Sid Nitzerglobin

I got mine last week and have gotten to get it out in the weather a bit since.

I was really just shooting for lightweight raingear for the late spring, summer, and early fall as I've already got a GoreTex Pro Stretch shell, a Sabre SV, and another 20k/15k ski jacket for cool/cold weather use. I was pretty set on the OR Revel to fill this role until I tried on the Alpha Hybrid (the beginning of the end). This jacket is just very well designed and constructed, as most would expect from an Arc'teryx piece. Weight wound up only a few tenths of an ounce more than the Revel and the fit and expected durability advantage of the Paclite/Pro Shell were enough of an enticement to start seriously considering dropping twice as much on this jacket over the Revel. Once I saw the Blue Galaxy colorway it was pretty much a done deal.

Fit is great in an XL, a little more volume than I need in the body and sleeves but it is in no way baggy and there's plenty of sleeve length, the front torso is long enough, and it has a slight drop tail that provides a little extra butt coverage. I can layer just about anything I own under it and would expect to be able to remain comfortable wearing this as a shell down to low single digits F provided I'm not relying on it for chin/cheek/nose coverage. My XL Atom SV actually fits under it very nicely aside from the front of the waist hanging out by ~1/2". The Atom LT pieces in XL fit under it w/ zero overhang. Between this jacket, my Atom SV, and my Sabre, I'm am now entirely convinced that art and science of ergonomic hood design has been completely perfected by Arc'teryx.

Haven't been in any monsoons in this of yet, but spending ~45 minutes in steady heavy to medium rain w/ stiff winds, it's performed exactly as I expect a GoreTex shell should as far as rain and wind resistance goes. It is much lighter weight than any of my other waterproof jackets and way more packable.

The only negatives on this one for me so far are the mediocre breathability when battened down and plastic feel against bare skin (but ~70% of it is Paclite so what do you want...), the somewhat fiddly/catchy/wimpy feeling pit zips (I'm thinking it would probably be pretty difficult to produce a jacket this waterproof and packable w/o this issue w/o it costing a lot more money however), and the price (but more often than not you do wind up getting what you pay for).

Another great piece of gear IMO, regardless of what factory it came out of.

Definitely a high quality T but cut pretty large IMO. I'm 6'2". ~ 185lbs w/ a 44.5" chest and ~35" waist and got an XL in Silver. I went ahead and tumbled dry on low after my first cold water washing in an attempt to lose a bit of the volume but I may have to try washing on warm as it's still a bit looser/longer than I'd like.

I wish some one would make merino crews in a cut somewhere between this and the NTS/Icebreaker Tech Tee w/ some solid standard colors. The cut on the Stoic shirts in XL are just about perfect but they can't seem to make any decent colors anymore.

Has worked very well for high output hiking and trail running and doesn't look too dorky for casual wear. No itchiness after a full day of wearing. Breathes much better than I was expecting after seeing the thickness on the top panels of the hat. It still traps some heat (getting the black one probably didn't help this a lot either) but much better venting than anything else I had. Seems to dry relatively quickly but can stay damp for ~ 1/2 hour - 45 mins. if you work up a good sweat in it. Doesn't seem to show sweat so far like other hats I've used for active endeavors would.

Stays put very well w/o feeling like you've got a vice on your head, thanks in large part to the stretchiness of the fabric and the elasticized adjustable strap. It is a form fitting and low rise cap, but covers down to about a 1/16" or so above my ears on my ~ 7 3/8 size head. Fits very well w/ any of my sunglasses/glasses on. The bill came w/ a nice shape and seems pretty beefy. It provides good coverage w/o being obnoxiously long/large.

Only complaints I have is that the sweatband could be a bit more absorbent (probably perfectly fine for lighter sweaters or those in more arid climates though) and the price could be a bit lower.

Super soft, yet seems to have a pretty tightly knit face. Seems pretty adaptable to warmer temps, I was comfy low output walking around the neighborhood in high 70s temps with pretty high humidity with this and a 150 weight merino T on.

Cut is semi-trim, but not so much that I'd feel like a tool wearing it casually. The hood is pretty small, just large enough to fit over a hat but still fits under my helmets comfortably. Feels great under a pack so far. The hipbelt renders the pockets completely useless, but the zippers didn't seem irritating on a short .5 mile test hike. The sleeves are just about the perfect length for me and torso is long enough to provide belt buckle coverage through full RoM.

Glad I ordered one before BC stopped selling them.

Fit takes a bit of getting used to, somewhat between a military cap and running hat. 0 structure to the body of the hat but the brim provides good coverage and holds its shape. Very comfortable overall aside from getting a bit clammy when upping your physical output above zone 2.

It performs very well as a rain hat, I've been in several heavy downpours wearing this w/o a hood and no water made it through from the outside, but is pretty stifling for more active endeavors in mild - warmish humid weather. All of the sweat (and you will sweat w/ this on if you're doing any cardio activity in anything over ~65F) seems to get trapped on the inside and doesn't seem to dry/evaporate w/o taking the hat off for an extended period of time.

