Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell Jacket review

Reviewed by GBAC member and ML Tom Holding.

The Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell Jacket from Helly Hansen is one of the brand’s top shell jackets, built to deliver ‘uncompromising weatherproofing and durability mountainside’. Fully featured, void of any nasty chemicals and multi-award winning, Helly Hansen pitches it as the jacket for ‘maximum protection from the elements’ — designed to keep you safe in the harshest British conditions imaginable. But how does it perform in the real world?

Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Infinity Shell

Ideal for: Winter mountaineering, wet-weather hiking, summits, snowsports

Not suitable for: Trail running, fastpacking, UL activities, highly-technical climbing

The Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Infinity Shell Jacket is a professional-grade 4-season hardshell, offering superb durability and weather protection, allowing you to focus on the challenge and not worry about whether your gear is up to the task. The Petro-fluoride Carbon (PFC) free coating, mostly recycled materials, and Bluesign certification means that you can rest easy on your reduced environmental impact whilst enjoying your favourite outdoor activities.

Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell jacket review

The Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell Jacket is one of the Norwegian brand’s flagship mountaineering hardshells, designed to keep you safe and comfortable in the worst conditions imaginable. Created in conjunction with Helly Hansen’s pool of 55,000 professionals, the jacket is a product of design iteration after design iteration — working to deliver the best, most-optimised hardshell available. So, how did Helly Hansen do? Is the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell the new go-to for ‘maximum protection from the elemnents’, as Helly Hansen so proudly proclaim?

Before we jump in, it’s worth understanding where the jacket sits on the market. And costing £440 when bought directly from Helly Hansen, the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 sits decidedly at the top of it. This makes it £40 more expensive than similar hardshells in its class, such as the Rab Mens Latok Alpine Gore-Tex Pro, or £50 pricier than the Patagonia Triolet, another hardshell we highly rate at the GBAC. What’s more, weighing in at 650 g (in men’s large), the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 is also the heaviest of the bunch, coming in nearly 200 g heavier than the Rab and 140 g heavier than the Triolet. That being said, the Helly Hansen is slightly more feature-rich than these other lines, but are those features worth the extra weight and price?

Our experience using the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell Jacket

To test this jacket, I took it on several outings through the winter of 2023 and 2024. All in, it joined me on numerous mountaineering trips through Snowdonia, the Cairngorms and the Lake District, and it was even used on a few relaxed walks in typical rainy British conditions through various woodlands in the south. All in, I really rate its performance across the board: It kept me safe, dry and comfortable in some pretty horrid conditions, and even after putting this jacket through some serious abuse it still looks as good as new.

The fit

To start let’s take a look at the fit, which has been intentionally optimised with mountaineering in mind. This means the fit can go one of two ways - sleek and close-fitting for technical climbing/alpinism, or larger in the body for layering. The designers over at Helly Hansen chose the latter when designing the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 shell jacket, giving the jacket a boxier, more generous fit. Therefore, if you’ve got a straight body, you may want to consider sizing down in this jacket. But if you have a larger chest/shoulders and a smaller waist, you may struggle with the fit of this jacket.

For me, I found that the fit resulted in a lot of excess material around my waist when testing the ‘Large’ version, but that the top fitted perfectly for layering in winter and the shoulder seasons. Which, to be fair, is definitely not a bad thing: You’re going to want to be able to layer up under this jacket when you use it in the environments it was built for, so having some extra room inside it when you’re only wearing a t-shirt is recommended. And due to the weight and durability of the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 shell jacket, I wouldn’t wear it in normal British summer conditions anyway — aside from on the absolute worst days imaginable.

That being said, when I completed a Winter Grade III route in Glencoe, I did find that the excess material would get in the way from time to time. That being said, as the jacket is long, it provides ample butt coverage, which is a godsend when snow is blowing up your back.

Durability

Designed to deliver ‘durability mountainside’, the Helly Hansen is big, burly and tough to damage. And even though I have only had the jacket out on a few mountain days so far, I have still been able to subject it to rock, ice, wind, snow and rain — as well as the usual in and out of a rucksack and an ice axe stored at the shoulder. And so far it has done extremely well: The jacket has no cuts or abrasions whatsoever, which gives me confidence that this thing will last for many seasons to come. What’s more, due to the internally sewn and taped seams, the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 shell jacket is reliably waterproof. The finish is flat and visibly long-lasting, with Helly Hansen’s attention to detail being palpable when you take a look at what the jacket looks like from the inside.

