I purchased two of these jackets as a lightweight backpackable jacket for our 12-day Philmon trek in the Sangre Cristo mountains of Northern New Mexico. During our trek, we had 2.5 days of rain in altitudes over 9,000 feet. The lowest temps were mid to high 40's, windy and wet! These jackets did an outstanding job of keeping us both dry and warm. In fact, during one particularly heavy rain, I discovered my old Army ACU wet weather top was in fact no longer waterproof. I pulled off the top and this jacket which I had underneath my wet weather top was soaked in the front, back, and arms. However that moisture/wetness never touched my skin. This jacket also served as part of my pillow setup and in spite of the exterior being wet, and in the absence of NNM's low humidity, the jacket dried quickly, and I was able to use it as my pillow. I would without hesitation recommend, and purchase these jackets again. When I say Philmont Approved, just know that means more than someone's opinion after taking it out of the package and posing in front of a mirror. To recap the benefits:1) Lightweight: The jacket packs easily into the included bag and was attached to a carabiner on the outside of my backpack. It stayed secure through bushwhacking trails, hiking through trees that tried to grab everything, and scaling up and down some steep mountainsides. My son kept his bag attached to the loop in the jacket and that worked very well for him.2) Water resistant: We both wore these during a few days of sprinkling rain and 2.5 days of legit rain- rain. Water never breached the inside of the jacket and made contact with our skin. That is a win!3) Warm: This jacket kept us warm in the very cool mountain air of Northern New Mexico, both dry and wet weather. I'm not going to tell you that this jacket will keep you warm in freezing temps because we did not encounter that kind of weather. But I will tell you that when it was in the mid 40's and my sleeping bag zipper was broken, and I was quite cold, I put this jacket on (and lost part of my pillow) but was warm and toasty!4) Quality: The zippers work great. Zippered external pockets were a huge plus to reduce the chance of important things (like snacks or other small doodads that I used) from falling out and being lost. The deep interior pockets were great for holding my phone (for pictures). The only issue I had was that I tore the loop out. It was dark and I was having a hard time getting the bag unknotted and broke the loop by force. It wasn't a failure on the jacket - it was a failure on my patience!5) Dries quickly: After it got wet underneath my notta wet weather top it dried quickly and was able to fulfill it's purpose as part of my pillow setup.Summary: This is a solid choice for a lightweight outer shell for cooler weather, and will work even if there is some rain in the forecast. It is lightweight and breathable enough to work as a sub-layer if you have a lightweight rain jacket to help break the wind. I did not notice the wind getting through this jacket, so I believe it serves well in that regard. Also, if it survived my teenage Scout and all his rambunctious rock climbing and goofing around, then it should serve you well. I purchased the Dark Olive Green because it's similar to the Ranger Green clothes I wear for Boy Scouts, and my son purchased the Light Brown because he likes that color. Both colors look good. The Light Brown is similar to Coyote Brown, but a little darker. The OG version was also cheaper at the time of purchase.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]