I'll give it 4 stars based on it being designed as more of a rain hat than anything else, and at that task it does very well.

It's a high quality heavy weight cotton T. I can't deal w/ cotton for most active endeavors, but these Ts have secured a frequent spot in the rotation for casual wear.

The logo looks very good and comes pre-aged. haven't noticed any deterioration of the silk screening or fading of the fabric after 15 or so washings. No shrinkage to speak of either, but I also wash on cold and hang dry.

Ordered an XL and a XXL in black on the basis of feedback on spotty sizing (normally would wear an XL for this kind of shirt) planning to only keep one and they both fit great in different ways, XL for wearing w/ more technical mid/top layers and/or bottoms and XXL for the more baggy stuff. I'm 6'2" ~ 185lbs w/ a 44.5" chest and ~ 35" waist for reference.

Debating on picking up another in orange now that they're so cheap.

Have two of these, a 2L and a 3L, and haven't experienced either of the leaking issues (quick connect or lid) using in a Dakine Drafter or old MULE for MTB, an Osprey Karve for snow stuff, and an Osprey Ether for backpacking. I'm a notorious overpacker as well so there should be plenty of opportunity for gear to put pressure on the connections and the lid.

Definitely many improvements over the older 3L bladder that came w/ my MULE. The shape definitely seems to be much flatter, the lid is much easier to open and is wider allowing easier access for cleaning, the integrated stand and internal baffles make it alot easier to get it to stay open for drying, and the quick connect is a must have IMO especially for winter packs w/ internal insulated tube routing.

Barring any future problems w/ the leaking described by others, I'm pretty happy w/ mine.

These have worked great for me so far.

They've proved to be totally waterproof for me.

They're one of the warmest pair of non-insulated pants I've tried but remain super breathable, they've been less humid when working hard or over layered underneath than my Gore softshell, HyVent, or 20K/15K Oakley pants.

Seems like strong (40mph+) wind is able to penetrate them a bit more than my other pants, but in a dull, diffused way rather than a sharp biting cold.

I've only got 10 or so days in on mine, but they seem like they will prove to be very durable.

I find them to be very comfortable and non-restrictive through a full range of motion, thanks to both the cut and the fabric.

I've gone over the sizing and cut in some detail in other questions and comments, so I won't rehash, other than to say the L and XL fit very true to the sizing chart and are cut much like straight fit jeans aside from the flare in the cuffs and a bit more mobility in the hips and crotch. As I mentioned previously, I could probably have used the Large Long size in these for strictly snowsport usage, but the regulars cover enough boot to not make me self conscious and are just about exactly the right length when wearing street or hiking shoes.

At a 30% off sale price these seem like an awesome value.

The good:
Seem plenty waterproof, fit well, seem well constructed and durable so far (only have about 8 days on mine), pretty good dexterity that has improved w/ use, insulated sections are pretty warm (probably good for me down to around 20F), awesome gauntlet drawstring system

The not so good:
Only insulated down to the bottom of the palm, the entire gauntlet is just a shell material. This doesn't produce too many issues as long as your layers fit under the gauntlet up to the insulation, but I've had cold leaking in through them pretty noticeably in instances where this wasn't the case.

Kinda stiff until they get broken in. Treating them w/ SnoSeal/NikWax/other leather conditioner should help speed this process a bit

No idiot leashes, easily rectified by attaching my Hestra handcuffs to the gauntlet drawstring attachment point, but I'm of the opinion that any gloves over ~$70 or so should come w/ them

Insulation and liner are non-removable and pretty bulky making the range of comfortable use pretty narrow. My hands wind up sweating in these in anything over freezing temps and start getting cold below 20F or so. My BD Prodigys seem to be significantly more adaptable temperature wise. I can just fit my Hestra merino liners in them, but it's right on the edge of being too tight

Overall, pretty nice gloves at the sale price they're down to now, just not quite perfect.

Picked one of these up in M/L size in black as my Dakine Heli Pro DLX 20L felt a bit to big in profile to comfortably ride the lifts. So far this has been a great pack.

Feels very well balanced assuming you pack it w/ some common sense and the compression straps do a nice job of reducing the cross section regardless of how stuffed it is. The EVA back panel definitely helps providing structure and is very comfortable over the long haul.

Ski carry works well and is pretty quick to get them loaded and unloaded. One of my only concerns w/ the pack so far is some loose threads fraying out on the bottom strap saver material after only a couple uses. Hasn't seemed to get any worse since then though. This pack feels much more comfortable and sturdy uphill hiking w/ the skis loaded than my Heli Pro does. The straps can also serve double duty lashing down a shell when not in use.

