Product: Burton Horizon Women’s Snowboard Jacket
Price: $199.00 (USD) recommended retail
My rating: 8.9/10
Hello and welcome to SnowboardingProfiles.com’s latest jacket review. In this review we look at the Burton Horizon Snowboard Jacket.
The Horizon will be assessed on waterproofness, breathability, overall functionality, style and value for money.
All right let’s get straight into it!
Waterproofness
Waterproofing is assessed in two different ways. Firstly based on the waterproof rating of the fabric of the jacket and secondly based on how the seams are sealed.
If you are interested in learning more about waterproofing and the other things to look out for in a snow jacket, check out the link below.
The Key Specs for Choosing a Snowboard Jacket
Waterproof Rating
These ratings are usually between 5,000 and 20,000mm.
The Horizon has a rating of 10,000mm. My own jacket is rated 10,000mm and I have always been bone dry under it. Mine is also fully seam sealed which is a big part of the reason it keeps me dry.
So is the Horizon fully seam sealed….?
Waterproof rating score = 10,000mm = 1.6/2.0
Seam Sealing
Yes – the Horizon is fully seam sealed!
A combination of 10,000mm and fully seam sealed should keep you dry in most conditions – it certainly has for me.
Seams sealed score = fully sealed = 2.0/2.0
Breathability
The Horizon has a fabric breathability rating of 10,000 grams. Anything over 8,000 grams should be pretty good at wicking away sweat and being generally comfortable. So 10,000gs should do a good job.
Again my own jacket is 10,000gs and I find it does a good job in wicking away sweat – and I’m a sweaty male!
Breathability score = 10,000 = 1.6/2.0
Insulation
If you are riding in cold conditions or tend to feel the cold, then some extra insulation will help to keep you warm.
The Horizon comes with insulation to the tune of 40g thinsulate. This should add a good bit of warmth to the jacket.
Insulation score = 0.8/1.0
Powder Skirt
Don’t want pants full of snow all day? Then a powder skirt you will want.
The Horizon has a removable powder skirt with jacket-to-pant interface. Whilst powder skirts aren’t 100 percent foolproof they do a pretty good job of keeping snow out most of the time.
Powder skirt = yes = 1.0/1.0
Hood
Yes – another tick for the Horizon – it also has a hood. Whilst most snowboard jackets do (but certainly not all) it is a nice-to-have – especially on those cold windy days.
Hood = yes = 1.0/1.0
Venting
Arm pit vents are a great way to help with the breathability of the jacket – and yes the Horizon has this covered too, with zipped vents under the arms.
Venting = Yes = 0.25/0.25
Pockets
This doesn’t sound like a big thing – and probably shouldn’t ultimately decide on your jacket – but it can be quite impractical if your jacket doesn’t have enough, or the right kind of pockets.
Typical of Burton jackets, the Horizon has plenty of pockets and all the functional ones that you want including hand pockets (microfleece lined), media pockets, goggle pocket and a lift pass pocket.
Yes – plenty and functional = 0.25/0.25
Style
And finally we come to style. This is of course a very subjective thing. No doubt important – as looking good on the mountain (whether we want to admit it or not) is desirable – but I haven’t allocated too many points here because what I think looks good may be different to what you think looks good.
There’s nothing particularly interesting about the Horizon’s style but there’s nothing particularly ugly about it either. They definitely played it safe style-wise with this one.
It does come in a good few different colors so there should be something you like in there.
Style score = 0.40/0.50
Final Score
O.k. let’s see how the Horizon did overall.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
| Waterproofing (material): | 4.0 | 1.6/2.0 |
| Waterproofing (seams sealed): | 5.0 | 2.0/2.0 |
| Breathability: | 4.0 | 1.6/2.0 |
| Insulation: | 4.0 | 0.80/1.0 |
| Powder Skirt: | 5.0 | 1.0/1.0 |
| Hood: | 5.0 | 1.0/1.0 |
| Venting | 5.0 | 0.25/0.25 |
| Pockets | 5.0 | 0.25/0.25 |
| Style | 4.0 | 0.40/0.50 |
| TOTAL | 8.9/10 |
8.9 out of 10 is a great score and this jacket would serve you well on the mountain in almost any conditions.
The one thing we haven’t looked at yet is value for money so let’s see how this rates for its price.
Value for Money
The Horizon has a recommended retail price of $199 (USD). This is a fantastic price for a jacket of this quality!
For reference;
Of 7 jackets that I assessed in the $150 to $200 price range (all of which were between $180 and $200) the average score was 7.7 out of 10, based on this rating system.
This is The best jacket that I found in the $150 to $200 price range.
Had an ex-wife that use to get carried away when we went to the mountains. She would come back with a jacket that cost $500 and say she got a free pair of socks with it. At lease the one above actually looks like it is worth $500 and is a bargain at $199. (Don’t know if you get a free pair of socks tho. 🙂 )
Thanks Nate.
Hey Steve – your comment cracked me up!
No I don’t think it comes with free socks :-). However, you are right that this jacket is great value.
Great review and nice jacket. Thanks for sharing your insight.
Hi Donna. No Problem. Thanks for reading. It really is a nice jacket and really good value for money for a snowboard jacket.
Thank you for the great review on the Burton Horizon snowboard jacket. Living in Colorado you can never have too much snow boarding equipment. Thanks!
Hey Tracy – glad you found the review helpful. I haven’t had the chance to visit the Colorado slopes yet but I hope to as soon as possible – hopefully next winter.