Mountain Hardwear Men's Dragon Jacket

best jacket I've worn
I hate carrying too much stuff or weight on me; the jacket delivers with amazing performance. This jacket is soft shell that LOOKS like a hardshell. The material is actually soft and stretchy. Gets the job done better than other similar windstopping shells. Ultralight and thin too. It's incredible. Mountain Hardwear knocks it out of the park with this one. The single gray pocket took a while to get used to.. but I dig it now! Could do with a smaller logo... I've had no problems with the material itching me or anything but it does run a tad small. I'm going to size up to a medium. Has a slim fit! Hands down my favorite jacket!

Love This Jacket
I bought this jacket for cross-country skiing. I wore it in -15 degree weather today with just a fleece layer underneath and was plenty warm. In fact, I need to open the pit vents. Can't speak to the durability just yet since I've only had it a week or so, but it's definitely made well. Taking it on the slopes tomorrow to see how it fairs.

blurs the lines
It looks like a hard shell with its super-taped zippers and smooth looking fabric. It blocks wind like a hard shell. The seams are taped. It happily beads light rain like a hard shell. It's light and packable since it's pretty much just a shell. It's not very stretchy. But it's not a hard shell -- and maybe that's hard to get over for some, myself included. It's super soft, unlike any other soft shell material I've touched. The pit zips are a large and a nice touch, although they do make the fit a little weird/wide in the chest/under arm area. The finish is amazing -- the Dragon Jacket exudes quality. The hood synch works wonderfully. The hood has an excellent brim and when synched down fits wonderfully helmet-less. It fits pretty true to size. Another half inch or so in the body might be nice for layering larger items underneath. That said, I am easily able to layer a base+R1+R2 (or equivalents) wearing my normal size of Medium (i'm 5'9"/150). I would say this is probably one of the best soft shells on the market right now. But remember, it's a soft shell and it's not going to hold up like your gore-tex hard shell in rain. It will bead rain effortlessly, but I wouldn't expect it to keep me dry in a monsoon (although I've yet to try this). If you are in the market for a super technical, quality, and all around excellent soft shell, then look no further.