This is not a bad jacket. It gives plenty of room for a fleece, or down...thanks to its loose fit. It's extremly durable, and you could swim in this thing and not get wet. DWR ("Durable" water repellent)needs to be applied after a while. It's got a steep retail price, but I got mine for 1/2 of it. Not a bad jacket.

Customer Service

NONE

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Marmot Alpinest Mem-Brain jacket
Mountain Hardwear Grade 5 Shell

I agree with most of the negative comments others have made about this jacket. The DWR is lousy, so the jacket starts to soak up water in the mildest of rain showers. I have retreated it a number of times with various products, but it appears that new applications of DWR are the only things this jacket repels successfully. This jacket was supposed to be my bomber expedition jacket, but I have watched it fall apart with very moderate use. I think that the exterior of the jacket can take a lot, but the interior layer is literally coming apart. The seam tape delaminated so badly that I sent it to The North Face warranty to have it repaired. That, plus the storm flap velcro was hanging by threads. They "fixed" it by applying more seam tape over the old seam tape, which added weight, bulk, and made the waist cord area rub against my back when carrying a pack. Worse, the new tape was peeling off before I even put the thing on. The previous reviewer stated that he got a replacement, but I have no interest in another Kichatna. Do yourself a favor and buy any other jacket but this one.

Customer Service

See above. I've had other items repaired by TNF warranty and the repairs have all been quick and dirty. I've had to send stuff back to have the repair repaired more than once. Lifetime warranty means you'll be sending it back the rest of your life.

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Marmot Alpinist III - everything the Kichatna should have been. Excellent.

I've had this jacket for 3 years now and it has definitely served me quite well in all conditions. I've used it on a couple big trips and I've yet to have any major problems with it. It certainly keeps me dry, it's very abrasion resistant, and it's fairly lightweight compared to most jackets of the same caliber. The only problem I have noticed is it's tendency to absorb water in the outside nylon, which gived it the wet appearance but does not seep through. This does, however, become a problem in extreme cold conditions by making the jacket stiff as a board. However I doubt this is unique for any jacket on the market after the initial water repelancy has deteriorated.

I have owned a Kichatna for four years. During that time it has taken annual trips to the factory to have blown seams repaired. The main troublemaker was the seam covering the elastic cord in the lower back - it would delaminate after only one month of moderate wear (the jacket alone or a <20lb pack)! Wearing a heavier pack simply accelerated the process and caused the lining to wear through. After sending it in for the same problem three times they finally complied with my requests and on the fourth trip they replaced the jacket.

Without question I will look to other manufacturers for my next purchase.

Customer Service

The repair process took between one week and one month. Replacement took 1.5-2 months! They actually blamed one of the delaminations on a fast repair time - go figure!

Similar Products Used:

None