Bought a medium hoback and a medium igneo jacket. The hoback outer fabric was much nicer than the igneo jacket. The igneo was warmer than the hoback but was definitely thicker too. The hoback fits strange. I always wear a medium in everything, but the medium was too long in the sleeves. So I returned for a small which fits much better in the sleeves but is a little tight for layering. I like that it is goretex and still has prima loft insulation, that is what really sold me on this jacket. Overall I like it, just wish the sizing was more normal.

After getting last year's Hoback jacket for my wife and being very impressed with it, I thought I would try the men's version out myself. The 2009 men's version shares many of the features that I really like with last year's jacket: removable hood and powder skirt, great interior pockets and nice pit zips.

I'm on the larger end of Cloudveil's medium size, and the jacket, while certainly not uncomfortable in the chest, doesn't leave much room for anything else underneath. The arms in particular feel snug to me, although the sleeves are plenty long. The jacket length is pretty typical for these jackets - when seated the jacket will not be between you and the seat/ground.

The biggest change from last year that Cloudveil made was replacing the Pro Shell with the Gore-Tex performance shell. I have no doubt that the performance shell would perform admirably. However, the jacket also feels much stiffer and burlier than last year's model that I liked so much. While it does allow Cloudveil to drop the price $100 from last year, I really have to say that I don't like it anywhere near as much. The stiffer fabric is particularly noticeable when I tried it on side-by-side with the Arcteryx Sentry jacket. I think the performance shell also contributed to the one thing that I disliked about the Hoback jacket: the armpits of the jacket feel borderline uncomfortable. I’m assuming that it is a combination of the pit-zips and the stiffer/bulkier shell material. This probably wouldn't be an issue when actually skiing, but it's hard to overlook when comparing jackets side by side.

The Hoback jacket is clearly well-made and it falls at a nice price point for insulated Gore-Tex jackets. I can see where someone else might even prefer the burlier feel of this shell over some of the Pro Shell options - it just isn't for me. I would certainly encourage people looking for an insulated ski jacket to try out the Hoback because with the great features that I listed initially it could easily be the right jacket for them.