Labor Day is the unofficial start of ski season — and the first real window to buy last year's jackets at deep clearance. Independent shops and big retailers clear past-season shells and insulated jackets at 50–60% off, with some blowout sales advertising up to 70–90% off select items (Skier Deals, Alpenglow Sports). This guide covers which jackets are actually worth buying at that discount, what to skip, and how to verify the real markdown from the prices in front of you.

On this page

• Why Labor Day is the jacket window
• The discounts you'll actually see
• What's worth buying at 50–60% off
• Last-year vs current-model: the call
• Where to shop the sales
• How to check the real discount

Why Labor Day is the jacket window

By Labor Day, the current season's outerwear has been in shops since spring, and retailers need the floor and warehouse space for incoming new-model stock. That pressure is why the deepest pre-season discounts land now rather than closer to winter — Ski Magazine calls Labor Day the moment "the unofficial end of summer and therefore the start of ski season," and rounds up the best deals across evo, REI, and Patagonia (Ski Magazine).

The biggest markdowns are on past-season jackets — last year's colorways and model years that are functionally identical to what's arriving. Current-season jackets rarely get deep Labor Day cuts, so the value play is last year's shell or insulated jacket where the membrane and construction haven't changed.

The discounts you'll actually see

Discounts vary by retailer and event, but the common Labor Day range for ski jackets and pants is 50–60% off past-season stock. Here's what major sales advertised in recent seasons:

Sources: Skier Deals, Alpenglow Sports, Crystal Mountain, Cross Country Ski HQ, REI, Palisades Tahoe.

What's worth buying at 50–60% off

The best Labor Day buys are last-year's GORE-TEX shells and insulated resort jackets — categories where the underlying membrane, insulation, and construction barely change year to year, so a 50–60% markdown on an older colorway is a genuine deal. Here are real examples from evo's Labor Day ski sale, with the discount worked out from the listed original and sale prices:

Prices from evo's Labor Day ski sale; the Obermeyer deal is via Ski Magazine (evo). Discounts calculated as ((Original − Sale) ÷ Original) × 100.

Two patterns stand out. The deepest cuts (60%+) tend to be on technical shells in less popular colorways — the 686 Fastlight at ~60% off is the headline value because GORE-TEX performance is color-independent. Insulated jackets like the Obermeyer Tuscany II hit ~64% off in some colors, making them a strong resort-layer buy. Premium shells like the Arc'teryx Beta AR drop only ~25%, so they're worth buying only if you specifically want that model.

Last-year vs current-model: the call

The decision framework is simple. For a ski jacket, the things that actually matter — the shell membrane (e.g. GORE-TEX 2L/3L), the face fabric, insulation type and weight, and features like pit zips and helmet-compatible hoods — rarely change between adjacent model years. When they don't, last year's jacket at 50–60% off is almost always the right call.

• Buy last year's if the membrane and construction are unchanged and the discount is 40% or more. A GORE-TEX shell or insulated resort jacket loses nothing functional year over year.
• Wait on current-year if the cut is under ~30% off. Current-season jackets are priced near full retail at Labor Day; they'll drop further at end-of-season clearance in spring.
• Skip entirely if the "original" price looks inflated or you can't find the model in the brand's current line — a fake reference price is not a real discount.

This same last-year-vs-current logic applies across gear, not just jackets — see our take on buying last season's snowboard for the same decision applied to boards.

Where to shop the sales

Three sale types dominate Labor Day, and the deepest jacket discounts are usually at the in-person and outlet blowouts rather than the online big-box events:

Sources: Skier Deals, Alpenglow, evo, REI, Palisades Tahoe, Crystal Mountain.

How to check the real discount

Don't trust the strikethrough price on its own — work out the discount from the original and sale prices. The formula is straightforward: divide what you save by the original price, then multiply by 100 (OmniCalculator).

Discount % = ((Original − Sale) ÷ Original) × 100

Example: a jacket listed at $319.95 marked down to $127.98 saves $191.98. That's 191.98 ÷ 319.95 = 0.60, so 60% off — a genuine deep-clearance markdown (OmniCalculator).

One trap with stacked coupons: percent-off discounts multiply, they don't add. A 30% coupon on top of a 10%-off sale means you pay 0.70 × 0.90 = 0.63 of the original — 37% off total, not 40% (Calculator.net). REI has also offered members an extra 20% off one Outlet item with a code at checkout, which stacks the same way on top of the Outlet's base discount (Ski Magazine).

For a quick mental check, multiply the original price by the fraction you'll pay: 50% off means ×0.50, 60% off means ×0.40, 40% off means ×0.60.

Shop the Labor Day sales

Browse current ski jacket deals at evo's Labor Day ski sale. When our affiliate program is live, qualifying purchases may earn a commission — see our affiliate disclosure.

Keep reading

• Labor Day ski sale strategy
• Buying last season's snowboard

Educational guidance only. Sale prices, discount percentages, inventory, and dates are drawn from retailer pages and change frequently — verify the current price, the original reference price, and the return policy before buying. This is not a price guarantee and does not endorse any retailer.