackets and mid-layers is available in four colors—yellow, blue, black, and forest green—for both men and women.