Victorinox Swiss Army Lightweight Jacket - Insulated (For Men)

This is a nice non-technical primaloft jacket. Think of it as the city version of those ultra-lightweight (ULW) synthetic insulated jackets that we all know and love (Mountain Hardwear Compressor jacket is my personal favorite). The problem with the more technical lightweight synthetic insulated jackets has always been that they look a bit too gear-techie to wear around town. Not so with this jacket. The outer fabric is a black ripstop which thankfully ditches the ULW design in the interest of being more attractive. One of the major flaws of ULW fabrics is how shiny they are - this ripstop is not at all shiny. That being said, I would prefer some more features. The two most notably lacking features are hand pockets and an interior zipper guard. It never occurred to me that it might not have hand pockets because really, what kind of jacket doesn't have hand pockets?! Think of this more as a shirt-jacket with a heavy leaning towards the shirt end of things. Another concern is the lack of a zipper guard. It has an external zipper windflap to keep breezes from blowing through but the zipper is exposed on the inside to the fragile skin of your neck. I learned this lesson quickly on probably the third time I zipped up the jacket. Ouch! I also do not care for the shirt-like cut of the bottom of the jacket where it is longer on the front and back then on the sides. I'm not tucking this into my pants, for heaven's sake! That being said, for such a well-priced piece of primaloft kit I will spend the extra $15 or so to have a local tailor trim some of the excess fat of the front and back to make this a uniform length all the way around. My plan is to use this as a mid layer when traveling. It should work great as a discreet insulating layer over a softshell and under a rain shell when the temperatures fall. I wouldn't use it as a regular around-town jacket since I prefer something a bit more durable for every-day use (especially since I don't have to worry about weight except when flying). Oh, and one other concern - this jacket has one of the cheapest zippers I've ever seen on a jacket. I fully expect to be paying the tailor another $20 in the mid-future to replace this zipper when it breaks. But for all its flaws its the only non-technical Primaloft jacket I've ever seen so I'm going to keep it. I'm 6'3" and a fit 205 lbs. The large fits well with a decently athletic cut.

Wear it as a jacket with a light/medium sweater, or with just a tee. Prefer it with just a tee, to be honest. Reminds me of a Eastern European military jacket, though much lighter and fashionable. Great value.

It is an incredibly warm comfortable lightweight jacket for something so thin, it is warmer than my thicker / bulkier jackets and looks great. Wear it as a casual jacket / wear it under a softshell outer layer for ski-ing or boarding. A great buy.

Overall the jacket is rather stylish though the shirt styling can appear quirkish. It is very light and it compresses down to the size of a large grapefruit. It was comfortable at forty degrees this morning when I wore it over a merino sweater. I purchased it soley as an insulating layer but it functions well on its own at cool temperatures. It fit me well and I'm 5'10" and 161 pounds.