This pack seems about the perfect size for carrying all of my ancillary stuff (goggles and lenses/socks/sunglasses/gloves and liners/helmet/hat/sunscreen/Red Bull/water/Clif bars/cell phone(s)/mp3 player/headphones/keys/cat tracks/etc) on my way to the slopes while still being able to squash down to a comfortable size for riding the lifts. I don't have avy gear or experience using it, but it would seem like this pack would be well designed for minimalist backcountry escapades from my position of ignorance, w/ quick easy access to the important gear.

I'd really like to give this 4.5 stars. The .5 star demerit is based on the initial fraying mentioned above and the sort of high price.

If you're looking for a really warm piece for light duty outer wear or arctic mid layering, this thing is awesome. I love this jacket, it's just been slightly challenging to find weather cold enough to wear it this year.

I'm 6'2", ~185lbs, w/ a ~44" chest and long arms and torso and got an XL in Blue Ray. It fits generously w/ plenty of room for layering underneath while still fitting under any of my shells w/o bunching up or feeling over stuffed. The Large would have produced a more fitted feel through the body but would be a tad too short in the sleeves and body.

This thing is impressively warm for its weight, significantly warmer than the couple other 100g Primaloft pieces I've got. I've tried to wear this as an outer layer a couple times for skiing w/ a 200 weight merino base and a t-shirt in sunny 28F temps w/ decent winds and wound up pretty sweaty. Has worked great in temps below 20F w/ minimal layering underneath however. The coldest I've managed to test it in was night skiing in 12F, -8F wind chill w/ a 200 weight merino base, a t-shirt and a thin power stretch fleece and the only part of me that felt any chill the whole night was the tip of my nose.

Does a great job resisting strong winds and a pretty good job of beading water/snow. I'd still want a proper shell for big dumps of wet snow or rain any more substantial than a misting (probably be sweating like a pig if you're wearing this in the rain however). I've yet to abuse this piece on any rocks or trees, but the material seems to be holding its own against ski edges and normal wear so far.

The hood on this thing is one of the coziest, best fitting I've experienced, helmet or hat underneath.

Only complaints I have are the cost, the semi-skimpy cuffs (good for fitting under a shell, but make sure you have long gauntlets on your gloves if you want to wear it as an outer layer), and I kinda wish that the hand pockets were placed higher to be hip belt compatible.

I'd love to see a hybrid of the SV and LT hoodies, w/ the wind blocking full outer face and hood cut and adjustment of the SV and the slightly more adaptable 60g of insulation of the LT. Barring that, throwing pit zips on the SV would definitely add some range to it IMO.

Sizing was spot on for me w/ a large giving a little bit of wiggle room using the stock liners w/o adding a lot of bulk to make for stupid fingers.

Warmth is top notch but relatively adaptable. I did notice my hands starting to sweat a bit at lower elevations/higher temps (above ~35F) but I only had them freeze up after getting sweaty a couple times at the top of the alpine after a t-bar ride to the peaks in ~15-20F w/ 30-50mph gusts. Once the blood got pumping again my hands were toasty warm within a minute.

Dexterity seems pretty darn good for as substantial as these gloves are. I can't quite type an email w/ them on like w/ my Hestra Ski Cross gloves, but these are also a lot warmer and waterproof.

The leather and shell materials seems pretty tough and shed water and snow pretty well. With the stock liners, these things are entirely waterproof so far. I would definitely have preferred the Goretex membrane to be bonded to the shells rather than the liners to add more versatility through the use of lighter weight liners though.

My big concern with these gloves is the quality of the stitching. It's coming loose in at least 7 spots on the gloves after only 5 days of use, to the extent that the thumb reinforcement on the left glove is about to start flapping around. Gonna take them by the local shop I got them through and see what they say.

Fit and performance of these pants have been awesome for me so far. I'm 6'2", 185lbs. and usually wear a 34-36 waist and ~33 inseam and the large in these fit perfect. They don't look like skinny jeans by any means, but far from a baggy fit for a ski pant and range of motion seems entirely unhindered.

Totally waterproof through 3.5 hours in heavy freezing rain on the local hill and as much wet PNW powder as I could throw at them over a week long trip at Whistler. Zippers and seams are very high quality. They provide basically no warmth on their own however, so make sure to plan to layer appropriately under them. Breathability seems decent enough, it was only while working pretty hard on uphill hikes and in a couple of glades that things started feeling a bit humid wearing a 260 weight merino base and a pair of UA Catalyst shorts under them. The vents seem to do a good job of drying things out in a hurry in these cases.

I got these at a 20% discount from a local store, and even at that price they feel pricey for the feature set. Yes, they are awesome pants and will hopefully turn out to be very durable (only have 6 days in on mine so far), but still feel a little overpriced to me. Adding a back and/or cargo pocket(s), some mesh/microfleece insulation/reinforcement of the butt and knee areas, and some sort of cuff saver system would be nice. Other than that they'd be 5 stars for me.

