Mountain Hardwear Amalgam Jacket - Men's - 2009 BCS

5'11",140 lbs. M size fits just right on me. Length is good, arms are long enough so they don't ride up. Not baggy, but enough room for base and mid layers.

rlo. For the most part, pockets are not added to a jacket to add warmth. In most jackets the pockets do nothing more than prevent ultimate breathability out of the jacket (multiple layers of fabric for air to move through) and hold some of your stuff. The reason that we use mesh pockets in our highest-end jackets is to maintain ultimate breathability throughout the entire jacket. This is a technical detail we are proud of an very few of our competitors follow suit. The less fabric there is between you and the outside air in a waterproof/breathable shell... the better the garment will breathe. This is also the reason we use "tiny" tape on some of our jackets as well. Tape doesn't breathe due to the adhesive backing it and the small the tape used the more breathable surface area in the jacket. I hope this makes sense and gives you insight. If you want some warmth out of a shell at a fleece or some other insulative layer underneath! I hope this helps. Cheers!

Joe. This would fit the bill perfectly. This is a GoreTex Jacket that utilizes the Paclite laminate coupled with a 70 D face fabric (shell) that gives it much more durability than other Paclite Jackets on the market. It will work well in just about any situation and can handle just about anything you throw at it. I hope this info helps!

Wearing them seperately is usually more comfortable anyways, because they don't bunch up. Also if you get warm you can take off a layer more easily.

Nope. This jacket is not zip-in compatible.

All. The reason that this is classified as "Performance Shell" is due to the fact that we combined the Paclite Membrane with a burly 70D shell fabric to make a less expensive, but just as durable, option to ProShell and Gore did not know where to classify it... so, Performance Shell it is. Also, keep in mind that most Proshell utilizes a 40D shell fabric and this is way burlier than that. It is the exact fabric package that we used in the Xenon Jacket and I am not sure why it's suggested uses or classification changed. It would work phenomenally well as an alpine climbing jacket. Hope this info helps!

it's performance shell: http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Product.aspx?top=2034&prod=3515&cat=2072&viewAll=False

Actually James, this jacket DOES have the Pacline membrane under 70D fabric. It is identical to the Xenon, just new lines.

This has performance shell which is not as breathable and a bit heavier.