Mountain Hardwear Men's Beryllium Jacket

Everything you need, nothing you don't
This is an incredible jacket. There is absolutely nothing about it I would change. The fit is great. I'm 5'10'' with a 38'' chest, and I got a medium. The fit is roomy, but not baggy, so I can comfortably fit lots of layers under it - even a thick down sweater without feeling constricted. It doesn't billow out in the stomach like so many jackets seem to, which I love. The sleeves and body are reasonably long, which provides great coverage. The goretex pro shell breathes incredibly well and is very tough, not to mention ridiculously light weight. This thing packs small and I barely notice it in my pack. Instead of a waterproof main zipper, it has a velcro closed double flap on the outside (and a single flap on the inside for comfort), which I've gotten to like quite a lot. Snow doesn't gum up on it like it does to waterproof zippers, and it's easier to slide since it doesn't have that plasticy coating. The hood is great. It can fit a helmet, or can be cinched down to just fit your head with great visibility. The brim is very protective. The pitzips are huge, and it has a nice internal water bottle pocket. There is nothing not good about this jacket. It is a protective turtle shell that you can look out from to see what the weather's like. Get it.

Durable All Mountain Jacket
I went back and forth between the ARC'TERYX Theta AR, OR Mentor and this jacket for a few weeks. I ended up going with the Beryllium mainly because I got a good deal on it. Overall I like the jacket a lot and it will suit my demands for the next couple years (14er Mountaineering, US Alpine Climbing, Ski Touring, PNW Backpacking, everyday abuse). The fit is good and as expected, I'm 6'0 155 skinny-med build. I wear a MED is every brand of outdoor clothing and the size medium fits great, sleeves are a little long (even for overhead reaching, climbing) but it's not to bad and I see this with almost all shells. I love the hood, helmet compatible, one hand drawchord works awesome. Jacket has a drawchord about a quarter the way up the bottom of the jacket (similar to where a snowskirt would be), I'm not exactly sure the idea behind that but I guess while alpine/rock climbing you could make it tight and leave the bottom drawchord loose so that it lays over your harness. I played around with it and dont see the jacket gaining much from it. The only other thing I really don't like about this jacket is the double flap front zip. Waterproof zippers have proven their durability over the years and everyone has moved them so I'm a little confused why Mtn Hrdwr went with the old school design in that area. I also would have liked to see some reinforced material on shoulders/sleeves. Used the jacket in the rain and in heavy snow and it performs excellent as you would expect; GORE TEX PRO is the best out there. I think the Theta AR and Mentor are burlier jackets overall and for the same price I would pick one of the other mentioned. That being said this is a great jacket that I anticipate getting years of good use out of, I have no concerns using it on my winter mountaineering trips!

Seems good, too much $
I sent it back because I couldn't justify the price for the weight--was looking for something a little heavier. The GoreTex Pro shell seems really solid though. I am loving my MH "Escape"