I love gadgets. I love them in my car, on my phone and even in my winter jacket. And so it was with pleasure that I recently put the Nitrogen jacket from Black Dot's pro series through its paces, because this jacket has it all.

Black Dot has been based in Seattle since the early days of snowboarding - 1992 to be exact. Their boardwear is designed, developed and marketed by Pacific Trail, Inc., "a leader in authentic recreational outerwear for men, women and children for over 50 years." Black Dot products are available nationwide in specialty sporting goods and sporting good chain stores.

Their boardwear represents a smart position in snowboarding garments. They give you all the flash for less cash, using their parent company's strength to offer quality goods for less than you pay elsewhere. While many companies charge a premium for their label, Black Dot seems to be spending your hard-earned cash on the jacket itself.

We took the Nitrogen jacket to the cold wind-blown mountains of Europe last month, and were impressed with its looks and performance. At this price point, one could easily expect fewer features and less technical fabrics, but we didn't see any compromise here.

The foundation of this Pro Series jacket (and matching $185 board pants) is Black Dot's HV3 fabric - similar to Gore's XCR. According to the company, "HV3 HydroVent waterproof-breathable technology is our most advanced technical performance fabric with the highest waterproof rating we offer."

Like other taped seam three-layer fabrics, HV3 is a "microporous polyurethane film laminated to a performance fabric." This keeps water and wind out, but allows your vapor to escape - waterproof and breathable. Add to that a mesh lining to disperse moisture and protect from abrasion, and voila! another wonder fabric.

But beyond the fabric itself, we were most impressed by Black Dot's workmanship and features. Along with the requisite pit zips, powder skirt, chest "Napoleon" pockets and zip-off storm hood, this jacket also serves up an interior audio pocket, detachable lift pass pocket and even a goggle wipe attached to an elastic lead.

The most interesting feature is the lycra gaitor arm cuffs. This keeps all powder out of the sleeves whether you're wearing gloves or not, and are sewn into the jacket. That's also slightly annoying if you don't want all that coziness, and we'd like to see a zipper for removal. But it's a small criticism of an otherwise outstanding jacket.

The Nitrogen comes in five colors; chrome, grease, crimson, lemon (shown) and navel. We liked the design as well; contemporary without being so trendy as to be outdated in two seasons. Overall, an impressive jacket that should last you a long time, backed by a lifetime warranty.

US$250.00
www.black-dot.com // (800) 877-8878

— Reviewed & Written by Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Gear & News Editor