Lowe Alpine Zone Jacket - Soft Shell (For Men)

A great all around garment.

This was a great deal, but the length thing is a little off putting.

Like the inner liner. Very comfortable with short sleeves on.

I have to say I was expecting a little better performance from a jacket originally priced the way it is. On the up side, it looks nice when it is on, and it is breathable. But with that, it is not very wind resistant. Nor is it very water resistant. It is best worn with a shell if wet and breezy conditions are expected. As far as insulation, I find it a little lacking compared to other softshells I've had. It is on the lightweight side. But I have had no sweat/moisture problems. Be prepared for the left-hand euro (fem) zip. And the waist is indeed very, very narrow. I am a tall, thin guy and athletic fits are usually the way to go for me. I ordered the small and it is quite snug around my 29" waist. Not bad for helping to reduce drafts, but when my arms are raised above my head, the waist slides up and stays up. The shoulders allow for a fair range of movement before that problem occurs, but there seems to be more material than needed up top. I wish the arms were at least an inch longer. This isn't my favorite piece, but it looks quite nice.

I wear this as a top layer when skinning up the mountain and it is perfect. On warmer days, 30+, I don't wear a shell over it for the descent.

I bought this jacket based on the good reviews and the great discount I got from (comparing to the original price). Overall it is a nice jacket, it keeps me warm. I don't like the fit of the jacket. The arm/shoulder is bulky, it doesn't look nice if you don't zip up your jacket. I ordered a Medium, I'm 5'3, 120 lbs and it's big on me. But it has enough room for me to wear 2-3 layers underneath. Because its a softshell jacket it's not so soft on the outside. I was hoping more like a fleece soft. It's kinda noisy when moving around too....

i use lowe alpine as my main product line. this is a good looking jacket. i didn't like the cut on the shoulders. made me look like princess leah. it looks as though i have padding in my shoulders, and gives the 80's look of shoulder pads. also it's a little snug around my mid section. i've never had an issue with the fit of lowe alpine products until now.....

The jacket itself was quite nice. I ordered a medium and a large, and I am 6'4" and 165 lbs. The large was quite large on me, but the medium fit really well. My biggest gripes with the jacket were the in my mind non usable hood (like a spandex balaclava), non windproof zipper, and thing material as opposed to pit zips. The jacket would be great for an aerobic winter jacket, but I bought it for skiing, and wasn't positive it would suit that need well. Overall, nice quality jacket, but not what I was looking for (mainly my mistake, should have looked more closely at the details).

This is a great lightweight jacket. it has a European cut so it is tight, but I can still wear a fleece underneath, which is necessary if the temp drops to the low to mid 40's. I really like the jacket overall.

Looking at the feature set of this jacket on the website I was psyched to try it out. I was looking for a minimalist, durable softshell for technical climbing. The high chest pockets are great: they stay out of the way of a harness, and it's annoying how many other softshells (that would otherwise be great for climbing) lack this feature. However, the fit of this jacket felt restrictive: it binds up on my shoulders and back whenever I reach forward or up. the bottom hem also rides up substantially when I reach up: a big No-No for a climbing jacket. I want to forget I'm wearing it. I don't think it's an issue of having the wrong size either: the sleeve length seems correct, it's just that this jacket doesn't move with me. I've tried similar softshells from other brands (OR, REI, Marmot, Arcteryx) where this wasn't an issue: arm rotation felt great. Not sure what's going on with the fit on this jacket, maybe it's just made for real skinny European types. Oh yeah, the little spandex hood is pointless: it wouldn't keep in warmth nor block any wind. Anyway, I sent it back.