Mountain Hardwear Windstopper Fleece Review

"This is the greatest jacket I have ever used. Excellent for mountain biking (absolutely impermeable to wind) and layering under a shell. I haven't used it below 45 degrees yet, so I'm not sure how warm it will be, but so far it suffices. The pit zippers go down to the elbow and a variety of pockets make carrying items easily accessible. Highly recommended and well worth $195."

"RE: Warmth of this fleece. I live in Columbus, OH, and I only needed the shell for this 3 times ALL WINTER! This includes the several times I went skiing. So, it's REALLY warm. If you want a lesson on why you get cold, try Gortex.com. This fleece keeps you warm (and DRY) because it prevents the wind from sucking the heat away from your body. The cool thing too, is that I rarely take it off indoors, and I still feel comfortable. This is an unbelievable piece of clothing.

Make sure you get a good fit. I typically buy large shirts, and I got a large fleece. I could have gotten away with a medium, but like I said I never take it off, so the extra space is appreciated. FYI: Finally, I got the medium shell, and the large fleece fits into fine."

"I shuttered to pay the price for "technical" fleece but after two years I am so glad I did. The MH jacket has ALL the features I need and super warm to boot. I used it for the outer layer at -40 over a MH vest and stayed toasty the entire trip. Unbelieveable quality - now to try and wear it out!"

"I too Shuttered at the price of this jacket. But when I finally purchased it, it promptly wore it on my next days hike. I summited "devil's rest" in the Columbia Gorge, amist what seemed like 40+ MPH winds (not uncommon) and I was plenty warm for a brisk hike in the middle of December. At the summit it must have been really cold because my lunch froze up on me pretty fast, faster than I could eat it, yet I was toasty with only a set of thermals, a thin down type vest and this fleece. Not to mention I never got wet, even going from rain, wind and eventually, snow on that trip. It was well worth the investment."

"I got this jacket as a gift the day before my wife and I left for Switzerland. While in Switzerland, I pretty much wore this jacket wherever we went...however, the winter of 2006 was to be the warmest the Swiss have had for hundreds of years...on average in the 30's -40's F. The jacket definitely stops the wind, but a cold wind makes the thin fiber of the jacket's surface cold. Thus making it feel cool. I would say it's great for about 40 deg. F and up. Much cooler and you'll need layers beneath. Overall a good jacket but not worth the price.I feel like there are likely less priced jackets that would perform equally as well. I"