Mountain Hardwear Beacon Dry.Q® Elite Jacket - Waterproof (For Men)

Cuts the wind, repels the snow and rain, and reflects body heat back at you. Awesome!
I have used it with a light synthetic down jacket underneath in blowing snow and temps down to 10 degrees and it keeps you dry and warm. Quite sure that combo would work even another 10-20 degrees lower. Love it!

I ordered this jacket because of the other positive reviews and because I have always wanted a MH jacket.

I really liked it. I returned it because of the sizing. I am 6 feet and 210 lbs and prefer shells to fit just baggy enough for a med fleece underneath. The large was skin-tight in the upper shoulders and neck when zipped up whereas the waist was enormous. I agree with other reviewers that found this sizing very weird. It is almost like the upper half of the jacket is a size smaller than normal and the lower half of the jacket is at least one size larger than normal. The problem with this is that you can't order in a different size to make it work. It either fits or it doesn't.

This jacket should work for you if you either have smaller shoulders or a larger waist. I still rated it as 4 stars because the quality is undeniable. Definitely worth ordering from STP!! I hope MH/columbia continues to make 70 denier DryQ elite jackets because they look like they can hold their own with the other big brands in the industry.

Pros
-The 70 denier is beasty; perfect if you want durability. looks more storm proof than comparable 40 denier jackets.
-The zippers/collars/colors all good.
-3 layer DryQ elite
-arm length okay, just a little short for me.
-Light enough.

Con
-Sizing. not going to work for everybody.

I bought this jacket as a replacement for a Mountain Hardware raincoat that had been my faithful hiking companion for a decade. I made the fatal error of not testing my new coat before leaving to hike in New Zealand. I was in the rain and wet to the bone for two days! The jacket is simply NOT waterproof!

This jacket has the best construction I've ever had from Mountsin Hardwear! This sizing is a little tight in the shoulders, probably from its Chinese origins! Those little fellows can wear this more comfortably? I'm 6', 200 lbs. I use this jacket at work in the winter while loading GM pickups on train cars. The job involves tight spacing and stretching! Other jackets usually get shredded from rubbing on steel inside of the train, but not the Beacon! The 70 denier fabric is thick enough to stave off tears! Great overall design!

This jacket is kind of a hybrid in the sense that it has the specs of a high end hard shell but the cut of an everyday multi-use rain shell. It doesn't have a helmet compatible hood with a large brim or pack compatible pockets or two way front zips and pit zips. but those aren't necessarily essential for everyday use. It's made of nice heavy duty fabric that seems pretty tough while still being very lightweight and not overly restrictive or noisy. With the right mid layer I'm expecting this will easily be a 3 season jacket that's superior to a thinner rain shell. It's looks and feels like a quality, high priced item. At the right STP discount, it's a steal especially compared to other hard/rain shells with similar or even lesser specs.

There are a couple of things to note though: the cut doesn't seem to work for everybody - you should probably stay away from this item if you have longer arms or if you have fairly broad shoulders and a narrower waist. Sizing up or down on this particular item to adjust the fit probably won't work the way you expect. Also note that the pit zips are NOT welded like all the other external zips, however they do have outside storm flaps and they work very smoothly.