A nice multipurpose jacket. Thin enought to wear as a mid-layer. With the stretch woven nylon reinforcements on the front, shoulder and cuffs, it can also make a fairly versatile outerwear piece. Most of the front is covered with this layer of stretch woven fabic, which makes the front fairly wind resistant. An excellent jacket.

Minor gripes: 1) The sleeves could be a bit more tapered at the wrists. 2) The collar is sort of flimsly and doesn't want to stand up unless the jacket is fully zipped. 3) The retail price point of $205 is too high compared with similar jackets (the Arc'Teryx Gamma SV is only about $20 more, but is completely bomber!).

Great jacket, though, for $135 (my value rating is based upon the SALE price). It is one of those pieces that you will find yourself throwing on all the time while some of your others wait in the closet.

Customer Service

Great, as usual.

Similar Products Used:

Arc'Teryx Gamma SV

This is one of the smartest pieces of clothing I've ever seen. The jacket is form fitting stretch material (Activist fleece - smooth on the outside, soft of the inside) and made of several panels. The panels in high abrasion areas (i.e., forearm-elbow, shoulders and torso) are reinforced with a more durable weave.

I've worn my jacket as a base layer, mid-layer, and an outer-layer depending on the circumstances. The jacket is mildly water and wind resistant. I often go biking with my Matrix jacket - it offers enough wind resistance to keep me warm but also lets me breath better than membrane wind-blockers with pit-zips.

My only con is that the jacket is expensive but then, this whole class of speciality fleece overpriced in my opinion. The Matrix is a bit cheaper than comparable jackets made by Arc'teryx and others.

PS I got this jacket on sale. MSRP is $205

Customer Service

Great customer service.

Similar Products Used:

Columbia Titanium fleece, various Gor-tex Wind-Blocker fleece products.