I Tested the Raide Research TourTech Kit: Does It Live Up to Their Iconic Packs?

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Raide Research burst on the scene a few years back with their ski packs and running belts, which quickly developed a cult-following by backcountry ski and trail running enthusiasts. The idea behind Raide, which was started in Carbondale, Colorado by Kyle Siegel, was to create equipment that was rich with features backcountry skiers would appreciate day in and day out and still had a minimalist feel. Raide’s initial line of ski packs and running belts proved that Siegel’s designs were just that, so it wasn’t altogether surprising when the brand expanded into ski outerwear with the same ethos last fall.

In late 2024, Raide Research announced the TourTech line, which included a shell jacket and bibs as well as a midlayer hoody and baselayer bottom.

When I started backcountry skiing, any piece of my existing ski kit that didn’t work well in the backcountry was quickly swapped out for something lighter and more breathable and preferably had features like beacon leashes in the thigh pockets. However, for quite some time, I remained in the camp of wanting one ski kit that I truly loved and that could do it all—even if it made some compromises. It was only when I moved to Central Oregon that I found myself investing in layers that were more backcountry- or resort-specific and geared towards either keeping me dry on wet resort days or being light and breathable enough for long days of volcano skiing. 

Our Gear Editor, Max, spent some time in the Raide TourTech bibs when they came out, which you can read about here. However, shocking it may be to some—men’s and women’s outwear isn’t always created equally, nor are the needs of skiers in the PNW versus the mountain west. So, I also gave the Raide Research TourTech jacket & bibs a try this spring to see how the women’s kit performed and if it would permanently change my mind on using backcountry specific outerwear. 

Raide Tourtech Jacket and Bibs Specs

• Sizes Available: XS, S, M, L (jacket & bibs) Regular, Short (bibs)
• Fit: Balanced between baggy freeride and tight/technical
• Bib Material: 30k/30k Toray Primeflex softshell and hardshell hybrid
• Jacket Material: TourShell-01 polypropylene membrane with UHMWPE ripstop 
• Colors Available: Purple, Green, Black 

Sizing & Fit

Perhaps you’ve been around long enough, POWDER readers, to remember the Whiteboard from one of our newsletters earlier this winter in which I raved about the fit of a pair of bibs as I tried them on after a few whiskey gingers? If not, you’re missing out. If so, I can tell you now it was the Raide Research TourTech bibs that had me *feeling myself* a drink or two deep.

As I said in this particular Whiteboard, I’ve tried on a lot of women’s ski outerwear this year and in my life. I’ve sized up, sized down, gone true to size, and it seems that every pair has a weird gap in the front or back, or the thighs are too tight but everything else is too big. God forbid they actually fit my legs and waist at the same time—a concept which almost no other brand of ski outerwear, let alone women’s clothing, has figured out how to do.

At 5’5” and roughly 120lbs, I opted for a size small in both the bibs (regular length) and the jacket. These bibs were both wide enough for my skier quads and had enough extra fabric to actually put things in the thigh pockets and leave a good range of motion for skiing/bootpacking/climbing over logs without being too long or overly baggy. The top of them, which is made from an ultra-breathable laser cut fabric, hits probably four inches above my belly button and has an integrated belt that cinches around the waist. Also, there’s no weird gap in the back, and yet still enough room if you’re a midlayer-under-bibs person. The suspenders had a particularly wide fit, which I appreciated, as they didn’t interfere with backpack straps, and a grippy silicone strip on the underside kept them from falling off. The cuffs were plenty wide enough for my hybrid boots, with the buckles undone, and even have a nifty zipper for more space or to reach your walk mode lever.

The jacket fits similarly well, although making a well-fitting ski shell doesn’t seem to quite brush up against the difficulty of rocket science the way it does with bibs and pants. The TourTech shell jacket was well proportioned in the torso, albeit the sleeves were a little long. A cinch on the bottom hem that allows the wearer to keep any excess length out of the way. In-line with Siegel’s vision that Raide’s outerwear bridge the gap between a “freeride” fit and a “technical” fit, the jacket was loose enough to fit a puffy layer under easily and had enough space to fill the pocket’s ample space, without being overly baggy. The hood is helmet compatible, but the neck of the jacket doesn’t come up so high that it’s cumbersome to have up/zipped on the uphill.

