Flylow Gear

Brand overview and significance

Flylow Gear is an independent ski outerwear and accessories brand founded in 2005 by Colorado skiers Dan Abrams and Greg Steen. The company was born from a simple gap: resort apparel looked good but wore out fast, while mountaineering shells survived abuse but felt awkward on skis. Flylow’s answer was freeride-ready clothing that blends durability, weather protection, and movement for everyday resort laps and long backcountry days. The brand’s headquarters is in Denver, Colorado, with a distributed, mountain-town team culture and founders based in Tahoe. For Skipowd readers, there’s a curated page on Flylow Gear collecting brand-backed edits and stories.

Two decades later, Flylow’s identity is inseparable from core skiing. Its best-known pieces—Baker and Foxy bibs, and the Lab Coat shell—show up from rope tows to big-mountain lines. The company also invests in original storytelling, like the long-running “Westward” series produced with KGB Productions, which profiles mountain lives through a skier’s lens. The result is a reputation for honest, hard-wearing kit that’s shaped by the places where people actually ski.

Product lines and key technologies

Flylow’s lineup revolves around bibs/pants, shells/insulation, and leather work-style gloves. Flagship bibs include the men’s Baker Bib—a stout, three-layer piece with big venting and reinforced cuffs—and the women’s Foxy Bib, praised for a functional, flattering fit with smart pocketing and easy on-mountain pit stops. Recent seasons added a GORE-TEX option (Baker GTX) for riders prioritizing maximum waterproofing, while lighter touring-focused designs like the Stash Bib emphasize low bulk and efficient movement. On the shell side, the Lab Coat is the premium storm shell, now offered in three-layer GORE-TEX.

Under the hood, proprietary Intuitive fabrics anchor the range. Air-permeable membranes (“Perm” and prior eVent DV Expedition implementations) are used on high-output pieces to move air and heat quickly during skinning and bootpacks, while robust three-layer weaves deliver day-in, day-out resort protection. The brand’s materials hub outlines recycled content and specialty weaves such as Intuitive PHD (including recycled and sea-waste nylons) for high durability without a stiff, crunchy feel (Intuitive fabrics; air-perm explainer: air permeability vs. breathability).

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

Flylow is built for skiers who stack real days. If your winter is mostly resort all-mountain and freeride—chop, trees, storm laps—the Baker-style bibs provide sturdy protection, long venting, and a relaxed but not sloppy fit. Park and slopestyle riders get durable face fabrics and cuffs that tolerate rope tows and rails, with under-cuff glove options for dexterity. If you split time between lift-served sidecountry and touring, air-permeable shells and lighter bibs keep you drier from the inside out on the skin track yet stay composed when winds rise on the ridge. For deep travel seasons, the system approach (shell + breathable midlayer + dependable gloves) means fewer compromises when conditions swing from sub-zero mornings to spring corn.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

Flylow fields a mix of Freeride World Tour competitors, guides, media creators, and icons. The public team hub highlights names like Daron Rahlves alongside modern freeriders such as Ross Tester, plus up-and-comers and mountain-town lifers who feed constant on-snow feedback (team overview). The brand’s media footprint extends through Westward and seasonal athlete stories, keeping the focus on authentic ski lives rather than pure ad spots. This combination—visible athletes, credible venues, and film projects—has helped Flylow punch above its size in freeski culture.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

Headquartered in Denver, Flylow is tied closely to the Colorado day-to-day of storm cycles, high-altitude cold, and long spring laps (Colorado). A warehouse shop called the Warming Hut at the Denver HQ doubles as a community space, with avalanche classes and meetups hosted there (Warming Hut). The founders’ Tahoe roots keep the brand connected to California’s mix of maritime storms, spring corn, and sustained park seasons (California). In practice, Flylow’s product cadence tracks where skiers film and train: big in-bounds terrain and event venues (think Aspen’s contest scene and nearby backcountry) shape pocketing, venting, and cuff durability without sacrificing mobility (Aspen).

Construction, durability, and sustainability

“Built to last” isn’t marketing here; it’s the design brief. Heavier-denier face fabrics and reinforced cuffs keep bibs alive through seasons of chairlift edges and sled shuttles. Air-perm shells balance storm protection with heat dump on the uptrack, and glove lines lean on durable leather with pragmatic features. On responsibility, Flylow eliminated PFAS across the line in fall 2024 by adopting Empel, a PFA/PFC-free, molecularly bonded DWR that aims to improve long-term water repellency while cutting harmful chemistries (PFAS update & Empel DWR). The materials program also includes recycled Intuitive PHD fabrics and the use of remnant textiles in select gloves (fabric & materials; glove overview: gloves).

Service after purchase matters: the brand runs a repair and warranty process that covers defects for the practical lifespan of the item and actively routes garments to repair partners where applicable (warranty coverage). That tilt toward repairability and long service life is one of the clearest sustainability wins in hard-use ski apparel.

How to choose within the lineup

Start with climate and cadence. If you ski wet storms or want maximum storm insurance, consider GORE-TEX flagships (Lab Coat, Baker GTX). If your days include touring or bootpacks, reach for air-permeable shells (Perm-equipped pieces) and lighter bibs so heat escapes before moisture builds. For resort-first, freeride-everyday skiers, the classic Baker Bib provides burly protection, huge vents, and a forgiving fit; for women who want a proven pattern and easy function, the Foxy Bib remains the go-to. Midlayers and insulated shells (including recycled insulations and down shells paired with Perm fabrics) let you tune warmth without compromising breathability. Gloves come in under-cuff and gauntlet styles; pick dexterity for park and all-mountain laps, or thicker gauntlets for spindrift and deep-freeze mornings. When in doubt, Flylow’s product pages and team stories clarify which pieces were designed for storm charging, all-mountain versatility, or high-output touring.

Why riders care

Flylow matters because it makes ski clothes that feel like they were designed by people who ski—a lot. The brand’s Denver-to-Tahoe DNA shows up in choices that make long seasons easier: air-perm shells that don’t swamp you on the climb, bibs that shrug off lift maze abuse, leather gloves that wear in rather than out, and a willingness to change materials when the science demands it (PFAS-free DWR across the line). Add athlete input, community touchpoints like the Warming Hut, and a steady pipeline of mountain-life storytelling, and you get outerwear that stays relevant from early storms to spring slush. For skiers who value dependable, freeride-ready gear and real transparency about how it’s built, Flylow hits the sweet spot.