Really solid jacket with some flaws
"This jacket is probably 90% great and 10% missing the mark. The Pros: Loft and warmth, it's on par with the top 3 high end brands (kuiu, stone glacier, arctyrx) This jacket traps heat. It's fit is slightly over sized which is great because it fits over a bino harness, soft shell and mid layer fleece with a little room to spare, but it doesn't feel bulky or too big. The one I received on medium weighed in at 14. 8oz so a little heavier than advertised but still light. The chest pockets are big enough to actually fit stuff in like a modern phone. The elastic cuffs are very comfortable and do a nice job of keeping the sleeve snug. The Cons: first thing I noticed is the outer face fabric is not rip stop. This is a non starter for me. You really can't have a down jacket and expect it to last without ripstop plus the Transition Vest has it. . . . So just use that. Next, the hood face cinch cord keepers are not tethered to the jacket fabric so it's a two hand operation to cinch them down (not a deal breaker but it's small details that matter). This is true for the waist cinch too. And it's on the right side only so it's a bit annoying to reach. The hood face face cinch cords are routed into the jacket so you have to unzip it and dump a bunch of heat to pull the strings. The head adjust cinch cord is the only one tethered but it's such a short tether and the keeper is tough to access that it makes the adjustment cumbersome. Additionally, most jackets with the feature route the cord through the insulation to keep the cord from touching your head, this does not and even with it fully loose you still feel the cord on your head. The lower hand pockets allow a lot of cold air into the jacket from the waist and pocket openings. If your hands are in them resting it feels like they are still outside and the rest of your body is getting cold too from circulating cold air. Move the hand pockets up and inch to keep them away from the hem line and this won't be an issue, or add a small amount of insulation on the back side of the pocket. I realize this is super nit picky but details matter. Small things are the difference between greatness and mediocrity. I'm not calling this jacket mediocre by any means, it punches way above its weight class, but it has it's short comings. This is going to be a perfect jacket for like 85-90% of people who aren't total gear nerds. So if you think the cons won't bother you then you should 100% buy this jacket. It really is and could be a great jacket."
