Norrøna Svalbard Dri3 Jacket - Men's - 2011 BCS

This is an awesome jacket. I have only had good experience with Norrøna and their products. It does have a longer fit overall and does cover your butt about halfway so this may or may not be a draw/turn off for some. I did find that the sleeves were a bit bulky but that is just my experience. I have yet to have the durability issue of the cinches stated by vic. I would definitely recommend this jacket, especially if you can snap it on sale.

I had never heard of this brand, but when I tried it on I knew they had put time into designing it. It forms to my body and breaths (heat in, moisture out) perfectly. I have gone running, sailing, and skiing in it and I seem to like it more every time. Great coat.

This jacket is a virtual shield against wind and any type of precipitation. Light weight and excellent stowability; rolls up into a softball sized ball. Hood has great adjustments and moves with your head with or without helmet through full range of motion. Great cut makes for a unique fit with ample arm and torso length. Looks great! I purchased both the caviar and diva blue then returned the one I didn’t like as much. Caution! Diva blue is super bright. The only thing I would change about this jacket would be to add reinforcements to the elbows, shoulders and butt.

I was not too sure what I was buying, I will be honest went into ordering it blind. Never heard of Norrona before, did not know how good the product would be. Let me tell you, right after opening the plastic I fell in love with the jacket. Surprisingly I wore it the second day after buying it because it was raining up on campus. It did everything it was supposed to! I really like the slim fit (athletic) fit of the jacket. I ordered the Caviar and the colors look awesome, got tons of compliments on it and I have only had it for three days! Sick jacket for use anywhere where it is going to rain, even just as a normal shell. Norrona has gained my respect!

Nice jacket but much too long and I'm 6'4"

Never heard of this brand but when I saw the Svalbard pop up on the BC Labor Day sale for $200 I decided to take a chance based upon the many positive reviews it received. I really wanted to love this jacket for the upcoming winter season, but after two separate plastic pieces broke in under 2 minutes, I quickly got an RMA number.Appearance: I really liked the Caviar with Blue Zipper combo, however I was a little disappointed when I noticed the rubber zipper pulls which attach to the metal zipper pulls are actually a lighter shade of blue then the zipper tape. Enough that I can see the difference from 5' away.Fit: 6'/185LBS/33" Waist/43R suit jacket/Athletic build. I choose a Large and it fit perfect IMO. I could place two fists on top of each other between my the center of my chest and the inside of the jacket. My hands cupped the bottom of the jacket (Approximately 8" below my natural belt line). The hood was large enough to accommodate any size helmet, so much so that wearing the hood without one on looked kinda silly unless it was completely cinched down in the back which I also think looks a little weird by itself.The underarm vents open up right into the jacket, there is no mesh at all to keep out snow/rain/misc. The main zipper pull is on the left side of the jacket, which is opposite of what most men are accustomed too. Normally men's zippers are on the right and women's are on the left. I'm not sure if this tradition exists in Norway. The main zipper has only one zipper, IE. You cannot zip the top up and then unzip a little from the bottom. The zipper pits are small and it takes an extra step to zip the zippers into them. Starting the main zipper took me about 4 - 5 seconds. I tried several times and each time I had to put a lot of force into getting it started. When unzipping the main zipper from a completely zipped up state, the zipper tends to catch around the neck line where the form of the jacket changes to accommodate the chest. Again, this requires you to hold the jacket with your off hand in order to easily unzip it past this point. The sleeves are too long for my liking but that seems to be the style these days. They extended approximately 1.5" past my wrist, requiring the velcro straps to be used to fit correctly.Technical Aspects: There is one additional pocket not mentioned on BC.com. That is the interior mesh Napoleon pocket above the right pec (Behind the Norrona Label, but on the inside.) There exists an elastic cinch cord around the belt line that is accessed via each of the front lower pockets. This can be seen in the photo of the inside of the jacket, it is the black tape. There also exists an elastic cinch cord around the bottom of the jacket. The belt cinch is held in place by a plastic alligator jaw piece that pinches the elastic, this pieces is then glued into the plastic pull which I have photographed. I released the clamp on the cinch cord and pulled on the pull, with very little force, the alligator jaw was ripped out of the pull and the elastic cord disappeared into the hole wrapping around the back. I managed to get the cord back out and tied a knot through the end to secure it. At this point I was disappointed but figured I'd live with it because it could have just been a poor glue job and the fact that it can only be seen when you pull the pockets inside out. I then proceeded to pinch the clamp on the bottom cinch cord and tighten it up. Upon doing so, the plastic clamp broke, the top piece flew out and so did the spring. Please don't accuse me of using to much force. I baby my things and it broke with almost zero effort. I put the pieces back together and decided to RMA it.Bottom line: If you are buying a Norrona product that has no technical features, IE, A base layer or fleece, than I think it compares very nicely to Arc'Teryx but when you started adding technical features, IE, cinch cords, zip pits, hoods, underarm vents, it falls way behind in quality.

This is my first Norrona jacket (and product) and I was positively delighted when I received the jacket. When on sale, it is definitely a steal. I'm 6'2, 180 and I got it in L. The fit is really good, the sleeves are perfect (finally a jacket with long sleeves) and the body length is really not too short. In L, I have plenty of room to add some extra layers and I think that for those being after a tighter fit, a size M would be even better.
After few days on the slopes, I can report that the windproofing as well as the waterproofing are excellent. You really feel bomber, despite Dri3 being lighter than the Gore-Tex competition (in three layers).
I have some concerns thought that the jacket won't hold up that well after several weeks of abuse: wearing a backpack, I noticed that the material was already weakened by frictions between the elastic cord at the waistline and the padding of the backpack.
I would say that the jacket is still a perfect choice, just that longevity will come with a bit of care. It is not a 3L Gore-Tex jacket so don't expect the same level of toughness.

Definitely diggin this jacket. I was a bit nervous about how thin the material was but it's proven to be pretty solid. I'm thinking that being so thin, it'll be an excellent option year round.

Love the cut. The sleeves are great for going over the gloves. I'm 6'1 170lbs and went with the XL. The length is great and works well for not having a powder skirt. Perfect for layering as well.

I've gotten a lot of compliments on the caviar with blue zippers. Adds a nice bit of flare without looking like a smurf.

Great long length--a pet peeve of mine is short rain jackets--seemed perfect for sailing/hiking. Styling is wonderful--no bulk. Long length in some jackets translates to bulky feel--not so here (just do not have a beer gut, guys). Blue was great color--two tone fabric better styling than the solid color now so prevelent in what other companies are offering. I would have kept it but the long zipper was surrounded by very stiff material and something in construction happened that caused a pucker mid-chest--funky. Hood is incredible--you can get through a real storm with it and plenty of room for hat/helmet if needed. Wanted to keep the jacket in the worst way, and would have tried exchanging but Medium size in color was gone. If you can find color/size that works, I recommend the jacket. Was unable to test waterproof claims, but the fabric and seams look to be up to the task.

I bought this jacket as a first soft shell - it looked good and the manufacturers were highly recommended (and so was backcountry.com) but it far exceeded my expectations and lived up to none of my fears. I wore it in -30 degrees at Breck and Vail with just a thin fleece and thermal and was comfortable all day long. It fits well, totally keeps out the wind, looks good, allows great flexibility, and is tough and stain resistant to even the world famous Breck chilli dog. As a tip, I wore the but well designed hood up, under a helmet, and was well protected from cold drafts in that way too, but it equally is big enough to cover a helmet externally too.