The leather in the palms cracked horribly on the first day, and the leather seems to be of very poor quality. The welded seams also delaminated after one day of skiing (just holding the poles, not grabbing of edges or anything else).

Snug fit, small enough to keep on when riding the chairlift. Holds an extra base layer, a little food, and the backcountry essentials in case you decide to go for a little hike at the end of the day. I don't really like the helmet compartment (or whatever it is), but apart from that, this pack rocks.

Very good fit, excellent stitching around the toes to avoid bulk, stretchy, and warm. They never slide down on the calves, and do not pack up anywhere. A little cold when the temperature is -19C (-2.2F), but that is OK. I would easily buy these again.

It’s a very warm and comfortable jacket and nice details such as hook-and-loop closure cuffs. The length is just right: long enough to keep you warm, and short enough to not be in the way when walking in steep terrain. I also like the down hood very much. Top quality from Marmot.

The fill power is a perfect balance between insulation and "packability". This jacket can be stuffed in the backpack for ski mountaineering without talking up too much room. It's nice to pull it out and see the envious look on they others faces.

After almost wearing out a Theta AR from 2000, I wanted something new and went for the Sidewinder SV. I used the Theta mostly for skiing, and decided a skiing specific jacket was right for me. I also went down one size, from large to medium, as the Theta was a bit big at times. The medium fits perfect for me: 6ft 2in, 180lb. At first I thought the arms were a tiny bit short, but I have not thought about this when wearing it. The fit is, as always with Arc'teryx, perfect. Though it has less articulated elbows, the arms never snag. The width is just right and the pockets are where they should be. The pit zips are long, and easy to use. I also like that they have used several different fabrics on different parts of the jacket to put stretch and abrasion resistance where it's needed. I really like that the pockets are on the side, as the Theta made me my chest look big when I had camera in the chest pocket and a beeper underneath. The hood is smaller than on my 2000 Theta, and my huge Giro SST helmet does not fit. No biggie. The curved zipper is very nice to wear as there is just regular fabric in front of my chin, but it does requires a tiny bit of effort to close, as the protective flap needs to be pushed in a little bit. The see-through pocket on the arm works just as well with a Motorola Talkabout as it does with a Garmin GPSMAP 60CS. Or with a lift pass. All in all, I am very happy with this jacket, and I'm sure it will last just as long as the Theta did.