Great jacket, well built too

By Pete Stone Ranked #1063 - Men's Technical Shells January 16, 2009

I got this jacket for x-mas and i must say that it is very breathable and had a great fit. As the other reviews said, not a lot of room for huge layers or upside down light bulb shaped people. I use skin tight base layer and Arcterx or MH ploar fleece mid wieght. I made 5 laps climbing up Murdocks peak to avoid the human slalom course and I did get overly warm a few hiking up but was pleased with how quickly the coat got rid of my sweat and I was comfortable. The closures on the sleeves hold well eventhough they have the velco ovals. The hood fits well over my G10MX and I don't feel constricted at all, however, out in the rain with the hood up and no helmet I feel gansta. Pockets on the inside seem sturdy, just have to see if they will stand the test of time, I have no doubt this jacket will hold up very well. The other jacket I have looked at is the Sidwinder SV, but got a better price on this jacket. I also prefer the pass holder that flips underneath as opposed to the sleeve hold on the Acteryx, those seem to turn yellow after a while in the sun. The shell also does not feel as stiff, at least when they are brand new as compared to the Sidewinder SV either. I suspect this jacket is just bombproof too. Lastly I got this jacket because my NF jacket ripped from snagging the pockets on branches, railings and door knobs. The sealed zippers won't catch any of these things or leak like the old NF. I've owned several summit series NF goretex shells and liked them as well as Steep Tech, Spyder, Marker and a host of others I can't remembner. This jacket blows all those away. Really there are only a handful of jackets in the league of the Verticle and this seems to be the best value. You may be able to get something for a bit less but this is it.The last thing I will say is I like the cut of the jacket, it is designed to move and is not restrictive and the venting works very well. Great job MH! I recommend, that's why my name is on this review.Update March 24, 2010:The only change I'd make to this coat is the velcro on the wrist closures, on bigger days snow clogs up the velcro and I find myself fiddling more than I'd like with the closures, it needs a solid peice of velcro rather than the ovals.When it's not snowing hard or I'm not sticking my hand down into wet snow they are fine but I suspect most velcor doesn't work much better in the same conditions. I have been poked by tree branches, skidded across some sharpies (rocks, ouch) and brushed up against all kinds of things and the fabric is holding up well no tears or holes yet after two seasons.

View Details: Mountain Hardwear Vertical Jacket - Men's

Helpful Votes: 4 Yes