Super comfortable and soft. Seems to provide a good amount of warmth for the thickness.

Just got this piece so I can't comment on durability, but assembly seems to be top notch w/ no hanging threads and pretty much every seam a soft, low profile, double or triple flatlock stitch.

Sizing-wise it seems pretty dead on the chart. I'm 6'2", 185-190lbs, ~48" shoulders, 44" chest, and usually a 35.5 or 36" sleeve. I would usually go w/ an XL in Mountain Hardwear tops (and most other brands) to get enough sleeve and torso length even though I'm probably on the upper end of the L sizing through the body and shoulders. Based on feed back in the reviews here, I initially went w/ a XXL to avoid the skin tight feel and was swimming in it. The XL is actually a bit long in the arms and fits right on the edge of too baggy through the body but the neck, shoulders, and upper arms fit spot on. The only weirdness in cut IMO is the wideness of the forearms, it seems like it causes a bit of bunching and bulk when layering. I could probably have gone w/ the large in this piece, especially for use as a base or second layer. As is, it fits nicely in a semi-casual way, but I'd probably just stick to the size chart rather than sizing up if you're looking for an athletic/technical fit or plan to layer over the top of this shirt rather than under it.

Overall, I'm very happy w/ this purchase on sale, at full retail it would feel pretty over priced however.

Worked great as the outer layer downhill skiing w/ a 260 weight merino base and a MH Dual Fleece in 16F w/ gusty 15-40mph winds, w/ the blowers running full tilt, no sun, and a fair amount of wet natural snow coming down as well. I could feel a suggestion of a chill in the forearms in the stronger gusts on the lifts but that was it. Water resistance is much better than expected as well, 1/4" thick snow/ice encrustations in the fold areas of the jacket rolled right off after 5 minutes or so in the lodge and 15-20 minute jaunts in heavy sideways rain showers have produced no soak through. I imagine this would get saturated and have some seam leakage at some point in prolonged exposure to heavy downpour though. Seems to breath very well so far in more aerobic pursuits as well.

This jacket has the best fitting hood I've yet to experience, whether I'm rocking a helmet or not.

I'm 6'2", 185-190lbs, w/ ~44" chest and long arms and torso and got this jacket in an XL. Waist hits just below the belt and stays put pretty darn well through full ROM. I can feel some pulling on the gaiters in the last 5-10% or so of full reach if I try the same test w/ my thumbs through the kind of small thumbholes, but the sleeves exhibit virtually no creeping up when not using the thumbholes, so not a huge concern to me. There's enough room to fit a pretty substantial midlayer under this thing w/o feeling bunched up or overstuffed as long as the mid layer is not cut super baggy.

Aside from adding maybe another half to 3/4" of sleeve and waist length, the only improvement I would make to this jacket is to make the storm flap/zipper park a bit more substantial. It never seems to want to lay flat w/ the fleece backing oriented toward the chin/neck.

Definitely worth the price it's selling for right now IMO, and seems like it could take the place of my hardshells as outer wear >70% of time.

Picked up a 2 pack of these recently off of SAC and they definitely seem like a solid value for the price. Very comfy and soft w/ low profile padding around the entirety of the toes, lower foot, and heel up the achilles. The top half of the foot thins out significantly in a vented weave.

Maybe a little bit more synthetics in the mix than I would prefer but they seem to stay pretty dry and warm.

Not as anatomically correct/active as SmartWool PhD socks (they don't have the arch support and massaging action that I've come to love), but they're also ~1/4 the price grabbing them off SAC.

I normally wear between an 11.5 and 12.5 and the L/XL fit just fine.

If they hold up for a year - 2 years I'll be pretty happy w/ the purchase.

Got the Black Foundation w/ Ignitor and Sensor Mirror Lenses for low light and medium/flat light situations and picked up the Green Sol-X lens for medium to bright light days. I've only had the opportunity to test the Green Sol-X lens so far, but they worked great. Plenty of light blocking on a super bluebird day w/o being too dark in the shaded areas. A bit of contrast enhancement and zero halo-ing or lens flaring. It wasn't until the sun was fully set behind the hills that I felt I really NEEDED to change over to the Sensor mirror lens, but by that time we were ready to wrap it up for the day any way.

I test fit the Splice, Crowbar, and Phenom before I finally got to try the IO on and both of the Oakley options put pretty significant pressure on my sinuses, the Phenom fit pretty well, but seemed more boxed in peripheral vision-wise. The IOs are the most comfy goggles I've ever tried. I hardly noticed they were there through a super sunny 8 hour day on the slopes (aside from the fact that my eyes weren't getting dried out from the wind and I wasn't getting blinded by the sun).

The lens change operation is indeed super easy. Don't know if I'll wind up carrying around the spares w/ me unless I'm rocking the pack, as they're kind of an awkward and bulky shape to carry around in one of my jacket or pants pockets, but still nice to have the swapping operation be so easy and quick.

