Outerwear: shell vs. insulated

I wear shells and I layer. I like to get shells in just a little bit bigger a size, so they look dope and I have plenty of room to layer. I just think it's more versatile. i find that shells are usually just higher quality, as opposed to an insulated jacket which is usually not meant to stand up to as much because the people that wear them usually don't demand as much breathability or waterproofing from them.

i ski with a puffy in pretty much all weather.  it's down insulated. SUPER WARM and i hardly ever require layers and when it gets warm, just zip open the vents and maybe bring the zipper down a little bit.
that always work for me.
I ski in PA so it never gets super cold here either and it has always been fine.
it all comes down to your preference.  If you like the jacket, go for it.
or i could keep on typing .
t take a trip to tahoe once a year with the fam.   Northstar for Park. Kirkwood for Pow days (pow day... got lucky) and squaw for everything else.  i love it out there.

shell hands down

personaly i wear insulated. i can see wht people love shells , a bunch of my buddies got them . just in the east coast its more cold than wet( at least in ottawa) so a insulated is just easier.