Dynafit Men's Cho Oyu Down Jacket

I love this jacket and I purchased it for three primary reasons:1. WATER RESISTANT SHELL & TREATED DOWN FILL.Living in the NorthWest, chilly, drizzly days are a regular occurrence during the winter months. I was tired of having to wear both a warmth layer and a rain shell on top of that when running errands, etc. I have had other down jackets that were advertised as "water resistant" but none of them have shed water effectively. Not so with the ChoOyu! I have been wearing this jacket in the rain for several months now and it has yet to show any signs of water penetrating the outer shell layer. The water beads up very effectively on the outer surface. I have been out in steady rain for up to an hour without any problems.2. OVERALL FIT.I am a tall (5'10"), slender, long-armed female and consequently womens sizes & styles rarely fit me (the arms are too short and the body is too wide/short). I typically fit a MENS small or medium jacket, depending on the cut. I could wear the mens small in this jacket comfortably as a fitted jacket WITHOUT layers underneath. The medium fits well WITH layers. I chose to go with the mens medium so I could comfortably layer up underneath it when needed. I would characterize the cut of this jacket as a "semi-athletic" fit. The medium also fits my husband perfectly which is his usual jacket size.3. THE AMAZING HOOD!I LOVE the extra-roomy hood!!! I have a larger than average head size and as a female, I have lots of hair which I often wear up in a knot on the top of my head. The "helmet compatible" hood is the first hood I have found that will fit BOTH MY HEAD AND MY HAIR, comfortably and without the front of the hood pulling back and exposing my entire forehead and an inch or two of my hair line. I realize this may sound like a weird thing to be excited about but you have no idea how annoying it is to have a hood constantly pulling your head back because it is too small. I also wear glasses and the slight brim and stretchy cuff along the upper edge of the hood work perfectly to keep most of the rain off my glasses. You can also adjust the fit of the hood by tightening or loosening the elastic cord at the back.BOTTOM LINEI couldn't be happier with this jacket. It fits well, keeps me toasty warm, has shown better than expected water resistant capabilities and is exceptionally well made. And I love the bright electric blue color! I primarily use it as a daily wearer but it is also great on the slopes. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

This jacket made me sad. One of the best water-resistant down insulating jackets I've seen lately, as far as the quality of down, weight-to-warmth ratio, the main zipper and general fit... And that's where it ends.First, why does every outdoor company think that it needs to re-invent the basics? 1) The hood - awful. Good amount of insulation and generally a nice shaping of the material, but then, while standing on the mountain on a nice, -5 degree day, the test athlete must have thought, "Something is missing - when I look up, nothing is poking me right in the eye." And so they've added this elastic contraption, which I presume, was meant to seal the heat in, but instead is perfectly position and implemented to slide right in to your eyes when you look up. Then there is the one hand adjustment garbage again - why not just re-use a classic, fully adjustable hood? And the visor - I think what must have happened is they saw how well the simple, laminated visors work on the Arcteryx jackets and thought - that's just too simple. Lets put a wire in there, that will get badly mangled every time the user stuffs the jacket. But, luckily, they put a little bit of insulation inside what is left of the visor, which is good, since it will do... nothing as the visor flaps in the wind. Ok, done with the hood. 2) The underarm fit - ironically, the sleeve tube seems to be tailored about right, but the seam where the sleeve is mated to the torso of the jacket has a circumference that is smaller than that of the sleeve. Why? Does "European" fit imply that none of the "European" men have, you know, shoulders, triceps and arms or any notable size? On top of that, the jacket is being sold in this here "American" market and while being of somewhat of a European descent, I guess I must've "Americanized" a bit and like to have a jacket that does not cut off circulation in my extremities, starting at the shoulder and armpits. 3) The zipper - it's almost as good as my 5+ year-old YKK Vislon on the Fusion LT, but - it's "the other way" - i.e. supposedly in Europe they've flipped on which side the zipper rides. So, at least for me, the brain would pause for about .75 seconds trying to get the zipper started. 4) Parts of the jacket must have trash bags inserted for additional water-proofness, since, when moving in the jacket, well... it sounds like a trash bag that's been crinkled.The reason why I am giving two starts is that I've grown rather tired of seeing really good materials being wasted by numerous designers/manufactures. The people who engineer these materials have done wonders - really - the down in this jacket feels amazing and it's water-resistant! This specific zipper (which is two-way, by the way) is amazing - I love the 5+ year old version on my Arcteryx. The shell (aside from being noisy) was showing potential. Etc., etc. And then, yet another I-can-do-better designer has to come along and waste these materials and parts. It is really sad and frustrating. This could've been a 4.9/5 jacket for usage in 92% of cold situations most of us, weekend-warrior-plus-wannabees, will ever encounter, but... for now I will keep using the slightly bulkier and worn Dead Bird.