Lastly they look great IMO and integrate seamlessly w/ my Smith Variant Brim Helmet.

I'm definitely super happy w/ the purchase so far.

Picked up a black one in size XL for super cheap and so far it seems like one of the best bargains I've ever snagged.

I'm 6'2", 185-190lbs, ~44" chest, ~35" waist and relatively long arms and torso. The XL fits in a nicely loose fashion w/o being overly huge, The sleeves come to about half way between the 1st and 2nd thumb knuckle and waist just at the bottom of the fly. Range of motion is completely unhindered. If you're looking for a more fitted or alpine look/feel, you're probably safe to size down by one and still have enough length and room for moderately thick layering underneath. I particularly like the cut of the hood, it's big enough to fit my large Smith Variant Brim helmet under w/o restricting range of motion, but also manages to be completely usable uncinched w/o flopping all over the place or restricting vision when I am hat/helmetless.

While I've yet to do the stand under a waterfall for a few hours test w/ this coat, waterproofing seems as good as my GoreTex Pro Stretch shell in prolonged exposure to torrential rain, no soak through experienced of yet and all the water beads up and drops off w/ a single shake. Waterproof zippers on the chest vents is the only thing this jacket seems to be missing to make it awesome as rain wear as well as for the slopes, but that might make them a pain in the ass to use w/ gloves on.

Just to add to the feature blurb on here, the chest pockets are actually a fold over snapping flap and are pretty small and oriented more toward the arm pits as a result of the placement of the chest vent zippers. Not sure how much use these will get for me. The front hand/slash pockets are zippered and of a decent size and have fold over top entry snapping panel pockets over the top of them which are also of decent size. Cool feature in these is the see through plastic pass holder attached via 2 elastic bands to the inside of the left front flap pocket. It's also got an approximately goggle sized internal open mesh pocket on the left w/ a velcro-d fleece media pocket inside that seems big enough to hold just about any smartphone out today and a smaller velcro-d glasses size pocket on the right (might be a little small for some of the bigger glasses out there though). It's also got the little cable routing loops/ear bud holders next to the zipper above the media pocket.

In addition to the sort of skimpy zip-in balaclava, it's also got what I can only explain as jacket suspenders to keep it in place when fully open or allow for hands free carry. The powder skirt allows for either zip or snap-in attachment to your pants and there are female snaps on either side of main zipper so you can snap it out of the way when not in use if you don't feel like zipping it out and losing it.

The only shortcomings I can see are below:
As mentioned previously, the laser cut openings on the lycra wrist gaiters and balaclava seem pretty damn flimsy and cheap. The lycra could stand to be a bit thicker and have actual stitched seams/hems. I'll probably stick w/ my merino balaclava, but I'm sorta worried about the long term durability of the wrist gaiters.

No fleece lining on the front hand pockets. Not a huge deal, but still would be a nice addition.

Given the length of this jacket a double zipper would be nice.

No RECCO. Thankfully, I've never had to have my ass saved by these to date, but I'd feel slightly better knowing the reflector was there.

All in all, if I had $330 to spend on a jacket this one would feel worth it. At ~60% off, no brainer... At $330 this is probably a 4.25 - 4.5 star coat to me. At $130, 5 stars all the way.

I don't own a pair of these (yet) but got to try these and the Landics out yesterday and the fit is just about identical, maybe a little more room in the thighs on the Performe but slightly more restrictive in the knee due to the fleece mesh pockets in the side vents.

I'm 6'2", 185-190lbs, ~35" waist and 33" inseam and usually wear a Large in Oakley pants. These fit fine in the Large everywhere but the bottom half of the thighs and the knees. XLs seemed a lot more comfortable through the legs w/o getting baggy or droopy anywhere else.

I do like the looks of them better than the Landics, not quite as busy with extraneous snaps and stuff and they actually feel very comfortable until the last 5-10 degrees of knee bend. They also seem like they'd be warm enough for me to go semi-commando underneath until the temps get below 15-20F or so assuming they do a decent job of wind blockage.

The mesh cargo pockets seem like a kind of weird idea as it seems anything hard you put in there would wind up poking you, anything crunch/smash-able would get crushed and anything soft but the least bit bulky would wind up constricting the back of the knees even more when bent. They do see like the would keep your knees nice and toasty but I wouldn't expect to get knee pads or a hard brace under these unless you oversize by at least 2 (and/or have extreme chicken legs).

Like every other piece of Oakley gear I've checked out these definitely seem to be well put together.

Never thought I'd be contemplating a set of skinny pants, but I find myself seriously considering grabbing a set of these, or going a little cheaper and getting White Smokes, or jumping on a set of the Side Freights.

