North Face, Burton, Sessions, 686

I`m looking very hard for a really really good jacket around $200 USD. Do I have to pay more than that to get one? I like the Sessions Ridge series and the 686 Northline "Smarty" jackets. I`m not that down with Arson, and I haven`t looked at Bonfire or Orb jackets. I kinda like the North Face Troop jacket, it`s a shell with a good mesh lining and Hyvent (poor man`s goretex), but it has no detachable hood. Anyway, I`m looking for a very good waterproofing, either a trustworthy technology like Hyvent or Helly Tech, or the numbers to back it up, like 10000mm/8000 breathability. I want a detachable hood, nice big pit or torso vents (some jackets have both!), a good amount of pockets (not too overboard), and umm.. it has to look good. Anyway, my last post regarding clothing got only a few replies. Come on, everybody here has a jacket, you`ve gotta have an opinion about em! Help would be very much appreciated.

i`ve got a north face mountain light jacket. I got it on ebay for ?127, which i think is a good deal over the retail of ca. ?250. Although the chap i got it from lied a bit, he said it was goretex XCR but i think its only goretex, as it doesn`t say XCR anywhere on it, so its probably from year or so ago. It doesn`t seem to have been used so i`m happy enough about his lies. Anyway the jacket functionlity itself seems okay, except perhaps the pocket sizes, the hand pockets are small, i think i`ll have trouble when wearing gloves. Its has big torso vents. Hood is fixed but rolls down comfortably. Two chest pockets, which again could be larger. Its long enough to cover well below the waist, also has waist draw string and snow gusset.
If you go for a north face jacket, have a look at the pocket sizes as i`d say that the only draw back.

I`ve got a NorthFace "big ass, big shot, super duper" SUMMIT SERIES - atleast last year it was. It was off by 150Sfr down to 500Sfr (thats Swiss Franc). I was fed up with having one jacket for mountaineering and one for the snow. It has GoreTex XCR - and little pocket range - seems to be NothFace, as my preposter said. For me it`s good - I don`t like a lot of pockets on the jacket (It takes away that sleek trim and makes you look like the ChefBoy ). It has chest vents instead of armpit vents. Most important: Snow Skirt! I ride that with a Burton AK Bib pant - a rocking combo. The gear is light, waterproof(? - at least for a year ) and can be worn for hiking - and dancing in the rain. My hood is nondetachable - I like it that way. Ahh yes - looks - I love it: it has a lot of yellow, lots of gray and little black. A jacket I like a lot though is the Burton AK 3L stuff. The colors aren`t exactly what you would wear for hiking though (bright = safe, remember?). enough?

jackets can be bought for less than $200 but you will lose technical features and you`ll probably have to go with a not-so-popular name brand.
I got a 686 Smarty Triline (Northline series) and it kicks ass but is about $270+tax, so it`s over your price limit. You have very technical wants/needs and you will pay the extra for it. Drop some of the technical features and you`ll find a cheaper jacket but of at least equal quality.

model - Pacer or something) but you should take my review in a light hearted manner since i`ve only used it for about 12 days or so.
Anyway, it`s a shell with a bunch of nice features like mesh lining, big zipper vents that run from the arm pit down to the lower ribs, a nice number of pockets which are easily acessible, powder skirt, hand cuffs, etc. The hood isn`t detachable but it rolls down to a very slim profile. It`s made out of the same material as the current Ridge line (Active tech 10000/8000) so i assume it`s basically the same jacket with more or less small features. It feels very light, very comfy and allows for complete upper body movement. Breathability is excellent, and although impermeability has been great, 12 days is simply too little time to provide a honest review. I haven`t even washed it yet. Same goes for durability.
In the spring time, a t-shirt underneath is enough for you not to get cold, but in rougher weather i think it`s necessary to keep in mind that this is only a shell.
On a small side note, i really like that smooth material which covers the zipper near the collar. My 1st jacket (a cheap Ride) didn`t have it, and it was really irritating touching that ice cold metal zipper with my chin and lips.
Hope this helps. Lino