Ice Floe Jacket

I have the older version of this jacket that has a coolmax lining and a shoulder pocket that was in vogue for a few years. I really like this jacket for winter use, the hood works really well with a helmet or without. The jacket stands up to even the heaviest of Sierra snows. It's by far the most comfortable jacket I've ever used for riding the lifts. It breathes enough so that you don't freeze on the ride up. It works even better when you take it in the backcountry. It deals with pretty much everything but a heavy downpour. I have no problem bringing it as my only shell on a day trip. For multi-day you'd probably want to add a light weight rain shell.

The two big flaws in my version of this jacket have been fixed in the most recent version. The lining makes it a bit too warm for all season use and the shoulder pocket is just silly. Also the DWR on the newer version is even more water resistant that the one I have.

With the lining removed, I think this jacket is much more verstile and could be a 4 season soft shell. I have also used the Cloudviel Serendipity and having handwarmer pockets and a hood really extends the usabilty of the jacket in storm conditions.

In 3 season of heavy use of this jacket I've had one wear issue. The velcro on the front zipper flap needed to be resewn. The newer version has a different construction that would eliminate this problem.

This jacket is on close-out right now at mgear.com. A new version will be available this winter. I am very tempted to get another one, even though this one has years of wear left in it.

Excellent soft-shell jacket for fall, winter, spring. Great for skiing, hiking, mountaineering, winter climbing. Water repellency is very good (not waterproof, but repels light rain and dries quickly. Easily handles wet snow, sleet, etc.). Wind-proofness is very good. Breathability is excellent. Fit and finish are excellent. Feature list is long. The fabric is amzingly stretchy, soft and pliable yet handles an incredible amount of abuse with aplomb. I have a 2004 model and I can confirm that the changes to the design have fixed the problems that the other reviewer mentions (shoulder pocket, velcro on zip flap, better DWR treatment on fabric, etc.).



Minor complaints:

The hood (unlike the rest of the jacket) is lined with nylon to make the hood more windproof. Nice idea. I don't think it actually adds much real value. The schoeller fabric is already pretty darn windproof to begin with. Mostly it just adds weight. Even more of a minor complaint are the tabs used to cinch the sleeves at the wrist. They use a stiffened, rubberized velcro tab that was probably designed to make it easier to use with gloves on (?). Seems like a good idea except that that stiffened tab now catches and grabs on anything you stick your arm into (the handwarmer pockets, gloves with long gauntlets, packs, etc.). Again, a minor complaint, but something that I find annoys me on a pretty consistent basis.