Wind and waterproofness

Reviewing a hardshell is pointless if we don’t talk about weather protection — the key function of your waterproofs. The Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Infinity Shell is made of a 3-layer, 100% polyamide (nylon) material, which the brand calls HELLY TECH PROFESSIONAL. In a nutshell, this technology is up there with the likes of Pertex and Gore-Tex in my experience, making for a jacket that’s both breathable and highly protective — at home in driving rain as it is in snow.

Regarding the specific statistics, the material is rated all over as being waterproof to 20,000g/m and vapour permeable to 15,000g/m. The ‘so what?’ of this is that this jacket will keep you dry when you need it, but not overheat you too much if you manage your layering systems. During my tests, for example, a lot of time was spent breaking trail in knee-to-hip-deep snow on some steep slopes! Due to the weather, I had the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 hardshell jacket on the whole time, yet I never got too hot and felt that the inside always dried out quickly when I did work up a sweat.

In fact, the only time where I did find an issue with breathability was on a milder day in the Lake District. It was pelting down the whole time, so I wore the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 for most of the day, with it fully zipped up and sealed. The combination of the permanently wet weather, high output, and sweat eventually led to moist conditions inside the jacket. This did dry out quickly once I was finally able to open up the coat, however, but it does mean that I would limit my use of this jacket to colder winter days. That being said, those are the precise conditions this thing was built for, so we won’t be deducting any points from Helly Hansen for that!

Regarding windproofness, this is another essential function of any mountaineering hardshell, and one at which the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 excels. The material and well-designed features all come together to reliably keep the elements out which inspires confidence in this jacket when you’re in the mountains.

Features

The Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell jacket comes with a host of well-considered features that improve your experience when zipped up inside it. For example, the jacket comes with two hip pockets and one Napoleon chest pocket which, thanks to the large toggles and smooth zips, are easy to operate when wearing thick winter gloves. The hip pockets are also gigantic: These things take up most of the front panel of the jacket, and they’re a great place to stash whatever you need to hand. What’s more, they also come with a double zip closure, meaning that you can stick your hands in and still minimise water ingress — which is a really nice feature, and one which I found myself using time and time again. To organise smaller bits and bobs that you might want within easy reach on the mountain, there are also mesh pockets built into each hip pocket, which is another nice feature by Helly Hansen.

Regarding the Napoleon chest pocket, this is also a good size, being plenty big enough to carry my large Samsung mobile phone, although not quite big enough to carry a folded-up OS map.

Unfortunately, however, both internal zip pockets and an internal mesh stash pouch are sorely missed on this jacket. Even though this is a minor complaint, these features are so commonplace on mountaineering hardshells that I found I missed them when out on the mountain — and I’d love to see Helly Hansen add them to a future iteration.

The hood

The hood on this jacket is fully helmet-compatible and designed to be worn over any climbing or mountaineering helmet. The brim is also wired to keep the rain off your face, and the whole thing can be cinched down thanks to the four adjustment cords to keep everything tight and protective even when you’re not wearing a hood. Additionally, I found that the collar of the jacket also rises to a good height, keeping out the wind and rain, without getting in the way too much.

Pit zips and internal cord locks

Pit zips are like marmite to some people. Lovers of sleek, minimalist jackets may question their utility, but on a jacket that could be worn on muggy shoulder-season days as well as full-blown winter ones, pit zips can be a godsend. For me, I rate them as a means to regulate heat when you’re pounding up a hill with a zipped-up hardshell on, so I was pleased to see how easy-to-use the zips on the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 are: They come with large toggles that are easy to operate when wearing thick winter gloves, with my only minor complaint being that they need another tug once the zip reaches the mid-point due to the boxy cut of the jacket.

Another thing I particularly appreciated about this jacket is the way the cord locks work, which took me a second to figure out at first. On the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell, these are fully internal, meaning that you can stay as dry as possible whilst battening down the hatches! This is another thoughtful design element that is understated on the jacket, yet tangibly improves your time outdoors.

