This is the third item of Marmot clothing that I've bought, and I have yet to be let down. These shorts are extremely comfortable, cool, and light. Great for wearing around town, lounging in, etc. The fabric has a very nice feel to it, and the marmot logo on the right leg is very subtle. Most people will probably never notice it. For me this is a plus.

Two notes:

1. The BC listing says there are two cargo pockets. There's only one, on the right leg. And it's not a normal cargo pocket. It's a vertical zipper about six inches long. The pocket's not huge, but it's good for a cell phone/wallet/keys/ipod.

2. At retail these are absurdly overpriced. No pair of shorts is worth that much. I got these at a huge discount on SAC, and if I see them again I'll probably buy another pair. If you can get them on sale don't hesitate, but don't pay retail.

This is a nicely made shirt. The fabric is high quality, and the workmanship is top notch. Two things, though:

I would never pay retail for it. I got it on SAC for a big discount, and I'll probably buy another one if they go on SAC again. But retail price is steep for what you're getting.

The other thing is that the collar seems totally unnecessary. If you like collars then definitely get this. If not, get the marmot midweight crew shirt. I believe it's the same material but it had no zip neck and no collar. This one can be worn as a base layer just fine, but it almost seems to work better if it's over another thin layer. The crew shirt would probably make a better base layer.

My rating is four stars, but it's a good four stars. The material feels good on the skin. I tried wearing it in 70 degree weather and it was almost uncomfortably warm.

Fit: I'm 5'11 or 6' and 165. The medium fits great. You probably have a bit of leeway either way on both height and weight. The fit is close but it's not spackled on like some of these shirts are.

In my search for a good Windstopper fleece I must have looked at at least two dozen different jackets from all the major companies (and some small ones). The Pamir was on sale so I ended up buying it. Big mistake. The construction was quite good, but the fit was ridiculous. I got the large and though it was long enough the sleeves came down below my knuckles and the chest area billowed around me (I'm 6' 160). I reluctantly sent it back to BC and kept looking.

My quandary was that I wanted a warm, wind-proof/resistant jacket that I could wear on those nasty 40 degree days in November and under a shell in January. The Marmot M1 sofshell material might have worked, but the jackets built with it were all too expensive. There were deals to be had on some Arcteryx jackets, but I wanted to be able to wear it even in non-outdoorsy setting without feeling like a complete ass (Marmot/TNF/Etc. are bad enough).

The problem with most of the softshells and technical fleeces I found was that they were designed for aerobic activity. Great if you're running or climbing, but not so good for strolling around town. After my failure with TNF I decided to look at other brands. The ubiquitous MH windstopper jacket looked nice but it was too pricey. I decided to stick with Marmot (in my comfort zone). The Superhero, Leadville, Torrid, Afterburner, and Sharp Point were all tempting. The Leadville was too softshell-ish and wouldn't have been warm enough. The Torrid was really tempting but lacked the warmth and wind resistance I wanted. The Superhero was too expensive as was the Sharp Point. The Afterburner seemed perfect. I like my clothes to have as little flash as possible, so I got it in black--and it's great.

It has the gray "Marmot" on the left side of the chest, but other than that there are no logos on the back or arm--something I appreciate when companies like TNF like to plaster their name all over their products. The Afterburner is fairly thick for a windstopper jacket, but it's also really warm. The inside of the jacket is all soft fleece, same with the two hand pockets. There's an inner pocket not mentioned in the listing that's quite nice (very roomy).

Fit: I am, as I said, 6' 160. I'm fairly lean and the jacket fits nicely. It's not a super trim athletic cut but it fits pretty close and I don't think I could layer a whole lot underneath. Probably not more than a Patagonia C3 or wool base layer. Certainly not another fleece unless I sized up. It's a tiny bit shorter than I'd like, but it's not bad.

I got this on SAC for something like 55% off, and I was hesitant at that price. Don't get me wrong, this is a superb piece of clothing, but I'm not sure that at full price this gives you as much bang for your buck as other stuff would.

These immediately became my new favorite pair of pants. Exceptionally comfortable. Lack of cargo pockets means you could probably get away with wearing them as business casual. They're also great for hiking, walking around town, relaxing, etc. The zip pocket is great for security. These are excellent travel pants.

I'd emphasize that my rating is based only on initial impressions. I may tweak it after more extended use.

First of all, sizing. Marmot seems to be roughly similar to Columbia. I'm 5'11 160 and the medium fits me beautifully. Adjust accordingly.

Second, looks. I bought the jacket in black, and, though this isn't normally an adjective you'd think of when shopping for outdoor gear, it really is a beautifully elegant jacket. It just looks really good. I wouldn't call it an athletic fit, but it wears on the body very well and doesn't look bulky at all, though it has plenty of room for some layering underneath.

Third, performance. I haven't done much in this jacket, but based on what I've seen so far it looks great. The material feels almost flimsy, but based on other reviews it seems adequate for backpacking and other such abrasive activities. I wore it on a quick bike ride in 40 degree weather with a long sleeve cotton shirt underneath and it blocked the wind beautifully. I was so interested in trying it that I put it on and wore it under the shower running at full blast for about thirty seconds. It wasn't exactly an ideal simulation of the weather, but it was good enough to get a rough idea of how the jacket performs, and it does an amazing job of beading up the water and letting it run off. This may very well lessen with age, but out of the packaging it's marvelous.

Fourth, functionalist. The jacket gets very high marks for how it's designed. It has two roomy hand pockets with a mesh lining. There's a chest pocket that can also be used for extra ventilation on a really muggy day. The one weakness is that the zipper can be kind of annoying to zip up because it's got a double zipper, but this is a trade-off. In exchange for difficulty zipping up you get the added feature of being able to unzip partway from the bottom if you want. I guess it's a net even. The zippers are all buttery smooth. They're YKK, so I'd expect nothing less. The pitzips are relatively easy to use while wearing the jacket. You have to twist a little to get the right tension, but it's not bad.

Overall I'm very impressed with my jacket, especially at the price I got it. I'll update the review as I notice new things--good or bad.