eVent and pit zips

Differences of opinion on this one. For me, no way. But then, in warmer weather, I wouldn't bother wearing an eVent jacket, or any rain jacket for that matter, anyway.

Differences of opinion on this one.

For me, there a waste. Don't produce enough ventilation to make much difference.

You have to unzip the front of the jacket and you get some ventilation, but I'll still sweat around the shoulders and back.

I have a Gore-Tex jacket with pit zips and have only used them enough to test.

I'm afraid I'll be in the minority on this one.

I have never owned anything goretex but I see too many of them strapped to an outside of a pack. I love my REI eVent jacket, but I would never take it out after the day time temps get about 35F unless I am going to be playing in the snow. A heavy shell like that just seems too much jacket no mater how well it breaths. Why not a 4 to 6 oz pull over instead?

my wild things eVent hard shell has really long pit zips and while the jacket breaths super well 99% of the time there's been a couple of ocassions when i've been glad they were there. that being said, the jacket only comes out in the worst of conditions and most of the time i'm wearing an epic-shelled hooded wind shirt that breaths great and is sufficiently water resistant for most of my needs.

Too many variables.
How sweaty are you?
What do you class as warm and cold?
I can walk all day in an eVent shell if the conditions are right. Those conditions are around freezing for myself.
Sometimes i get a little damp, but never wet.
The only answer is to try it. I've never needed pit-zips. Pit-zips let in horizontal rain.

I use a GoreTex Performance jacket and I use the pit zips a lot. For backpacking they improve air flow a bit. When skiing, between the regular arm movements using my poles and the air resistance on the slope I cool down and dry out pretty quick with them open.

Pit zips seem like the best way to vent a hardshell while still preventing rain or snow from getting inside. If there are other techniques it would be really great to hear them.

Why wear a hardshell whilst skiing?

Don't want to hijack the thread, but ….

We get a lot of rainy winter weekends in the Mid-Atlantic, I guess some of us are just use to skiing in whatever weather. This season I've skied two weekends in the rain and one during blizzard like conditions (25 mph winds, horizontal snow and ~30m visibility). Incidentally, rain makes for some consistent and soft snow, not too bad skiing (see: http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/36288/skiing-in-the-rain)

Sean is right, the mid-Atlantic ski slopes can experience a fair amount of rain during the ski season – I spent a number of days skiing in the rain in the Del Water Gap area and it's not just a little drizzle either here. On such days, you have the mountain almost to yourself. Since the lodge would be wide open, your sopping wet gear would get front row by the fire place. Same thing happens out here in the Northwest – it's fairly commonplace and even a local insurance company even has a little fun with the concept in one of their ads – "Skis in the Rain Guy".

So most people are just using their eVent jackets when it is around freezing or below and not when it is raining for 5 hours straight in warmer weather, ie 50F?

I wear my eVent jacket in warmer weather, like 50 F, if it's raining.

I'll leave the front unzipped unless it's raining a lot and windy.

Sometimes I'll wear just the jacket and take my shirt off so it doesn't get wet.

Maybe the jacket will be wet from sweat, but when I stop hiking it'll dry out pretty quickly