I bought these for my wife. We do a lot of skiing in and out of bounds and I hope to get her into overnight winter backcountry. Her hands are endlessly cold despite proper hydration and calorie intake. Bottom line is these gloves are PACKED with insulation. If your hands are still cold with them on, you have issues other than the gloves. No other glove I've seen packs in insulation like this. If you're still cold, buy mittens because gloves just ain't gonna cut if for ya. The only reason they got 4 stars is because of the lack of wrist strap... However she says the elastic wrist feels plenty snug and secure.

I bought this shell for my wife. I'm a huge Mountain Hardwear fan for my own outerwear, but their women's line just wasn't fitting my wife. She's 5,4 115 and in great shape, but MHW outerwear was always either baggy in the stomach, and/or too tight in the hips and shoulders. This jacket is very form fitting with just enough room for a fleece or primaloft mid-layer, and delivers outstanding technical performance. The front pockets are high enough to fit above a pack belt or harness, all zippers are water resistant, and the hood is full coverage. The pockets are all a tad small and there is no interior water bottle pocket. The hood does not roll up, and it has a funky cinching system. The wire brim is also kinda funky and I'm a little concerned it will end up breaking or poking a hole through. There is no waste drawstring, but then again the fit is very trim. The velcro closures seem cheaper than MHW as well but work fine so far. Overall a great shell if you find on sale like I did, but it seems to lack a lot of bells and whistles MHW has for the same price range when at full price.

This baby's got enough light to find junctions to unfamiliar, seldom traveled trails, but is "light" enough to have no excuse for leaving it behind on an overnighter. The 06 model came out even brighter (30-some % ?) than the 04 model, so I upgraded, and it made a huge difference. Since most wear a hood when it's raining, the water resistance comes in handy if your pack gets wet in the daytime, or if using during intense wet snow. I wouldn't drop it in a creek, or use it for night scubadiving though.

Used for so far: Twice at 12,500 dry windy base camp in Rockies at -0 at dusk, night, and pre-dawn.
Performance: 650fp kept me comfortably warm. Can feel the heat retention almost as soon as it goes on. Can't wait to test in some extreme snowier even colder weather. Pockets are placed correctly for use with pack if needed while pack is in use- ie. this is a jacket for non-active moments, except for crazy places like Everest, etc. There is not a shortage of pocket space in this thing, inside or out. Zip-off hood very warm and shapes to face nice. Draw cords really keep out the breezes. Appears down not quite 650fp in last two sleeve baffles, but this works good for fitting inside glove gauntlets. Never noticed any cold down there anyway. Thing could weigh a little less and pack smaller, if made from PacLite, but this is the best down/waterproof exterior combo out right now. A true waterproof down jacket would have welded baffles- this doesn't, but consequently is more breathable. Stay in your tent if it's a wet blizzard. The less weather resistant, yet much lighter weight option would be the Phantom, but it had no hood, and appears to have less drawcord options. The Tiger color is definitely a great emergency color if SAR is trying to find.

This is the best vest out there. Windproof and lightweight it's a perfect supplement to a Capilene midweight long sleeve on summer backcountry overnights when it get breezy on exposed terrain, and will keep you warm at dusk/sunrise. It's trim fit is designed for the 33% of U.S.A. that's not overweight, and aids in efficient body heat retention and layering under a trim fitting superlight rain jacket. My only complaint is the placement of the hand pockets. The zippers end up under a hip belt. This is a bad thing access-wise and comfort-wise. (See the tech jacket for proper placement of hand pockets.) The Michigan skier in the first review nailed the other use of this vest too- high aerobic activity where you want the nips to stay thawed but need some real estate to evaporate moisture.

I think only one other piece of clothing ever got a perfect from me. Windproof and lightweight it's a perfect supplement to a Capilene midweight long sleeve on really early/really late season backpacking when the temp dips or it gets breezy on exposed terrain. It works to keep you warm at dusk/sunrise too, but I also keep the compressor PL for really chilly, non-active moments. It's trim fit is designed for the 33% of U.S.A. that's not overweight, and aids in efficient body heat retention and layering under a trim fitting superlight rain jacket or Gore shell. Props to the proper placement of hand pockets on this jacket, which is one area a lot of jackets/vests flunk, and the last deciding factor for 5 stars.

I forgot to say that I have used this shell on several AT outings. Going uphill, it opens up very well/easily to ventilate. It's like turning the AC on when the extra long pitzips get opened up. I've also experienced some pretty violent blizzards with it, and it seals up awesome and won't flap around in the wind. Just cinch the hood and bring on the blizzard b/c it cinches perfectly around your head so you can turn your head and still see out- instead of seeing the side of the hood. I got this thing a week before going up into the Tetons, and it was a very wise choice. The only buyers remorse I have is not being able to wait b/c it went on a drastic sale barely a month after I got it.

Bomb proof materials and construction as always from Mountain Hardwear. I've made several rough runs through the trees and the jacket shows no signs of wear, except for some green stains. All the details show a lot of thought was put into the shell. Only one item is not well-planned for the true backcountry enthusiast; the jacket is jacket length (short) enabling use of a harness, but the pockets are not the usual Mountain Hardwear chest high slanted pockets, so they are not accessible beneath a hip belt, and actually rub like crazy underneath one. Otherwise the jacket is perfect. It's an efficient fitting cut, with enough room for a mid and base layer. In the pow, even with the skirt zipped in, you'll need some high back pants or bibs to keep out the cold stuff.