Mountain Hardwear Vertical Jacket - Men's - 2009 BCS

For me, this shell is perfect, if I designed a shell this would be it. First off is material - Gore-tex Pro Shell, which is unbeatable in blocking wind and water while still being breathable and light. It really is surprizing how light pro shell is while still being so absolutely stormproof. The fabric is less stiff than some other pro shell jackets (TNF Free Thinker II, for example), not sure what that means other than it moves better. The jacket is fully seam sealed and built true to Mountain Hardwears legendary quality standards - no goofy or weak stitching and the like.
The design of this jacket is superb. It's not minimalist where you end up making do with what you have, but it doesn't look over the top even though it's fully loaded and functional. It has all the pockets (wrist, chest, multiple internal), but it's not bulky or flashy. The pockets are well placed. The hand pockets aren't too high like on some shells - they don't need to be that high to be harness/pack compatible. The inside pockets are in good places and easy to access and operate. The core vents aren't in the armpits, but a little lower so they get good air exchange even if your arms aren't out. The powder skirt is removeable, so this shell can be used for multiple activities (like snow shoeing, for example where you don't need a pow skirt and it just makes your layers ride up with that kind of arm and torso movement). The hood is 3 way adjustable + removeable - if you know you aren't going to use it that day, you can take it off and not worry about it flapping in the breeze or snaging on stuff. The cuffs adjust well, the fabric doesn't bunch up when you tighten them down. The external zippers are all water tight with garages, except the main front zipper which is two-way and has a storm flap. There is a drawstring cinch cord at the collar, waist and hem for ultimate adjustibility. The entire collar has a microfleece lining to keep your cheeks and chin from getting raw.
The fit of this jacket is great. Not restrictive in the arms, shoulders or chest. The torso is accomodating but not baggy. There is room to layer and go over your gloves at the wrist (if you choose) without being restrictive, but not enough to create excess that flaps around in wind. You will likely need to size up though, but who cares what size it says on the tag when the proper size fits so well? I have a Mountain Hardwear Cohesion and Downhill Down both in L and the XL in the Vertical is a perfect fit.
Missing a recco but aside from possibly that, this jacket leaves you wanting absolutely nothing more from your shell.

I got this jacket for x-mas and i must say that it is very breathable and had a great fit. As the other reviews said, not a lot of room for huge layers or upside down light bulb shaped people. I use skin tight base layer and Arcterx or MH ploar fleece mid wieght. I made 5 laps climbing up Murdocks peak to avoid the human slalom course and I did get overly warm a few hiking up but was pleased with how quickly the coat got rid of my sweat and I was comfortable. The closures on the sleeves hold well eventhough they have the velco ovals. The hood fits well over my G10MX and I don't feel constricted at all, however, out in the rain with the hood up and no helmet I feel gansta. Pockets on the inside seem sturdy, just have to see if they will stand the test of time, I have no doubt this jacket will hold up very well. The other jacket I have looked at is the Sidwinder SV, but got a better price on this jacket. I also prefer the pass holder that flips underneath as opposed to the sleeve hold on the Acteryx, those seem to turn yellow after a while in the sun. The shell also does not feel as stiff, at least when they are brand new as compared to the Sidewinder SV either. I suspect this jacket is just bombproof too. Lastly I got this jacket because my NF jacket ripped from snagging the pockets on branches, railings and door knobs. The sealed zippers won't catch any of these things or leak like the old NF. I've owned several summit series NF goretex shells and liked them as well as Steep Tech, Spyder, Marker and a host of others I can't remembner. This jacket blows all those away. Really there are only a handful of jackets in the league of the Verticle and this seems to be the best value. You may be able to get something for a bit less but this is it.The last thing I will say is I like the cut of the jacket, it is designed to move and is not restrictive and the venting works very well. Great job MH! I recommend, that's why my name is on this review.Update March 24, 2010:The only change I'd make to this coat is the velcro on the wrist closures, on bigger days snow clogs up the velcro and I find myself fiddling more than I'd like with the closures, it needs a solid peice of velcro rather than the ovals.When it's not snowing hard or I'm not sticking my hand down into wet snow they are fine but I suspect most velcor doesn't work much better in the same conditions. I have been poked by tree branches, skidded across some sharpies (rocks, ouch) and brushed up against all kinds of things and the fabric is holding up well no tears or holes yet after two seasons.

Opted to dump the cash on this jacket figuring I'd use it for skiing and mtb biking in cold, snowy conditions for many seasons. After a cold Christams week in Keystone and a few days in 18 degree weather on the bike I'm really happy I bought it. I used a good quality base, not-so-great mid and this shell and was very warm. I scraped many branches on my rides and have no ill effects on the jacket.

Good looking, durable material, intuitive features and lots of pockets made it a no-brainer for me.

Only reason it doesn't get 5 stars...when using the snowskirt it caused my midlayer to ride up my torso which was uncomfortable. I stopped using after 1st day.

