Im not sure what the previous reviewer is talking about, because I must have gotten a different jacket than he did. To start out, I was alittle disappointed with backcountry because I found this jacket at a different site a few weeks ago for 148.00 when backcountry.com still had it for 274.00. I asked if they would price match since I always get my gear from BC and they declined, but suprisingly they were able to sell it at a cheaper price! Kinda weak from BC, but whatev. About the jacket: I have worn this jacket in 25 degree weather, which was alittle cool with just a T-shirt under it, to riding my bike in 60 degree weather yesterday, to pouring rain. In warm weather, the pit-zips are sweet and you can open all 4 pockets for additional ventilation. The shell beads water excellently and had no probs in the rain. I am 5'8, around 185, medium athletic build, and the large is a good fit, more atheletic than I'm used to, but thats how it is. The hood is ridic huge when not wearin a helmet, but kept my head dry when it was raining. Good jacket and good deal from BC for the quality.

First off, I am 5'11, 250 with a fairly athletic build plus a bit of a belly; the XL fit pretty good, maybe a little snug but the XXL would have been too big.

I picked up the Synchro after I returned the Backcountry.com Shift Welder softshell becuase I wanted pitzips. This jacket is just not what I was looking for. I wanted a softshell for a stretchy and completely comfortable wind barrier that is mostly waterproof. Maybe even use the softshell as a midlayer under my gore-tex hard shell. The Conduit fabric makes this jacket too much like my mountian hardwear hardshell. As a result the jacket just didn't breathe as well as the BC Shift. I went hiking on a windy 30 deg day and wore the synchro to block the wind; It did a good job of that but when I took the jacket off at the end of the day it was soaked with sweat inside. I will note that there was sweat on the outside too so it was breathing, just not enough. As a comparison I put a full day of hard skiing in 40 deg temps wearing the Shift softshell and never felt too hot, too cold, or damp. The moral of my long story is I sent the Synchro back and picked up another Shift jacket when it come up on Steapandcheap for half price. I guess pit zips aren't needed with the right jacket.

This jacket was intended to replace an Arcteryx softshell that I've completely worn out. Instead, it has effectively replaced both my Arcteryx softshell and hardshell when used for skiing and ski mountaineering. Extremely waterproof, great breatheability, functional pockets, helmet compatible hood, it's well thought out. Only two downsides, the collar is not tall enough to keep the wind off your face, and the lift pass pocket was useless for me(I cut it off).
Very glad I bought this jacket.
Miles.

This is my first soft shell so I may not be the most qualified in terms of having a baseline to judge by, but I've been wearing a tradition shell for almost 20 years so I can surely compare the two. I don't know why I was so reluctant to go the soft shell route... I think it mostly stemmed from the believe that, "no way can that work." Well I was wrong. Not only did it "work" but far better than I could have ever imagined as well as my current gortex hard shell.

I'm a fairly decent sized dude. 6 foot and 205 lbs, yeah yeah I can shed about 15 pounds I know...and I wear 44 reg. jacket (talking suits here fellas) so I went with an XL. I don't like the "athletic fit" that I see with most softshells - it seems like it'd be too constricting. Not to mention the one I bought was the last one of last year's jacket and I got a smoking deal on it, so I went with the XL because that's all backcountry had.

Anyway to the shell. I'll start off by laying out what I normally wear (not including Spring riding) on top. Patagona lightweight crew capilene, patagonia lightweight T capilene and then the fleece liner that came with my columbia gortex shell. The fleece liner is definitely on the ex-weight side and is brushed as well. It sounds like a lot, I know, and I'm not the type of guy to overlayer, I hate being hot on the mountain, but that truly was comfy for me in most all conditions. What I now wear for layers under the soft shell: patagonia midweight crew capilene and said patagonia lightweight T capilene. That's it. So much more comfortable in the "bulk" department.

The first time I wore this shell, that morning on the hill it was 5 degrees outside. I was very warm and comfy. Later that day it got up to 35 degrees (air temp) and super sunny, a very warm day, and I wasn't hot in the jacket ever. Only once did I have to crack the pit zips for a chair ride up.

The second time I wore this jacket it was a far different day. Complete overcast, 10 degrees as a high and all day I was very warm and comfy.

The third time I wore this jacket it was 20 degrees and dumping snow (2 inches an hour) all day. A pretty moist snow by Colorado standards, and I was perfectly dry and warm and comfy all day. After this day I stopped bringing my hardshell and old layering system up in the car as back up.

Unbelieveable. It's amazing how this jacket can perform in such varied conditions. Since those first three days, I've been in all sorts of varied conditions and this jacket handles them all with ease.

The construction of this jacket seems pretty bomber. My friend's soft shell (arcteryx I believe) seems to be made of either lesser material or construction. This synchro seams are well constructed and there doesn't seem to be a weak spot on this jacket at all. Plenty of pockets for carrying snacks/lunch but not too many to jeapordize its performance.

I cannot pimp this jacket enough, it's well worth the asking price in peak season let alone on super sale in the offseason.

This jacket is super. It does everything it is supposed, and does it well in style and comfort. The only con is the hood, which is HUGE. It perfect for wearing over a helmet, but it is pretty rediculous for anything besides, like running or boating.

Bought this just in time for a trip to Jackson Hole for New Year's. I like the fit and comfort of this jacket, the sleeves were plenty long which can be an issue for me. The hood is huge -- great for helmets, but you'll look like a jawa if you're bare-headed. Our trip started with warm temps, high humidity and snow, and ended with temps -20 F, so this jacket really had to cover the gamut. It performed like a champ -- the jacket breathed well through both the fabric and pit-zips, it was soft and quiet even in the bone-chilling cold, moved with my body, and shed snow and ice like a champ. For years I've been skiing with just a 3-layer Gore-Tex Marmot jacket, so this was a bit warmer than I'm used to, but it's pretty easy to regulate your temp. I recommend it.

This jacket rocks!! It breathes well while biking,hiking,and im going to take it to the slopes and give it a workout also. It sheds water and the material is really comfy, cant go wrong with this one!

Very happy, great for nearly all spring, fall, and winter outings. Have used it in pouring rain while backpacking, xc skiing and snowshoeing, worked great for everything. Very good venting with pit zips and 4 mesh lined pockets that also vent your core when open. I am 6'4" and 200 lbs, I have a large and it is a good, snug, athletic fit, a bit short in the waist but not above my belt line sleeves are plenty long for my long arms. buy one now!