Brand Feature: Helly Hansen

Walk into any ski hire shop in the Alps, or any ski section of an outdoor retailer in the UK, and you will find Helly Hansen. Not because someone put them there by accident. Because they have been making functional cold-weather kit since 1877 and they have earned the shelf space. That longevity counts for something, even if the brand doesn’t shout about it.

Who they are

Helly Hansen started in Norway. Not started as in “two guys in a garage with a sewing machine” — started as in a Norwegian sea captain named Helly Juell Hansen and his wife began producing oilskin jackets and trousers to keep sailors dry in brutal North Sea conditions. That is the founding story, and it matters because it explains the brand’s direction ever since: functional, weather-proof, built for people who genuinely need it to work.

They moved into ski clothing in the 1970s and have been a fixture in that market ever since. Today Helly Hansen is owned by Canadian Tire Corporation, which is a corporate ownership structure that doesn’t inspire poetry but has funded significant investment in materials and technical development. The brand sits at the upper end of mainstream — not a specialist niche brand, not a fashion house that occasionally makes ski gear. Mainstream technical, done properly.

In UK ski shops, they are often the dominant brand. In hire shops, their base layers are everywhere. That ubiquity can make them feel unremarkable, but the position has been earned.

HELLY TECH: the waterproofing system

Helly Hansen uses its own HELLY TECH waterproofing system rather than licensing Gore-Tex, which keeps costs more manageable and allows them to grade their fabrics across different price tiers.

The current range uses three tiers: HELLY TECH Essential, HELLY TECH Performance, and HELLY TECH Professional. For skiing, you want Performance as the minimum. Essential is fine for walking around town in the rain. It will not keep you dry through a proper ski day. Performance delivers 10,000mm waterproofing and 10,000g breathability — adequate for most skiers in most conditions. Professional steps that up to 20,000mm waterproofing and 25,000g breathability, which is where things get genuinely impressive.

The seam taping on Professional-tier garments is fully taped throughout. On Performance, you typically get critically taped seams, which means the high-stress points are sealed but not every seam. Adequate, but worth knowing.

The jacket range

The Alpha jacket is the workhorse of the men’s range and represents Helly Hansen at their most dependable. HELLY TECH Performance spec, insulated, helmet-compatible hood, ski pass pocket, powder skirt. It does everything a ski jacket needs to do without any fuss. The cut is relaxed enough to layer underneath comfortably. Colours tend toward the conservative — navy, black, dark grey with contrast accents. Functional rather than expressive.

Step up to the Elevation Shell and you’re into the Professional-tier waterproofing: 20,000mm waterproofing and 25,000g breathability. A proper technical shell, not insulated, designed to be layered. This is where Helly Hansen’s build quality becomes genuinely impressive. The construction is meticulous and the fabrics feel substantial. If you ski in serious weather or push into off-piste terrain, this jacket will keep up. The price reflects the spec, sitting in the £400–500 range, but it is not overpriced for what it delivers.

For women, the Alphelia range mirrors the performance tiers of the men’s jackets with cuts and proportioning that are actually considered rather than being a colour-swap of the men’s patterns. The Alphelia Lifaloft jacket is a strong option: insulated, well-proportioned, HELLY TECH Performance spec, and available in a broader range of colourways than the men’s range typically offers.

Base layers: where Helly Hansen genuinely excels

The LIFA base layer is the product that cemented Helly Hansen’s reputation in cold-weather clothing, and it remains one of the best base layer systems available. LIFA is Helly Hansen’s proprietary polypropylene fibre, which is hydrophobic — it actively pushes moisture away from your skin rather than absorbing it, keeping you dry and significantly reducing the chill that comes from sweat-damp fabric against your skin.

The LIFA Stripe Crew and LIFA Active series are what I recommend most often to people who ask me what to wear under their ski jacket. They are not glamorous. They are not particularly cheap. They work extremely well and they wash and hold their shape over repeated seasons in a way that cheaper base layers do not.

The LIFA MERINO range combines the moisture-wicking properties of LIFA with the warmth and natural odour resistance of merino wool. More expensive again, but for longer trips or high-output skiing where you’re working hard and getting cold alternately, the temperature regulation is noticeably better than synthetic-only alternatives.

Who Helly Hansen is for

Skiers who want reliable, proven gear and aren’t bothered about making a statement. People who would rather buy something that works than something that gets noticed. First-time buyers who want the reassurance of a major brand with a physical presence in UK ski shops, where you can try things on and get advice from staff who know the products.

Helly Hansen is also the right call if you’re buying ski gear for children or teenagers who will grow out of it, because the mid-range Performance tier gives you solid waterproofing at a more reasonable price than the top-end kit.

They’re not the right brand if you want something with visual personality, or if you’re comparing specs per pound against direct-to-consumer brands like Dope Snow or Montec. At equivalent price points, the DTC brands often offer similar or better waterproofing ratings because they don’t carry the retail margin that Helly Hansen’s distribution model demands. You’re paying partly for the brand, partly for the retail accessibility, partly for decades of track record.

What I’d buy right now

For a complete jacket, the Alpha for men or Alphelia for women if you want something insulated and genuinely versatile for most ski trips in the Alps. Neither will let you down.

If you want the best Helly Hansen technical shell and your budget allows it, the Elevation Shell is one of the strongest jackets in its price bracket regardless of brand. At that tier, the waterproofing and build quality are hard to argue with.

For base layers, the LIFA Stripe Crew is a straightforward recommendation for anyone who doesn’t already have good base layers. It’s the single product from Helly Hansen I’d most confidently tell someone to buy without qualification.

The honest verdict

Helly Hansen makes genuinely good gear. Not exciting gear — the aesthetics are conservative and the branding is about as bold as a wet Wednesday in Wolverhampton — but reliable, well-built kit that performs consistently and lasts. The LIFA base layers are among the best available at any price. The jackets at the Professional tier are excellent. The mid-range Performance tier is solid without being exceptional.

The honest caveat is price versus spec. If you’re buying from a ski shop and comparing a Helly Hansen jacket against a Dope Snow or Montec jacket at the same price, the DTC brand will often win on paper — higher waterproofing ratings, comparable construction, lower cost because there’s no retail margin built in. Helly Hansen knows this and competes on trust, brand recognition, and retail availability rather than on numbers alone.

That’s a legitimate trade-off. Many people would rather buy from a shop, try things on, and pick something from a brand they’ve heard of for forty years. If that’s your approach, Helly Hansen is the right choice for it.

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Prices are approximate at time of writing.