Mountain Hardwear Brono Jacket - Men's

The construction and material quality are tops. Jacket has a nice light fleece lining to keep you warm even with short sleeves in 40deg temps, not to mention excellent wind protection. The fit is athletic and some may not like the high cut armpits, but it allows for great mobility without moving the rest of the jacket around. I am 5'10" 195lbs and pure muscle and a large fits great.

I should preface this review by stating that MHW is my favorite brand of outwear because of the excellent quality of construction and the absolute perfect fit of most of its clothing for my 6'1", 180lb athletic frame. I have more pieces of MHW clothing than I can count. All of my shirts, pullovers, and jackets are Large and the all fit great. Except the Brono.

The Brono is perfect for me in almost every way. Excellent construction, tapered athletic fit, good length for its intended purpose, useful interior and exterior pocket locations, etc. Even the high cut arm holes serve a purpose in that they theoretically allow the body of the jacket to stay put when reaching overhead. Unfortunately, the arm openings are cut too small to wear comfortably with anything other than a light base layer underneath. Even then they are tight enough to cause a fair amount of extra perspiration. I have athletic arms with some muscles, but by no means am I muscle bound, and all other MHW tops fit great.

I ended up returning the jacket. I even tried on an XL locally - the arms fit better, but the rest of the jacket was too big. If I could afford to buy this jacket for only those days that I need nothing other than a light base underneath, I would consider it, but I need a little more versatility.

If you are very thin, this might be a great jacket for you. For anyone else, particularly those with an active and athletic build, I believe you will be disappointed.

I purchased this jacket, but returned it. Had a prior Mountain Hardware softshell that lasted about 5 seasons and I loved. This was similar in terms of features. It is a slightly thicker/higher quality than the G50, and a bit warmer. The reason I returned it was the cut on the shoulders/upper arms is odd. Other reviewers have noted this too. I'm 6' and 185 pounds, thinner "runners" type physique, not "ripped" in the shoulders and pecs, but found this jacket too restricting in the shoulders especially with an insulating layer underneath.