In the Field with the Raide Research TourTech Kit

I tested the Raide TourTech jacket & bibs in both some characteristic Central Oregon windy, wet, winter weather, and also on a spring mission to do some corn skiing that involved a fair amount of walking with skis on our backs, climbing over fallen trees, and bushwhacking, just to get the full picture. 

When I think about any piece of gear that’s highly engineered or especially feature-rich, I think about how well all those features work and ways to use a piece of gear to its fullest potential. Knowing how carefully thought out Raide’s products tend to be and how many things they incorporate that fall into the “things I didn’t know I needed” category, I expected a similar experience with the TourTech kit. 

The thing that surprised me most about this kit, particularly the bibs, was how I didn’t really think so much about what features I was using but rather how little I thought about them at all. I’ve worn ski kits where I’m constantly fussing with suspender straps, or am annoyed 35 times a day when the fabric on the legs is too tight to pull my phone in and out of my pocket easily, or how I wish it was more breathable, or God forbid, they don’t have a drop-seat and I have to pee.

However in the TourTech kit, it felt like I put on the bibs, walked uphill, used things like the cuff zipper and handy zippers on the gaiter that let you thread your power strap through them, but didn’t really think much about what I was wearing and instead thought about everything else you can think about while ski touring that isn’t your outerwear. Similarly, the more wintery days I wore it, the less I thought about “what layers am I going to wear” or about being too hot on the uphill in a shell as it snowed/rained on us. In short, the kit functioned so well between the durable yet breathable fabric, combination of hard and soft shell material, fit, and features that it didn’t add another distraction to the many bits involved in ski touring for an easily overwhelmed and distracted person like myself. It did the thing gear is supposed to do—kept me dry and protected so I could just enjoy the skiing.

That being said, there are a lot of cool features in the kit. For those of us who prefer to keep our beacons in our thigh pockets, there are leashes and internal pockets on both the right and left pant legs. There’s also leashes and internal pockets in both chest pockets on the jacket, and zippers that allow you to access the inner layers. This had me scratching my head a bit, as I generally wouldn’t ever wear a beacon in the pocket of a shell that I might be taking on and off throughout the day. The internal access zippers made more sense for someone who uses a chest harness under their shell for their beacon. The outer chest pockets are also nice and large and easily fit a skin, pair of gloves, extra buff, or a couple snacks. There are no hip pockets, but the size of the chest pocket doesn’t really make me miss them.

The bibs have outer thigh vents on both sides, and the left one zips all the way up so it can be used as a drop seat as well. There’s no inner vents, but with how breathable the fabric is, you don’t really need them. I was a bit worried about the durability of the softshell fabric, but after sitting on some volcanic rocks for a while and climbing over a bunch of burnt trees, those fears were put to rest. A Kevlar patch also wraps all the way around the cuff to protect the bibs from ski edges, buckles, and crampon spikes.

The jacket does have a low-profile pass pocket if you did want to wear it in-bounds on a warm, dry day. I wouldn’t recommend the jacket or bibs for general resort use, as they’re not really engineered to keep you warm or dry sitting on lifts in wintry weather. 

Who is the Raide Research TourTech kit Best For?

Both the jacket and bibs have pros and cons worth considering with a price tag of $599 and $449, respectively. If you frequently ski in the backcountry and want a super light, packable shell jacket specifically for that, the Raide TourTech jacket is an excellent option. Similarly, the bibs are a great choice for those who want a ski pant that’s super comfortable and breathable for long tours and work well with crampons and harnesses. The biggest drawback would be the softshell material on the upper part of the pants don’t make them the best choice for super wet climates/days, but again, as part of a larger outerwear quiver, they’re an excellent choice and are now my go-to for touring.

In short, if you’re someone who either skis only in the backcountry and wants a kit that’s ultra capable in mountain terrain, or you have no problem spending the cash to have a backcountry-specific kit separate from your resort/full hardshell kit, it’s well worth investing in the Raide Research TourTech kit.