Durability
Building coats with a two-layer shell with a hung liner, like the Telemetry Freeride has, is usually a cost-saving measure, though it does lead to jackets that don’t last as long. To compensate, the Telemetry has wear patches on the shoulders and along the low back to guard against abrasion from a pack.

Weatherproofness
The Telemetry’s waterproof-breathable fabric is rated to 10k/10k, a notch below the more 20k/20k rating found in most of the other jackets in the test, but the hood is plenty big and the sleeves and hemlines are long for keeping snow out during the most dynamic riding.

Breathability
As mentioned above, the fabric isn’t quite as breathable as others in the test, but we liked the 12-inch long meshed-backed core vents.

Bells and Whistles
The Telemetry includes a powder skirt, bicep pocket for a radio, and a tethered goggle wipe. We’re fans of mesh-backed chest vents in ski coats—it keeps the bulky zipper out from under the arms, and works just as well when whizzing downhill or riding a chairlift. We like twin mesh drop pockets for stashing climbing skins or other gear. 

Function
We liked the chest vents, especially on the front side if overlayered (and most of the time, if traveling uphill you’ll remove a shell anyhow. The pockets were all well placed.