Edit: I did wind up getting a pair of these in XL but it's been a little too warm to test them out on the slopes so far. They are certainly snug at the bottom of the knees w/o unzipping the expansion zippers but not too horribly bad as long as you're only using a form fitting base layer (or none at all). My BD rigid kneepads won't fit at all w/ them zipped and still make for a tight fit unzipped. No big loss for me for skiing as I don't plan to wear the kneepads other than as an insurance policy as I try to finally get the hang of snowboarding, but probably something to keep in mind for those who want to wear protection on a regular basis.

Also, the zip in to the powder skirt on my Corked jacket works flawlessly and seems to feel better than the snap in connection.

Edit 2:
Worn these skiing a few times now in anywhere from 38F bluebird conditions to a super gusty, socked in w/ blowers running full blast, 16F day. Have yet to feel too warm or too cold in them (I did wear a set of lightweight merino bottoms under them on the 16F day) during lift served endeavors. Water and wind resistance seem excellent and I've yet to encounter an instance where the snug knees felt uncomfortable.

Ordered a black one, size XL as an additional layering option for skiing/riding/hiking and general casual use.

I'm 6'2", 185-190lbs, w/ a 42-44" chest, and relatively long torso and arms and fit seems excellent in general. The sleeves hit ~1/4-1/2" below the wrist, the waist right at the pockets on jeans worn at the hips. The cut is more athletic than I was expecting, but very nicely done. Not what I would call form fitting but not nearly as generous as most of the Oakley stuff I have checked out previously. There's still ample room for a compact base and midlayer w/o any bunching or binding, but I would probably size up if you're planning to go more bulky underneath. Sleeves seem to stay in place very well through a full range of motion and limb extension. The waist does pull up to my belt buckle when I am at full reach above my head however, which is mildly annoying. The hood has a good fit and seems pretty comfortable w/ enough space (just barely) for my Large Smith Variant Brim but I can't zip the neck up all the way.

The fleece is pretty lightweight and low loft (lighter than I was expecting, maybe 100-150 weight) but seems warmer than I would expect from its thickness. I was plenty warm with just this hoodie w/ the chest vents opened halfway and a t-shirt walking around for 45 minutes this morning in a somewhat humid 44F w/ moderate wind. It's also super soft and comfy. It would be nice if the inside of the front of the collar was covered in it as well instead of the softshell material, but the softshell material is pretty comfy and stretchy. The softshell panels seem to be placed very well and provide full coverage of the area you'd most expect initial contact w/ rain/wet snow/abrasive stuff. The edges of the panels and seams at the shoulder are also offset enough not to get in the way or rub.

I can't comment on the water resistance of the fleece or the soft shell panels/hood of yet, but I'm really hoping it will be able to withstand short jaunts in light showers and the occasional contact w/ snow and powder spray on the slopes without getting too soaked. I bought this hoping it could serve as a midlayer that was water resistant and warm enough to allow ditching my hardshell in early/late season days when it wasn't too wet or windy. Warmth seems like it's probably spot on what I was looking for, the cut seems like it might be little more sparse than I would have opted for for this purpose (but I'm more of a mid-baggy kind of a guy in general) but still probably plenty functional. I'll come back and update my review once I get a chance to test it out under proper conditions.

All around awesome. Super soft, no itch, no funky odor when wet from sweat, rain, snow, etc. Also very durable so far w/ no sign of ill effects from repeated machine washing on cold or snagging from brushes w/ tree branches, brambles, rocks, etc.

I'm 6'2" tall, 185-190lbs, ~42.5" chest and have an XL. All the seams on the body hit in exactly the right spots and are super flat and non-chafing. The overall fit around the body, arms, and neck are perfect, not super loose and flappy but not so form fitted and painted on that I feel like a tool wearing it with a pair of jeans as casual wear. An extra 1/2" or so of length in the sleeves and body would be appreciated by me but I also have sort of long arms and torso and prefer a bit long of a fit in these areas to boot so probably perfect for the vast majority of people. I wouldn't say it runs short by any means, but maybe a little shorter than the lightweight NTS I have.

One warning, it may be branded as mid-weight, but this thing is WARM!!! I've tried wearing this under a short sleeved shirt to work on one of the chillier days so far this fall and wound up sweating all day. Still regulates and wicks pretty well, but I wouldn't recommend this as base layer for semi-sedentary activity levels any higher than 55-60F or anything more active in over 25-35F. By itself it might be ok up to 65F for very low-no impact and 40-50F for slightly higher intensity stuff but wind might get to you a little if you do get a sweat going. I've yet to experience anything worse than a wet and windy 39F mid-low intensity hike while wearing this, but it was awesome in these conditions w/ a Gore Tex Pro Stretch shell over the top. I'm thinking it will more than do the job down to 10F or so w/ a 200 weight fleece and this shell and a light down sweater as a midlayer or a fleece and a lightly insulated shell for anything below. I do tend to run a little bit warm in general though so YMMV.

