matt

you read the reviews to see if you should or shouldn't buy it. You should! But I'll start off with the cons to get straight to the point.
1. Yes, the sizing is weird. I recommend sizing down. Where I normally wear a medium even in patagonia shirts a medium was huge in this jacket. I'm 5'9" 145 lbs with "broad" shoulders relatively speaking. so while the fit wasn't bad in the shoulders so much and the sleeve length I couldn't deal with all the extra room and length in the midsection. I was worried a small would have sleeves too short and be a little restricting in the shoulders, but it was perfect. So be wary of the sizing before purchasing
2. To me this jacket is for backcountry adventuring where weight and packability matter. This is my belay jacket for backcountry climbing, and if any of you are serious climbers you know how nice it is to have a second bottom up zipper so you can keep it zipped and still open the bottom for your belay device. If it bothers me that much in the future I'm sure I can have one put on it and solve that problem.
so if neither of these cons have turned you away from this jacket let me tell you about how awesome it is!
Super light and compressible!
Awesome loft, esp for synthetic insulation; it's very warm
Sizing down allows for easier layering: still plenty of room underneath for a baselayer and a fleece, yet small enough to throw my hard shell over top
The hood is very adjustable with quality cords and cinching systems. Not too big for normal use, but still big enough to fit a helmet under it well. It also will move with your head when not wearing a helmet, so as not to limit your vision
Big hand pockets and HUGE inside pockets that are good for bottles or books or whatever. Seriously, I can carry my textbooks in them!
It comes with a super light stuff sack that I keep in the zipper chest pocket. It works out perfect since I'd probably never use that pocket for much else anyway. At the same time though it's nice to have a good zipper pocket if you need to keep some change or cigarettes or whatever else you wanna smoke in there
Did I mention it's super comfortable and just feels like excellent quality?
I got this jacket on steepandcheap for just over a hundred bucks, but after having it for a while I realize it's well worth the 225 retail. Now that winter is ending I'm seeing them on sale for like 150 or 175 tho. so other than the zipper deal this jacket is so perfect for me. I hope you can enjoy it the same.