Mountain Hardwear Cohesion Jacket - Women's - 2007 BCS

I wore this jacket on a backpacking trip above the treelin and caught in heavy rain showers and 70 mile wind. We were in hiking in the rain for more than 12 hours and it kept me dry. It is a long jacket but the bottom can be tightened.

I've not had this jacket very long but I already know this is one tough jacket! I'm working horses, doing barn and farm chores, and this jacket does the job. It is very comfortable, like a second skin. The fit is great. Keeps me dry! Easily packs. This jacket takes first in my opinion!

I did not have an opportunity to evaluate the jacket's performance since it did not fit well; but I hope my comments regarding fit will be useful. I was looking for a warmer and longer rain jacket for a trip to New Zealand during their winter. Or if not warmer, larger than my lightweight, form-fitting shell so that I could wear an extra layer. Based on the reviews, I thought Cohesion jacket would work. Unfortunately, it is not much more than a shell, though perhaps it would be warmer based on its ventilation. And I could have fit another layer beneath the jacket on my upper body. The problem was the snug closure around the widest part of my hips and the zipper going as low as my upper thighs. While the jacket fit, I had serious concerns about walking and stepping over things with a tight zipper that low. I have ripped the zipper on my old winter coat several times for similar reasons, and could imagine taking a large step onto a boat or over a log on the trail resulting in the bottom zipper of the Cohesion ripping. Note, I'm not saying that the construction of the zipper is poor; there's only so much force that a zipper should be expected to take, and due to the cut of the Cohesion, I would have been overloading the zipper too often. It's a nice jacket that would probably work well for someone taller or someone with narrower hips. For comparison, I am 5'5", wear either size 4 or 6 pants (and a 2 or 4 shirt) depending on the cut, and I ordered a small.

This jacket is amazing.
I would not call it a backcountry jacket however, it is more of a solid rain jacket. it has good pit zips so its not too bad in wet conditions if you open those, but as with any raincoat, if you dont want water coming through, youre going to have condensation. but in comparison with the many other rain jackets i have used, this is a much better jacket. i use mine in the summer and warm spring and fall, probably down to about 30 degrees or so with a shirt or two underneath.

oh and Eva, i also have a freakishly long torso, and this jacket fits over my butt. its FANTASTIC for tall people.

I gave this to my special lady for a trip to AK and its performance did not go unrecognized. She's always cold and seems to find ways to get wet but the Mountain Hardwear Cohesion jacket kept her dry. FINALLY!

I was looking for a longer jacket, one to cover my waist and hips completely and this is great. I am about 5' tall and a size small fits me very well. So far it is holding up nicely, and I am very happy with this jacket.