686 Uzi Jacket

Seriously, the idea of snowboarding/snow-sport clothing being not only functional but also highly fashionable is sort of a joke to me. Why the hell anyone cares about the color being a shade or two off is just a farce. FUNCTIONALLY, this jacket is just great. All the people who posted reviews saying the fit is abnormal probably just failed to mention that they have ape-like torso to arm ratios or vice-versa. Any normal person could walk into a store and fit the one that's their normal size, although I will agree that it is sized probably a half size bigger than most other manufacturers. I do, however, have a complaint about the FUNCTIONALITY of the jacket, seeing at that's mostly what these reviews are supposed to be about. Here goes: If your thumbs are located in their anatomically correct positions, you will not be able to use the thumb holes in the gaiters. They were clearly designed by a man in Plano, TX who had only ever read about snow in a book. They are oriented about as wrong as they could possibly be without constituting a catastrophic failure of the garment. Even still, I don't know why they were shipped like this. It's such a joke. But hey, nobody used to have gaiters so it's easily something you can get around, so I give it 4 stars. Just pretend you never saw the holes and everything will be fine.

This is a nice overall jacket for a good price. Waterproof and breathability are high, it's the perfect length (about 2" longer than a standard length parka, but not so long as to be restrictive). It has light insulation to keep you warm enough on most days, and roomy enough to add layers on colder days, but no heavy lining. Fits well, which makes it pretty comfy. Removable hood and mesh pit zips are well designed, and lots o' pockets including mp3 and pass pockets. As others have noted, this is not the "Smarty" version with removable lining. The tag inside still says "Smarty" for unknown reasons, apparently because they use the same tag for all versions, but it's not. ABOUT THE COLOR PROBLEM EVERYONE IS HAVING: "Moss" is like an lt. olive green (see the thumbnail which shows it correctly). When you click on it, it probably shows the wrong color which most people are calling a "tweed" pattern, almost like a woodsy camo. THIS COLOR IS CALLED "BARK". Notice when you click on the bark thumbnail, it doesn't show any preview. This is because the picture is missing, ignore this fact and if you want that color choose bark. As for me, I already got the moss and not going to exchange it. I'm irked they had the wrong picture, but don't really too much care either way.

Got this jacket after lots of shopping around. The L fit great in the body, but the sleeves were a little too short and didn't let me move so well. Upsized to XL, which has longer sleeves and more mobility, however, it's huge in the torso. At first, I was put off by the bulk, but after layering up and filling the pockets with my usual riding stuff, it didn't fit so bad: a little gangster. The coat snapped in to my 686 pants and kept the pow out. There are a ton of pockets, some of which I haven't yet found a use for. Very waterproof and the breathability wasn't bad, although I did get a little condensation all over my iPod. Pit zips were very effective. The zipper in the front which allows access to the inside of the jacket without opening the whole front was a nice feature. Overall a great jacket and backcountry's staff and exchange policy were great. I had to exchange the jacket before a trip to the Canadian Rockies, only had a week, and had the new item 3 days before leaving!

Super-discounted so I bought (stole?) this jacket (XL-Stone) as a backup. Had little expectations, but lemme tell you....I donned this jacket this past weekend for a 3-day trifecta of Vail (dumping pow), Breck (cloudy & cold) and Keystone (zero degrees by afternoon) and I don't have enough compliments for it! With a good mid-layer on, I had zero issues with cold or the snow. The fit was great (I buy 1 size up for layering and movement, but my regular size Large would've fit just fine), tons of pockets (all accessible), a snug powder skirt and the collar is a big, warm, snuggly cave when zipped up. Only complaint was the way the hood cinched up only from the back, but since 1) its removable, and 2) I just said I love it even in bitter cold and heavy snow, its not a big deal. In summary, this jacket is an absolute STEAL at the listed price...and if you catch it on WhiskeyMilitia, count your blessings and buy two.

Don't get me wrong, this is a nice coat and You definitely can't beat the price, if you get it on sale. I got it from Brociety for a steal. The negatives are that it does run big. I am a pretty small dude, I got a small and I swim in it, should have gotten the xs. Also, even though the tag says "smarty" it is not. The tag clearly states that it has the 3-1 system, which it does not. I knew this before I bought it, no biggie. The one that did suck is that it states the pow skirt is removable, it is NOT. doesn't even zip away into a pocket. And the stone color is more if a cream/beige. The positives are that it is a really great coat. Lots of pockets great water shedding and breathability, and the hood is big enough for your helmet. Bottom line, get it on sale, and enjoy what you get.

This jacket is well proportioned/sized, keeps you dry effectively, and seems well constructed. My one complain is the arm gaiters - they are not designed to be worn by humans (at least not humans who have anatomically normal arm/hand structure). You either have to twist your arm to fit your thumb through the thumbhole, or you have to twist the sleeve, neither of which are desirable. The solutions are: live with twisted sleeves/arms while wearing the jacket, forget about the gaiters and just wear the jacket old school, or get someone with the appropriate skill set to alter the jacket so that it fits human beings (this will included stitching up existing holes and making new ones). If you aren't used to wearing gaiters, don't worry about it. If you are, but you're not willing to go to the trouble to fix them, look elsewhere. As long as the gaiters aren't a dealbreaker, this is a good jacket.

PROS: awesome, tons of pockets, 3 different mp3 pockets, nicely designed pitzips, super waterproof, neck comes wayy up-covers half my face, love the little access zipper on the front. CONS: one of the little stretchy cuffs on the sleeves started shredding instantly and looks horrible now..not very good material, fits huge, the bottom of one of my mp3 pockets tore out within 2 months and i found my ipod just floatin around way at the bottom of the jacket, hood is huge..won't stay on my head for more than half a run and the little pull-lock thing on the hood doesn't work very well, 2 way zipper is hard to get started - would prefer the ease of 1 zipper, but these are all minor in my opinion and don't really change my view of the jacket, although it would be a 5 star jacket without these little quirks

For those of you who are confused about this jacket, is is not a Smarty Uzi. The Smarty series has a synthetic down jacket that zips in as a liner. These jackets have no liner, and they are not zip-in compatible (no internal zipper). The powder guard is also not removable as it is sewn in. The hood is zippered, and removable. Also, the moss tweed color is not available and apparently ships as a solid green. The Smarty Uzi is available in this tweed color, but that is a different jacket. I called 686 about this and they seemed confused about this jacket. Still, for the price it's not bad, just not the Smarty Uzi that many people are expecting when they order it.

I bought some 686 Smarty Pants and was looking for a matching 686 jacket that matched the snap pattern of the powder skirt. It has a very military look to it and in Jungle green looks as good on the slopes as it does around town. This jacket is more water proof (15k) than my previous jacket but less warm than my Primaloft jacket and fits a little loser so there is plenty of room for extra layers. The arm length is fine except for the wrist gators, they seem to fit fine until you bend over to adjust your bindings or try and lift your arms above your head. That is the only thing not making this a 5 star jacket.

Thanks to Backcountry for sending a smaller size to me (2 day express) for a trip to New Zealand to give the Uzi jacket a real outdoor test.I'm 5'11" 180lbs and found the large very big in the body and long in the arms. I'm on the slim side and the medium was a much better choice ,slimmer and not as roomy in the body but you can throw a layer or two undernear. This jacket has all the bells and whistles!! great color in gunmetal grey. I will be using it mostly as an outershell and rain jacket but would def recommend based on style ,options, price.....I only need to find out how well it breaths!!