The Cloudveil Men's Rayzar Jacket walks the fine line between storm shell and soft shell to give you protection from everything from summer days above the tree line to spring ski tours. Its Schoeller Dryskin Extreme fabric sheds wetness and breathes and stretches well. A lightweight fleece lining cuts the pre-dawn chill. The high collar and laminated cuffs keep the elements on the outside, and high chest pockets are accessible while wearing a harness. A zippered chest pocket with a headphone porthole keeps the tunes flowing.
Bottom Line: Spring corn, granite offwidths or muddy trails - the Rayzar handles whatever nature can dish out.
Pluses include extreme breatheability and great freedom of movement; no restrictions or rise when shouldering a pack or tossing your boards over your shoulder. Very packable and dries quickly. I'm 6'3" with broad shoulder -- the Large is just about right with room for a heavyweight baselayer. Highly recommended if you need something to carry through 4 seasons without the extreme protection of a heavy dedicated shell.
Top-notch skiing and around-town softshell. Usual cloudveil quality, and the schleller fabric works great as always. Arms are nice and long, and pocket placement is helpfully out of the way of movement. I find the hem falls just below my belt, but I'm 6'5" so it's probably a bit longer on most. There's probably enough room for a heavyweight capilene underneath, but I would call it pretty trim otherwise. Definitely too trim for a fleece jacket.
Great jacket, high quality and well made which has been my experience with Cloudveil. Jacket is bit big in the body but I need the XL for arm length (6'5", 215) Looking forward to skiing with it. It will definitely need to be partnered with a mid-weight fleece or light down vest on chilly Mary Jane ski days.
