I've worn this for anything from backpacking, trail running, winter climbing, rock climbing, and it comes with me on almost every trip. It's lightweight, really comfortable, and works in almost any situation. It's pretty water repellent and dries faster than anything else of this weight I've ever used. If it's a fair day I can wear this as my outer layer during winter, but it'll happily go inside a layering system, and I can run in it if it's cold. Mega adaptable, a layer for any conditions.



The pic is of me on an unclimbed peak at 5500 m in India. I wore my Kinesis for most of the trip to keep sun off, keep snow off, keep warm, keep cool, and as a pillow. The Kinesis took a hammering.

The Kinesis is one of the most versatile pieces that we make and something I use year round. In summer it's the perfect thing for big rock routes and alpine climbing where the mixture of wind proofing, light insulation and excellent breathability mean you can keep going without changing layers. In winter it's the ideal jacket for the walk in to an ice route or big skin to a pass before layering perfectly under a shell or other insulation thanks to the slick Helium outer fabric. If you haven't used Polartec Alpha before it's really impressive, rapid moisture transfer and low pack size when you don't need it. The hood fits really well with or without a helmet and the whole thing packs down into its pocket so it can be clipped to your harness once the day warms up. I have a lot of jackets but this one goes on almost every trip!

I'm 5'11" and weigh 198. I wear a 41R suit and have a 35 sleeve length and have a 36 waist. I purchased an XL on this jacket and in ALL my Mountain Equipment outerwear. Their sizing runs smaller than American brands like Patagonia or Mountain Hardwear.

The Polartech Alpha is a good, solid lightweight insulation. Not nearly as warm as Primaloft One/Gold, but maybe up to about 50%. I will be wearing this while alpine trekking and I can generate a fair amount of warmth and I learned, the expensive way, that great synthetics like Primaloft, as for myself, are great for static conditions but not dynamic ones (ie, when I'm on the move). So, what Polartech Alpha loses head to head in static conditions I can generate on my own the delta.

Nice and lightweight and packs down to nothing.