Outdoor Research Metaphor Jacket

What your other reviewers eluded to but we to shy to say directly is. 1. Too few pockets and those are oddly shaped for the position they are in. A definite drawback. 2. If the liner ( which is nice on its own) fits well then the shell alone it just too big and looks like you are wearing a colored garbage bag. 3. I love OR jackets but this is not one of them. I bought it and returned it the same day. Just too baggy as a shell and when the shell has the liner zipped in HORIZONTALLY ( wierd ) it makes the fit look very odd on you. Like you have a horizontal constriction in the middle of the jacket and restricts comfortable movement in that area. If you own one have some common sense and return it. Or live to regret it.

First off: This is my first technical ski-specific shell. So my experience is limited. Hope you folks find my review useful. Pros: - Outer fabric appears to be pretty durable. I believe its 70D throughout. - Construction seems pretty thorough with all the seams taped. - Shell is very waterproof. - Aesthetics are pretty nice and subtle and the fabric has a brushed (vs. shiny) look. - Inner liner is pretty light and athletically cut. Cons (unfortunately a long list): - As the others have said, the fit is a little weird. The body is over-sized. I'm 5'10", 160 and bought a medium. - The main contributing factor to the weird fit though is the fact that the body is very stiff in places. I think the zips in the middle of the jacket for the zip-in liner and the powder skirt (and the extra tapes around them) are the main culprits. As a result the shell doesn't quite sit smoothly on the torso - especially with the powder skirt zipped in. So you end up with weird bulges and waves. - I really, REALLY don't like the powder skirt. It's really tight and rides up the torso all the time. And this brings the hem of the shell also up and adds to the bulges mentioned above. This is exacerbated because the insulation liner is a slippery surface and so the skirt doesn't have something to grip to. You find yourself pulling the skirt, insulation and shell layers back down after every lift-ride. So I never use the skirt. - The hood is small for my Giro Fuse helmet (M). The shell rests on my head with the helmet on! - Lastly, and most worrisome to me is the breathability. I've used it about 7 times now (all at resorts with a pack) and at the end of the day there is *always* moisture on the inside of the torso (the PacLite part) - front and back. I suspect it's because of the rubbery inner lining fabric. The shoulders (the Pro part) and arms are fine. Wish the whole shell had the same inner lining. So overall - it was a decent purchase for $209 since it bought me great waterproofness and an insulation layer as well. However, I'm strongly considering returning it for something far more breathable and with a less-awkward fit.

Not true to size. I have a 45 chest with broad shoulders and an XL was a tent on me. Arm legth was too long also. The size chart says XL for 46 chest so I got it for room to move since it already comes with an insulating layer. XL is more for a 48 chest. Quality looked good and the outside fabric seemed durable. Apparently there is a 3rd layer of polyurathane on the paclite and it doesn't look like it breathes well. What got me is why combine paclite and pro on the same jacket, to save weight? The Metaphor weighs 2 and a half pounds which is heavy for an insulated ski jacket, so the paclite didn't really save much weight but dropped the performance capabilities. It's not cheap unless you got it on Tramdock. For the money and less weight I went with a Gore-Tex Performance shell, paclite is just not needed for skiing, it's more for weight saving which is not saved with the Metaphor.