Any word on when the legendary R4 gets redesigned with the cinch cord? I understand that cinch cord is still missing on the current (as of Aug 2011) version. Hoping Patagonia gets the message already and makes changes for the 2012 version.

No cinch cord was a deal breaker for me and I returned this jacket. For my body style this thing fit horrible and cold air would rush up from the waist area.

I've worn Patagonia stuff since the 80's, and their choices of when or when not to include a drawcord has always been apparently wacky.... more so now than ever. The R4, a windproof jacket has no drawcord .... while the R3 ... a slightly wind resistant fleece does! That's just nuts. Unless you are a FOAM fit (Fat Ol' AMerican), the waists on their windproof fleece jackets is HUGE . Have they never heard or felt the chill of the chimney effect? Yes .... functionality is not their strong suit anymore(as it once was)..... it seems fashion and or a self deluded belief that they are saving the planet by practicing "minimalism" is. hearty laughter :)

Unfortunately for the cinch cord crowd the R4 has not been redesigned for the Fall 11 model. The designers are constantly taking in feedback from all angles, but not every item can be redesigned each season, and the entire Regulator series tends to be re-done all at once, and wasn't slated for Fall 11. Wish I had a better answer for you. (it's still a pretty killer jacket in my opinion)

I have kinda gotten the feeling in recent years that Patagonia kinda does whatever the hell they want to do...