Comments about Mountain Hardwear Nilas Jacket for Men:

First things first: I never pay full price for anything. If you know much about retail you know where I'm coming from.

The price on this jacket is quite steep compared to similar jackets in the same category - the Rab Neutrino Endurance comes to mind as it is significantly cheaper. If I couldn't buy the Nilas at a reduced price I'd go for the Neutrino.

Price aside, this jacket is phenomenal. One of the first things I noticed the moment I pulled it out of its plastic wrap is that it is a prime example of the fact that denier is not always a good measure of a fabric's durability. For being woven with a measley 15 denier thread the shell of this jacket is very robust. As long as I remained a little mindful of my situation I would expect this to hold up rock climbing or hitting up against a few tree branches.

The box baffles appear to only cover the front of the jacket but I am ok with this. Sleeves lend themselves to bunching, which mitigates the stitch through baffling there. And I'm not as concerned about the back of my jacket as I am the front.

For the grand finale let me put it this way: once this jacket is zipped up it feels as if I'm wearing a soft, warm cloud instead of a serious cold-weather jacket. And the cuffs! If you ignore the thumb holes and simply use them as wrist covers they are just about perfect. I tried on a light jacket by Patagonia recently that has amazing cuffs but these on the Nilas may be the best I've ever seen. Time will tell if the elastic will wear and/or overstretch. For now they are almost angelic and I don't see that changing for quite a few wearings.

All around a magnificent jacket for those willing to pay a little extra - and for such an important piece of clothing I would seriously recommend doing so.

Note: I'm 5'6" at roughly 145 lbs and the medium fits me *amazingly* well.