Extremely versatile piece - Rab Strata Hoodie - Mens

I recently been at the gym a lot and gained a lot of mass. Most of my jacket are size small and they were getting too tight. I didn't wanted to spend money on 5 different jackets (outer layer, insulation, soft-shell, wind-shell, etc) so I got this piece. It suppose to be able to do it all.

So far, I am very impress with this jacket. I can put it on top of my sweater for those cold winter morning and late night walk with the dog. I've taken it running in well below freezing with just a t-shirt underneath. I cross country skiing at -10 C (14 F) with wind and it does a decent job. I only have a light merino layer underneath and I was building up sweat, but it keep me warm the whole time. Even when I stopped for 15 minutes for a water and snack.

It's so light and windproof that I know I'll be using this during my camping trip. It would be very warm to put on in the middle of the night in front of the fire.

It pack into it own pocket, which is nice and it has three huge pockets. It resist rain fairly well, but that probably won't last forever because of the DWR. The hood is fairly comfortable as well.

My only complaint is the jacket doesn't hold it form very well. The Polartec alpha insulation hold is shape very well, so they didn't bother sewing baffle. Which keep the jacket more windproof and better insulated, but it does feel flimsy. I have to use two hands to close the two hand pockets.

Don't want to spend money on a few jackets? This is a good alternative.

This review was written in the old system and had content requirements that are different than reviews written today.