RECCO Reflector

Thankfully, the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell jacket is also fitted with a RECCO Reflector. This is a passive device, fitted into the jacket, which makes it more likely that you will be found if avalanched. The technology works by reflecting radar signals back to a receiver which a rescuer holds. The technology does not degrade with age and if not mechanically damaged will last forever.

PFC-Free

The final feature I particularly appreciate about the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 is the fact that it’s coated in a “PFC-free DWR” (which stands for Petro-fluoride Carbon-free Durable Water Repellant). This is the coating applied to the material of this jacket to make it waterproof. Over the last 12-18 months, more brands have made the very welcome move away from the harmful chemical coatings previously used, with brands like Patagonia, Arc’Teryx and others pledging to remove them from production. And in my experience, a PFC-free DWR is just as good as the old coatings, without the guilt of killing fish and other wildlife every time you wash your jacket.

How to keep your PFC-Free hardshell breathable

As with other waterproof jackets made from more environmentally friendly materials, you will need to regularly top up the DWR coating on the outside of the coat. This prevents the jacket from wetting out, which means it’ll stay breathable for longer. To do this, wash and reproof your jacket with something like Nikwax Tech Wash a couple of times a season, and then top up the outer shell with a product like Nikwax’s TX.Direct Spray On DWR spray.

Weight and Packability

When it comes to weight and packability, I’d say that the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 performs on par with other options out there at this price point. The version I tested (a men’s in ‘Large’) was true to Helly Hansen’s 610 g labelling, which is roughly comparable to other similar hardshells. In my experience, 50-100 g won’t be noticed either way, so I’d consider it relatively lightweight for the protection it offers. What’s more, the jacket packs down well considering its durability, and compresses easily, taking up a surprisingly small amount of space in your backpack.

Sustainability

When it comes to the sustainability credentials of the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell jacket, the brand is doing a great job at reducing the environmental impact of this garment. It is made from 68% recycled materials, sourced from ocean plastic, for example, and it boasts the PFC-free DWR coating I mentioned earlier, as well as Bluesign certification. This means it meets strict safety and environmental standards and has been deemed safe for consumers, workers, and the environment.

Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell jacket FAQs

The Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 jacket is reliably waterproof. It comes with a hydrostatic rating of 20,000, meaning that it’ll easily put up with the worst of the UK weather.
Despite being super durable, thick and hard-wearing, the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 jacket is remarkably breathable. In our experience, it outperforms many similar jackets in its class, keeping you comfortable on cold winter days, even when you’re working up a mighty sweat. What’s more, coming with easy to use pit zips, it’s also really easy to dump heat on the go when wearing the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 jacket.
The Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 jacket performs excellently in UK winter conditions: It reliably keeps the weather out, is impressively breathable, and all of the various toggles and straps can be easily operated when wearing thick winter gloves.
Yes, we think so. It’s durable, reliably waterproof, offers excellent breathability, is feature-rich and looks good enough that you could wear it around town. Granted, it’s expensive, but if you’re looking for a robust do-it-all jacket that you can wear on all but the hottest of days, we think the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 jacket is a worthy investment.
The Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 jacket is one of the most durable hardshells we’ve ever tested. It features a 70 denier recycled polyester outer that easily puts up with all of the abuse you could possibly throw at this thing, and ours still looks as good as new even after brushing up against rockfaces, ice axes and more.

Conclusion

There will never be a “perfect” hardshell jacket, as design always shifts to one feature over another. However, the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Infinity Shell is one of those jackets that balances the five F’s very well: Fit, Function, Future, Finance, Fashion. All things considered, it’s one of the best examples of a ‘jack of all trades’ we’ve ever tested at the GBAC, and think it’s a solid choice for anyone who gets out on winter adventures in arduous environments, goes mountaineering, skiing or snowboarding, and is comfortable paying higher prices for a quality end product.

In a nutshell, the Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell jacket is a reliable winter mountaineering hardshell that you just know won’t let you down. And I am excited to continue using it on all autumn and winter UK trips moving forward – even if I may opt for something a little lighter in the summer.

Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell Jacket review

Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Infinity Shell

The Good

The Bad

Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds 3.0 Shell jacket review