Let me start out by stating the obvious, SmartWool has some awesome material. Very, very soft, regulates extremely well (nice and cozy in the cold yet breathe and dry really well when physical exertion and temperature gets the sweat going, maintains both of these characteristics if they happen to get damp via rain/snow/creek splash/etc.) and the NTS light and medium weight shirts I have from them have held up extremely well to repeated machine washing on cold and a good deal of abuse via road cycling/MTB/hiking/skiing/daily wear so far.

This is my first pair of their bottoms and all the above applies to them so far. I'm a little disappointed in the fit however.

I'm 6'2" tall, 185-190lbs, 34.5-35" waist and 32-33" inseam and got the size large to use as a base layer for the coming snow season. Length is good, although I probably should have got the boot cut version as folding the cuffs over to clear my ski/snowboard boots like I normally do w/ my UA bottoms seems to put a bit of uncomfortable pressure on my calves and the stitching at them hem. Waist band fits well and is pretty comfy. The problem is that it seems like the crotch is cut kind of long and baggy, kind of old school long johns style. This leads to a load-in-the droors, semi-motion restricting kind of feeling unless I Erkel them up to just south of my belly button which then induces a semi-awkward, albeit soft and fuzzy wedgie. Jury is still out for me on how annoying the wedgie action winds up being in practice. Just wearing them around the house I kind of got used to it relatively quickly and they seem pretty comfy for lounging around wearing them further towards the hips.

I've yet to try them out on the slopes, but I expect them to be the perfect weight base layer for 80% of the season w/ my very lightly insulated pants. I think I'll stick w/ my UA bottoms under my baggies for sub 20F MTB excursions and 10F and under ski days as I'm not too sure how well the knees would hold up to a stiff bail on the bike and the UA stuff I have seems slightly warmer and does a better job cutting the wind.

Overall I'm giving them 4-4.25 stars at this point. If they re-designed the crotch and butt region for a slightly more athletic cut they'd be 5 stars easy.

This vest adds a surprising amount of warmth for not a lot of bulk. Tried out few a low fill goose down vests before I decided to go w/ this vest, they were lighter and slightly lower profile when packed, but not nearly as warm and seemed like they would be less durable and higher maintenance. Construction seems pretty high quality.

The handwarmer pocket is nice but maybe a little small. While I'm not completely wild about the pullover style from a functional perspective, it does give it a different look. The double side zips are a key feature IMO, they allow for slightly easier on/off (still have to take off your helmet/goggles though), and can be set up to allow for extra heat dumpage and pass through access to hand pockets on your mid layer w/o flapping around. I also really like the neck on this vest, it has a nice soft brushed micro-fleece lining, doesn't feel at all restrictive when zipped up in locked down mode but still does a good job of keeping out the wind.

Cut is relatively generous but doesn't seem to bunch up/tent/etc. XXL, extra bulky and gi-normous hoodies fit under my XL version of this vest w/ zero bunching. You might be safe to size down if you only plan on using a base and mid layer that have a more athletic fit underneath, but YMMV.

About the only things I might ask for in way of improvement is zipper pulls (easy enough to add these on my own though) and maybe a chest pocket w/ a cable passthrough.

Picked up one these from SAC for ~$15 primarily for MTB use. Continuous heavy rain has prevented me from testing it out on the trails of yet, but it seems like it should work out pretty well.

Fit is a bit larger than I expected. I'm 6'2", usually between 195-200lbs., w/ wide shoulders and a relatively long torso and arms and got an XL. It's probably about 1/2 - 1" wide in the shoulders and pretty long in the body (winds up hitting about 1/2" above the bottom of the fly of my baggies). I have a feeling the large would probably have been perfect for me but I'm not swimming in the XL by any means so I'll probably just stick with it.

Construction is pretty impressive at any price and it seems like it should be very sturdy. All of the seams and stitching seem very exact and smooth. The fabric is pretty substantial w/ a smooth, relatively closed texture on the inside and a slight amount of micro-waffling on the outer surface. This and the black color have me wondering how this shirt will fair in the 90F + heat and humidity of summer, but seems like it should be pretty nice for spring (if it ever stops raining) and fall.

The logos are all silk screened rather than embroidered but seem to be pretty well done and should probably stand the test of time. Looks pretty good overall and relatively understated so it will probably see some casual and occasional Fridays at work wear from me as well, assuming it doesn't get torn up on the bike.

Overall, very nice for the typical price of a cotton novelty t shirt.

Got mine in red off of SAC as well for ~$60 IIRC as a mid layer for my shell and occasional outer layer use when I'm feeling slightly puffy and it's pretty darn nice for the price.

The cut and fit work great for me (6'2", 195-200 lbs w/ wide shoulders and relatively long in the torso and arms and ordered an XL) and it looks great too. Gives that nice old school puffy look and feel w/o the over inflated Michelin Man effect of many down jackets I've tried on.

