Even though I'm going to say some nasty things about this jacket – don't get me wrong – I will not return it because it's a good purchase altogether.

So the good:
* It's Goretex and not some other membrane. After a very bad experience with Hyvent I prefer to pay the extra buck for Gore and get something extremely durable. Which is also by the way – very windproof, something usually people overlook.
Please don't bitch about Gore's breathability now as I prefer a weather armor than a sieve.
And speaking of durability - my old Goretex XCR jacket was retired not because it stopped being waterproof, but mainly because I'm not fat like in the old days ;)
* Proshell in the shoulders area (where the backpack would rub on it) and Paclite for the rest makes up for a great design. I was eyeing also the Arc'teryx Alpha Hybrid jacket – but I didn't rob a bank yet, so I settled for this. This combination of Proshell and Paclite is a smart design – well done OR (& Arc'teryx).
* The price is perfect, got it for ~$200 so I consider it very affordable as a shell jacket.
* Fit is very nice and athletic. I took a small size and I'm 5'9” 145lbs. Not baggy at all and I could layer underneath easily. The hood also has a great shape and I like it - fits over my climbing/skiing helmet.

The bad:
* Pockets – too many of them (4) and in the wrong place. The 2 lower pockets are probably going to give me hell when I'll have a harness. None of the pockets is big – none of them would fit a map.
* Size zippers, oh god, the side zippers. So the armpit/side zippers unzip all the way down. And if there's any major flaw in the jacket – it is this. The bottom part tens to slightly unzip itself every once in a while. OR should put a velcro there to prevent them from unzipping, or just make regular armpit zips. I'm not too excited by the “poncho” function of the jacket nonetheless.
* On a side note I'll say that also the main zipper is slightly harder to operate comparing to other things I know of. Why? - don't know.

Altogether, very nice as a weather armor, it's quite lightweight and packs nicely into the hood. Looking for a jacket and got just $200? - buy it.

Got 4 out of 5 stars mainly because of the ridiculous side zippers and the position of the pockets.

It gets a 5 star rating from me, and the reasons are here:
http://bashinggear.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/grivel-salamander/

It's not a burly bib, it's not a simple pant cut that would get all the snow into your thermals after an embarrassing moment on the powder.
Proper disclosure: used it only for ski touring/resort skiing and not for climbing (yet).
However the 1/2 bib feels rather "technical", I don't get much bulk. I wear a small (5'9", 145lb) and it's perfect.
The good:
* High enough to keep the snow out, not too high to make it uncomfortable.
* The reinforcements in the lower parts of the pants definitely protects against skis cutting your pants, however I'm not sure about crampons.
* Zippers go all the way up for good ventilation
* Altogether a really nice pair of pants for skiing (and probably also climbing), it doesn't feel cheap, the opposite actually, it's Arc'teryx after all
* Pretty lightweight I would say, packs nicely

OK, the good stuff, or actually - the bad - this is usually what I like to hear about gear:
* NO POCKETS - Why? - no idea. A little pocket on each side could have made it a bit nicer. Where am I supposed to put my phone while I'm BC skiing? (can't use the jacket pockets as they would interfere with the transceiver).
* Suspenders suck - they are not really detachable. If you need to go for a number 2, you'll have to supposedly strip down to your thermal shirt, pull down the suspenders, take a number 2, then do everything in the reverse order. Or perhaps maybe I'm missing something. In my old pants my suspenders could have stayed on me, could detach them from the pants - and pull the pants down. Not here - or maybe I'm missing something but I don't believe so.
* Black black black - I'm tired of stuff in the color of black. I don't need a zebra/tiger sample on my pants, but red/blue/green would have been much nicer than the boring black.
* PRICE - wooohoo, it's $450 for the retail, if you can get it for $350 then it's OK, if it's anymore than that - it's a ripoff in my opinion. It's a good pair of pants, but you don't need to take a mortgage for it.

So it gets 3 stars, mainly because it's not perfect (-1) and the price is ultra high (-1). The rest is perfect and I'm enjoying it.

I had a Deuter Guide a While ago and thrashed with various excursions. Eventually the zipper on the inner side broke and I decided it just became too old.

So I was looking for a backpack that:
Can carry skis
Can carry 2 ice axes
Has just one compartment (I don't like backpacks with heaps of compartments and zippers)
Is reasonably priced
Has a hydration sleeve

Well, guess what, most of the backpacks are way more expensive than the Deuter Guide. Being satisfied with the Guide I had I decided to just purchase another one.
I find the the Guide is perfect for alpine climbing and quite good for ski touring. Perhaps it would also be OK when rock climbing.

If I do get to whine about a few things in this backpack it is:
It can't carry wide skis - be careful with skis that are more than 120mm ON THE TIPS!! (perhaps means 95mm underfoot or so)
The top compartments cannot detach from the backpack, why Deuter why??
There's a side zipper - and I seriously ask - what the hell?!?!?

But Deuter learns, from my last backpack they changed some of the materials to be a bit more rugged, and also added a "rope loop", or whatever it's called. I find it extremely useful also for carrying skins while touring.
The external top compartment is far from being waterproof, however the inner one is pretty OK for storing your car keys & wallet.

All in all - a 5 star piece of equipment and trust me guys, I'm usually not very generous with the stars to say the least.