I've used many 'high end' ski shells over the years, this is the best one.
- arms flair nicely to put over your gloves and then velcro - velcro on the arm is only in elliptical patches, I'd prefer larger patches or a continuous band. it sticks well nicely now and crumples up well when cinching up the slack... but I wonder how long the velcro will hold up...
- vents are back side- call 'em kidney vents- not under your arm like so many stupid jackets, these will actuall vent when you are not holding your arms over your head.
- pockets are well placed, zipper pulls could be a grippy-er rubber, but do have nice nubs on the end to grab.
- collar is plenty wide to duck your head in to on the cold ride up the lift, collar is pleny high as well, nice soft material lining it all around, not just over the zipper at your chin.
- fit is athletic, skin tight base layer, plus medium insulating layer + mountain hardwear windstopper fleece and no room for anything bulky- but you will be totally warm as long as you actually ski and generate warmth- if you are poser, go buy a puffy Tommy Hillfiger jacket to stand around in.
- plenty of arm articulation
- shell has some sturdiness to it, kind of stands on its own, but is still soft and flexible at cold temps
- removable power skirt is nice

best I have ever owned.

Save yourself some money and get a more breathable Mountain Hardwear Xenon Jacket instead. It is made with Gore-Pac-Lite which is more breathable but only 2.5 layers so supposedly not as durable. They make up for that though with a really tough 70 denier nylon on the outside. Gore gets to tell the manufacture whether a shell is a "Pro Shell" or a "Peformance Shell" and I figure Gore didn't want to call it a pro-shell to make sure people kept buying the expense Gore 3L jackets.

I love this jacket. Hand pockets where I want them (I hate how some north face raise them up), removable hood (that works well! even with a helmet) and powder skirt, plenty of internal pockets (mp3 player with passthrough from front chest as well as internal, goggle, chest pocket and arm pocket (nice for goggle cloth), flip down ski pass holder (velcros out up and out of the way if you don't need it, and is attached by elastic fabric for give), additional ring for attaching lift tickets, nice suede-like material inside the neck/chin area that is comfortable (don't see this on many shell jackets and it's a niiiice touch), a fold-over hook/loop overlap for the front of the entire main zipper (I prefer this to maximize wind protection), and lastly the fabric is looped over the top of the zipper so that the inner protection flap (that keeps your chin/lips from rubbing on the zipper) doesn't move (if you've had a jacket that has a flimsy flap this is a pain in the butt... like my Descente jacket). This is just a well designed jacket. The only negative is that the fabric doesn't feel like 3 layer pro shell, but I can't seem to confirm my hunch (comparing it to an Arcteryx Sidewinder SV I have which is the 480N 3-layer pro-shell). I unfortunately can't comment yet on how durable the jacket is, or how water/windproof it is as I haven't gotten it out to the slopes yet. At a glance though this is a badass jacket and I wish other manufacturers would take a look at these really simple features and add them.

Wore this last weekend skiing in the Cascades. It was freezing rain at the base and this jacket kept me dry as a bone. Hood is plenty big for a helmet and when it's zipped all the way up it covered almost up to my goggles. There are plenty of well placed draw cords to cinch up or release depending on how you need it. This jacket is definately high end and is well worth the $$$.

I had the berylium - great coat! but lost it. I was a medium in that. Got the Vertical and it was way boxy, way bulky. Not great for someone 5'6" and slim. And much heavier - good for riding lifts, not for all around backpacking, skiing, etc. There was also no tighteners for the rim of the hood - weird - only cords to tighten the back, not the perimeter. Inadequate completely on that end.

Almost perfect. The fabic, construction, breathability, etc. are all top notch as one would expect from a $500 jacket. The men's medium fits me perfectly (5'4" and 150lbs. with a 41" chest). My only gripes are that it is a tad heavier than the Arcteryx sidewinder (which I did not get because I like to be able to open the zip and not have a collor flpping in my face), even with the hood off. Also the collar is quite high, so even with the center zip it still is flappy when open. The only other problem is that when you open the zipper from below to belay the fabric tends to catch in the zipper when rezipping.

I bought this jacket without even trying it on and I love it. I'm 6'2" 180lbs, 34waist and the L size is perfect. I can wear a light jacket underneath and I don't but feel any restriction in my upper body. The cut is perfect - the pictures don't do it justice.

Two small complaints. The front interferes with my mouth when fully zipped up. I guess lots of people like this feature because I've noticed that both MHW and Arcteryx have been following the trend of a higher neck in recent years. The other minor gripe is that the vents could be bigger. It is a ski jacket after all.

Amazing jacket all around, but I feel like MH tried to make everyone happy at the same time. The adjustable collar doesn't stand tall in crappy condition like other jackets. If they had just gone with the stand collar it would be the bomb....

I personally prefer a single insulated jacket. I tried the vertical to see if i would like the layering concept for alpine skiing. The MH monkey fur pull over kept me very warm as a midlayer. I am six foot 180 and the large was perfect. It come down to a personaly preferance of layering or an insulated jacket. At this time i like an insultated, but if I do ever want to got with a shell for layering this will be it. Last comment is I did miss putting my hands in a soft lined pocket instead of a plastic felling pocket, and having a softer collar feel like my Spyder Alpen has.

This jacket is more than I was looking for. No insulation so that I can layer as I see fit and capitalize on breathability. I use this for Apline skiing and wear an Icebreaker 320 as a midweight with similar baselayers. I have not over heated or sweated out my shirt yet. Tough fabric too. I have snagged branches and actually crashed this season into a lodgepole pine full speed. I was messed up but the jacket is still flawless. Highly recommended. Avoid nonbreathable midlayers. They defeat the purpose for a 495 dollar jacket.