Peak Performance BL Down Jacket - Men's - 2011 BCS

Do you believe that what you get is what you pay for? Sure Peak may cost you more of those precious clams than almost all other comparable jackets but I smile every day I put this bad boy on and isn't that worth something. Overall the quality is flawless and hard to put in words, you have to put it on and experience it. Not too many frills here but the design and features are meant to be easily worked with one hand. This jacket is extremely warm with its down and synthetic insulation qualities yet super light and weighs just about nothing. I originally bought this jacket to use as both an outer-layer on cold days and a mid layer (under a shell) for those wet or deep snow days. It is puffy which is to be expected with 800 fill plus synthetic insulations. I found that my shell which I purposely bought large did not fit well over this jacket. Not to worry as I found out the first day I wore it that the weather resistance of the gore-windstopper fabric is very effective at keeping moderate snow from penetrating. My old North Face Neptuse is just about useless once precipitation starts so the BlackLight jacket just about blew my mind.

I am 5'9" and 175lbs and I bought a medium. It fits perfect, the sleeves are not so long that your palms are in the cuffs and the fit is snug to the hips and waist to not allow cold weather to penetrate or draft up your back. I usually wear a Stoic merino long-sleeve baselayer under this jacket and I am comfortable in just about all temps. I am a believer in buying quality and wearing it out rather than buying a new jacket every year because it isn't quite right. Buy this jacket, you won't be disappointed.