First looks and comparison

By jtcash Ranked #21 - Men's Technical Shells October 22, 2009

I am 5'8", 170lb, and have a 40" chest. I bought this in Cayenne Medium. I should have bought a L (even though I never wear L in MHW or Arc'teryx).

My review compares this against previous hard shell jackets I have owned or tried on: Montane Super-fly, MHW Xenon, Arc'teryx Beta AR, Arc'teryx Alpha SV, and Millet Axon Pro.

MATERIAL: This uses the highly acclaimed eVent. Although I did not do field testing with this jacket, just sitting in my room at 26-28C it didn't feel too hot. This is to compare against Gore-Tex jackets in general. However, I want to state that the real test is in the field. Also the purpose of eVent and GTX are different.

There are two types of face fabrics in this jacket. The shoulders are made of a burlier/tightly-woven material similar, albeit is still thin. The torso and the entire arm is made of a thinner face fabric which is the square-grid rip-stop nylon material. The face fabric is pretty thin and am sure it will go through a lot of wear and tear if you have abrasive materials against it (ie - a backpack strap that isn't made of soft materials).

Overall, the material is THIN which will aid in the breathability. That's probably why people are claiming it's much more breathable than other jackets. Being thin means there is less resistance for vapor/moisture to diffuse across.

DESIGN: Jacket contains two hand pockets at the bottom. As many have mentioned, this pocket is useless if you wear a backpack waist strap. I tried it on with my backpack and could not access the pocket at all. I know some people don't like to have chest pockets. So I think an alternative for their future designs is to make the opening for the hand pocket about 3" higher so that you can at least access it from the top. Good depth for those two hand pockets otherwise. You can fit your whole hand plus more.

FIT: This jacket is meant for someone who has a REALLY athletic body. All dimensions are probably 1" smaller than other jackets. For me, the chest was acceptable and I could layer a 200-weight fleece. However, the WAIST is TIGHT. My waist is 32-33" and even with all the cinches loosened, the waist of this jacket was WAY too tight. I don't think you could layer a fleece underneath the jacket just based on the waist. Be warned.

Arms are NOT articulated. It's just straight cut. You'll notice a huge difference compared to the other jackets I am comparing against. If you don't intend on using your arms very much, then maybe it's not a concern for you. But if you do move your arms a lot, you'll appreciate articulated arms a lot more. The material won't touch your skin as much giving you a feeling of freedom. It REALLY does make a difference. However, the intention of this jacket is not for climbers but mainly for skiers.

Also, the torso length is short. It only goes down 1" lower than my belt.

Zippers: All of them are standard YKK water-resistant zippers. Nothing fancy.

Hood: This hood is as simple as you can get. I think it only had side adjusters and NOT the volume adjuster cinches that most jackets have on the back of the hood. The side adjusters are pretty plain/cheap and aren't as easy to operate as some other upper end jackets such as the Arc'teryx Alpha SV ones. The upper end jackets you can easily adjust by just pulling the chord where as this one, you have to play around with it more. As I mentioned, I don't think it has volume adjusters so it probably won't fit as well on your head as other jackets.

Summary: If you're using this for light purpose activities or don't intend on rubbing this against a tree or getting into a brawl with a bear, this jacket is for you. It packs lightly and you won't notice it at the bottom of your backpack. It's also probably great for breatability because it is so thin.

For high-output activities that require you to get into a fight with a bear and rub against tress, this is not for you.

Key points: PROBABLY very breathable because the material is so thin. The waist is TIGHTTTTT! Shoulders are burlier. Hood is simple. Length is slightly shorter than other jackets.

3/5 - Comparing to other jackets I've tried this one is near the bottom.

If this review helps, give me the thumbs up!

View Details: Backcountry.com Stoic eVent Shell - Men's

Helpful Votes: 4 Yes | 7 No