Really unfortunate experience with this Jacket.

This is the best designed Shell Jacket I have ever seen.

The main zipper of my jacket deteriorated rapidly in the first few months. This was only at the very beginning of the zipper.

I took it back to REI and they offered to replace the jacket BUT ALL the other Lightspeeds they had in stock had the same problem in evidence while still at the store.

I like Marmot Quality and my confidence was still high enough that I have exchanged it for a Marmot Armstrong while I would really have preferred the Lightspeed with a good zipper.

This zipper seemed to have been made by a Vendor Company (YKK) but finally Marmot has to maintain the Quality esp. in a fairly high priced product.

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Great all round jacket that does everything the alpine jackets do with a little less weight. Water will seep through the cuffs or inside the hood (not a leak, where the face and the hood meet) in an all day rain shower. However the 3 ply goretex works so well the water will quickly evaporate away. They claim at the rate of one liter per hour at high energy activities (running). The jacket comes with water repelent already washed in so you want have to by the Nic Wax for a while.

Customer Service

I tore a small hole (about 1cm) in the back of my jacket and sent it back to Marmot. They did a great job of repairing it, no patches..they replaced the entire back pannel. However, there was a twenty dollar fee and it took almost three months!

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the light speed jacket is an excellent light weight, athletic cut mountaineering shell. these days, it is tough to find a shell that isn't sized to accomodate the typical american couch potato's beer gut. this jacket is the only one i've found that has a nice trim fit. all the features are excellent, though the hood could be cut a bit bigger to better accomodate a climbing helmet. the fabric is durable but lightweight and seems to breath just fine. it is a bit pricey, but costs less that an arcteryx.

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