Seems to regulate really well, plenty warm for casual use by itself w/ just a t shirt underneath in windy 20F temps but not stifling or clammy when worn in the lodge w/ UA cold gear mock and a tech tee under it still zipped up.

The wrist gaiters and drawstring waist are really nice touches and much appreciated. It comes w/ a truly impressive array of pretty sturdy feeling and generously sized pockets as well.

The outer material does seem like it maybe a bit delicate for continued outer user in glades or anywhere you stand a high chance of snagging it frequently, haven't had any issues myself of yet but then again I haven't really put it to much testing. Light to moderate rain and snow seems to bead up relatively well, but I have a feeling heavy downpours or dumps would soak through pretty quickly without frequent copious application of WR treatment and leave me w/ a heavy wet dog feeling and smell.

Overall a pretty kickass bargain if you get it from SAC and not too shabby a value off of backcountry.com either.

Picked up a couple of these off of SAC and they're great.

They've kept my core warm and dry in chilly, rainy weather and cool and dry on 30 mile zone 5 rides when it was 77 deg and sunny as base layer. Seems stylish enough to wear by itself as a super comfy tee shirt for casual wear. The cut and fit are awesome for me, snug enough in all the right places for athletic pursuits w/o feeling painted on or restrictive and enough length in the sleeves and tail to keep things covered, whether tucked or untucked (I have a relatively long torso and arms however).

They seem to do a great job of odor fighting so far for me. Wound up wearing one of them for two days straight last weekend and it exuded no discernible stink whatsoever when I took it off after the longish, sweaty, high intensity ride on day 2.

Can't speak to long term durability as I've only had mine for a couple of weeks, but they seem to have held up well so far through multiple wearings and a couple of washings.

My only complaints would be why no true white color and put the long sleeve ones up on SAC so I can buy some at the same kind of bargain price as the short sleeve ones :)

Picked one of these up in black from Department of Goods to carry my new HP EliteBook from work, the rest of my work gear, lunch, sunglasses, a change of clothes, and other random junk that usually accumulates in my work bag.

The good:
Seems very well constructed and I expect it will turn out to be plenty durable.

I've already had it out in a torrential down pour and water resistance seems excellent, everything beaded up on dropped off the bag w/ a single shake. Just make sure to tuck the zippers from the front half of the bag in under the flap. I'd probably make sure to remove anything from the mesh pocket that you don't want to get wet as well.

It's definitely got a ton of space overall.

I'm liking the snap together split/folding design more than I thought I would. I've taken to sticking my shell in between the two sections for quick access when rain kicks up (which seems like all the time of late). The way the snap lock connector straps are setup both here and at the bottom of the bag for the flap fasteners allows them to perform competently as compression straps when the bag isn't as loaded up.

Waist belt seems to do a good job of stabilizing the load and taking a bit of weight off of the shoulder.

Reflective ribbon hit on the flap is a nice touch and allows for easy attachment of a blinky for riding at night or in inclement weather. Would be great if they had a few more of these on the sides and sling.

The not as good:
My aforementioned EliteBook *barely* fits in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions and it's a 15.6" widescreen. Wasn't thinking the laptop sizing would be based on a "square" screen (do they even make these anymore?). Given that my laptop hangs ~1/2" out of the top of the sleeve area in front, I'm not sure how a 17" square one would fit. I imagine there would be no issues w/ either a 15" square or widescreen machine though

Padding in the laptop sleeve front and back seems a bit thinner than I was hoping for. Given my slight fit issues, it becomes an ~2 minute process to get the laptop in the sleeve and convince the padding tubes along the side and bottom edges to sit in the right spots.

The sling does seem to be a bit finicky to get positioned comfortably. The straps are pretty locked in place so it takes some work to make adjustments. While I had no problem getting the straps adjusted long enough to hang at my hip and I'm 6'2" w/ a relatively long torso, this puts the adjustment buckles and snap lock fastener right over my collarbone and shoulder, which gets uncomfortable pretty quickly even w/ the pad enveloping them. Seems relatively comfortable when adjusted to sit with the bottom of at the small of my back, which is relatively impressive given that I've got it loaded to 20+ lbs. Not sure how well it would fair comfort-wise for long distance bike or foot commutes when heavily loaded though.

Potential design improvements IMO would include:
A couple of external smallish pockets w/ waterproof zippers on the sides for cellphone, wallet, sunglasses, etc.

Relocating the outer most organizer pocket to the flap and putting a waterproof zipper for it on the out side of the flap to allow for access with the flap closed.

Reworking the sling straps and relocating the adjustment and fastening hardware to allow for a wider range of adjustment and the ability to easily sling over either shoulder.

Some elastic strap loops to hold the slack on the waist belt, and side and flap fastener straps.

Overall, it seems like a very nice bag at a decent price and should work great for you if you've got a true 15" laptop and don't mind only slinging it over your left shoulder in a classic messenger style. I'm keeping mine.