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 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 buld 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.

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.

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.

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....

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.

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.