My friend Dan and I have been having an ongoing 'who has the best kit' argument for the past few years, and I think I can safely say I am currently holding lead position.
When I first bought this jacket, It's light weight and low price tricked me into thinking it wouldn't be warm or durable enough for my use. How wrong I was! This jacket offers surprising warmth for it weight. Its size means I can just roll it up or fold it into its own pocket,throw it into my bag and forget all about it until it's needed. It acts as a perfect mid layer or even an outer shell on dry days as it is fully wind resistant and even resists all but the heaviest downpour. It is also extremely comfortable to wear, with a cosy hood, soft inner chin panel, toasting hot hand warmer pockets and an all round snugness-I feel genuinely happy when wearing it! The only criticism that I have is that the waist seam does not have a draw chord but instead has an elastic seam which is, well, not very elastic. This makes it rather loose around the waist which looks slightly odd on skinny old me. However this is overcome once I am wearing a harness or outer layer. If it wasn't for that small dislike I would definitely have given it five stars. As strange as this may sound, the jacket feels as if it has a built in thermostat as it keeps me warm when I need to be but not too warm when I don't need to be. This makes it perfect for climbing in cold conditions, for sitting at camp in the evenings and adds at least a season if not two to your sleeping bag. It also makes a great casual jacket and triumphs over anything my friend or I have. If you're not sure about getting this the answer is simple-BUY IT NOW! (unless you're Dan, in which case it wouldn't suit you at all)