"I've been using the Dimension Jacket for over a year now; and I love it. The Patagonia Dimension Jacket is a soft shell. It provides water resistance (not water proofness) along with superior breathability and durability as compared to a fully laminated, waterproof jacket (gore tex or similar).
It is an unlined, hooded parka-type jacket. It is a fantastic outer layer for hiking, climbing, skiing, snowshoeing or just about any other outdoor activity you could think of. The fabric is truly rugged. It can stand up to much more abuse than a typical nylon/goretex parka. If you're bushwacking a lot, or climbing rocks and scraping against them, this jacket can handle it!
The other nice thing about the fabric on these soft shell jackets is that they stretch a little bit. This helps with the fit and reduces the chances that it will restrict your movement.
Patagonia Dimension: Longer cut covers your butt, but isn't so long that it gets in the way - great for skiing. Extra length and hood mean that it is not as comfortable to wear under other layers (gore tex parka when it is pouring, for example).
Hood is nice to have except that it isn't big enough to go over a helmet; and, rolling it down into a collar doesn't work as well as I'd like. Front/inside of the collar chafes my chin a bit (no fleece chin protector).
Overall fabric is a bit stiffer (and louder) than fabric from competitors' jackets (like Cloudveil Serendipity for example). However, fabric seems to be a bit more water/wind repellent than Cloudveil's. Handwarmer pockets work well with harness, and the vertical stash pocket is helpful.
Patagonia has made a great jacket with the Dimension. Very tough and rugged (much better abrasion resistance than nylon shells), fully windproof, water resistant, much more breathable than gore-tex (key!!), and also with some very useful stretch in the fabric.
Note that it is not water 'proof' - but water 'resistant.' You'll still need a gore-tex shell for full-on rainy storms. However, it will resist light rain quite well; I'll take these new 'soft' shells for 95 percent of my time outdoors!
You just can't go wrong with either of this jacket. They are truly awesome pieces. If you are interested in soft shells - also check out the Cloudveil Serendipity Jacket, and the ArcTeryx Gamma SV jacket. However, note that this is much more of a stretchy soft-shelled fleece jacket. It is quite warm. The Patagonia Dimension and Cloudveil Serendipity are uninsulated shells that you can wear alone or with fleece layered underneath. Much more versatile for year-round use."
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