I'm in love.

My usual philosophy when traveling light and fast is that you don't need a fully waterproof jacket because you're going to sweat a lot and get wet inside anyway. The main thing you want is wind protection to avoid freezing wind chills. However if you could get a waterproof jacket that didn't weigh any more than a decent water resistant softshell, then you have the best of both worlds. And this is it! It's the only one I've seen, certainly the only one I've bought -- this jacket is everything. It's super light and is still waterproof. It's amazing. You can do fast and light but if you want to slow down, it will still keep you dry. So in my books that makes this the ideal go-anywhere, do-anything jacket. It doesn't need to be thick and heavy, you should be wearing layers below if it's really cold anyway.

It's breathable, but *doesn't* have underarm zips for ventilation. The light and fast purist would say this is a good thing, but I'll leave that for you to decide :)

It has two front zip pockets, and if you feel so inclined, it can be folded up into one of it's own pockets for very compact carrying. The pockets themselves aren't seam sealed, but the pockets are seam sealed from the main body, as is everything else in the main body. So something in your pockets might get damp, but you won't. It only has a basic single layer storm flap with velcro because this jacket is all about light weight -- it doesn't seem to be a major problem though.

It has elasticated sleeves and a drawcord around the waist. It also has a small zip cover at the top of the main front zip so that the zip doesn't annoy you in strong wind, which I really appreciate after some of my previous jackets.

Because it's not composed of multiple layers of materials, you're directly in contact with the waterproof lining. It feels quite different from a typical softshell, and it almost feels like it sticks to you when it's a bit damp inside. But it's only a very minor thing and you don't notice it after a while.

I have now used it in a mountain-top blizzard, hail, snow, high winds and rain, and it has generally worked well in all situations. The drawcords around the hood work well and keep the cords fairly tidy so they're not flapping in your face (a problem I've had with some other lightweight jackets).

There is a small peak on the hood that gives it a good shape, and a bit of extra protection from vertical rain. The rain where I come from is near horizontal though, so it doesn't do much good. In 80kph winds (50mph), I found that the peak fluttered a lot and was quite annoying. Eventually I realised you can just tuck it under and inside the hood, and then the problem goes away.

In high winds it does act like a bit of a parachute if you're heading into the wind. With a backpack it's not such a problem, but otherwise it really balloons up and drags you backwards no matter how tightly you draw the cords closed. Of course all light jackets will do that to some extent, and maybe it's just my imagination, but it seemed a little more noticeable with this jacket. However, like I say, with a pack on; no big drama.

Being light and thin, it's not as tough as some jackets, so I wouldn't recommend it for bush bashing, particularly moving through thorny or prickly bush, or a lot of sliding on snow or rocks. Unlike a full weight Gortex membrane jacket, if the outer layer of this is damaged, you will lose waterproofness.

I've used another Sierra Designs jacket in the past, and one concern I've had is the zip durability. One of the zips failed on my other Sierra Designs jacket, but these zips look slightly better so hopefully they will last.

I admit I'm still in that puppy love stage with this jacket. I can't say how well it will still be performing in 6 months time, but right now it's just great.

Overall, I firmly believe this is currently the best jacket in the world for light and fast travel with occasional stops. Big claims, but there you go.