Remember a few years ago when those hoodies by A Bathing Ape were hugely popular? They had zippers that went all the way up to the top of the hood, completely enclosing your head so that you could look like a shark or something? You could almost say that this puffy jacket from Ai Riders On the Storm is borrowing a page from A Bathing Ape, but they’ve added in a fully functional polycarbonate ski mask that’s integrated into the hood.

So, when you decide to hit the slopes this winter, you don’t have to worry about bringing a separate scarf, toque and set of goggles, because they can be built right into this Matt Nylon Hooded Jacket, available through Luisaviaroma and distributed by Comei & Company of Italy. I can see how this could be useful, because your head is completely wrapped up and safe from the elements, but you’ll certainly get more than a few looks, especially with that (thankfully removable) pom-pom on the top of your head. Too bad it doesn’t really look like a Storm Trooper (or even a Clone Trooper). That’d score it some geek cred points.

You don’t have worry too much about lack of oxygen either, because there are “air holes” located in the hood, nose and ear areas. I imagine this means that rain and snow could get into the safe confines of the puffy jacket, but it should be pretty minimal. Then again, this is probably more of a fashion statement than being one of the actual best jackets for the slopes. Pick it up for just over $400 on Luisaviaroma.com.

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Unless you are Bear Grylls (or any other crazy survival guy), it will be difficult for you to escape to civilization when stranded in a deep-snow environment without snowshoes. It may not be like those regular recreational or backcountry snowshoes, but the inflatable snowshoes from Alaska-based Airlite might just be enough to save your life in an emergency.

We took a peek at something inflatable earlier, the inflatable snowboard from Signal Snowboards. While that product is purely for entertainment purposes, Airlite’s new inflatable snowshoes will be useful as a lightweight addition to your survival kit and will allow you to walk on top of snow effortlessly to safety.

The company came up with the idea after hearing reports about stranded snowmobilers. In one case, two snowmobilers reportedly ran out of gas and got stuck in deep snow only about a mile from a lodge. As they did not have snowshoes with them, they were unable to get back to safety before night time and were found frostbitten the next day. The inflatable snowshoes could be helpful as anyone can end up in such a situation.

The $168 inflatable snowshoes pack small and can be easily carried around when compared to regular snowshoes. The urethane inflatables, made from durable, puncture-resistant material (tested in tough Alaskan winter conditions), weigh in at just over 2 lbs per pair.

Each inflated snowshoe will give you more than 540 sq in of surface area for walking on snow without getting too tired. It can be inflated by mouth, although the company says that a bike pump or CO2 inflator should be used for best results, and will work fine for people weighing up to 250 lbs. The current model has a knobbed traction pad underneath for providing improved grip, and they are working for bringing out a folding, strapped stainless steel crampon also.

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