Help me choose an eVent jacket

Hey Roleigh, just to be sure, I wasn't commenting on the thru hiker's hood, but rather the ID rain jacket's hood. (i've gone back and edited my post, for clarification)

The thru hiker's hood look good to me, but the rain jackets reminds me of my mummy bag. Looks very… restricting. But its the lack of a bill, and depth adjustment that kill it for me

I also agree, baseball hats under hoods are nice, and give structure to the system

On Monday of this week the new First Ascent BC-200 showed up on their website. Specs look awesome, a soft and quiet tri-laminate with 20K/20K and less than 11 oz. Seems to beat the Westcomb Specter LT as the one to get. Now maybe it is or isn't eVent, but who cares if it's that good, light, and cheap?

Sorry to sound so skeptical but Eddie Bauer doesn't have much of a track record. The specs are Goretex-style marketing hype (even if it isn't Goretex). "Breakthrough fabric" and "20k/25k performance" mean everything and nothing…

So someone please buy one and report back.

EDIT: I am not ashamed to admit I do like Supernatural — quirky and funny — and BC too. :)

Eddie Bauer is like REI…total satisfaction guarantee for life. I just returned a 20 yr old sweatshirt which of course I didn't have the receipt for…and got a $20 credit. So no worries about not liking the jacket and being stuck with it. Anyway if you can't trust Ed Viesturs to sell you decent jacket, how are you gonna trust him to drag your broken body off K2 or Everest? ;))

No matter how you slice it, these jackets are all at least 10-11 oz in size XL. Can see no reason to spend several hundreds to change from my 8 oz. 1st edition Patagonia Specter, which has served me fine, both packing and in camp, in the worst that 3 seasons can dish out. What am I missing?

You have point Sam, and its the same reason why people still cling onto their 6oz Golite Reed rain pants. But as you mentioned, you have a first edition…im assuming this jacket has gone through changes, gotten heavier, or discontinued all together (so is the case for Golite Reeds). For the folks that didn't get one in time, well they gotta deal with the current market, including what is current technology/weight (which may seem heavy when compared to those of the past). For some people, the difference in weight between your older lightweight jacket, and a heavier modern jacket is easily offset by the superior breathability of today's fabrics. But if you're happy with the performance of a lightweight but discontinued jacket's breathability and durability, then I agree, you're not missing out on much

Konrad,
It is a moot point of only historical interest (unless you are looking for a second hand one), but the later edition of the Patagonia Specter was made of a lighter material, and shaved around a couple ounces off the pullover. I like the older, heavier version because it is stronger and more resistant to abrasion, tears etc. It still folds up to almost nothing and fits in a small pocket on my top flap with a rain hat and trowel (just in case).