EMS Men's Helix Jacket

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

I use this as my all-around jacket. It is surprisingly comfortable over a t-shirt. It slips easily over my fleece or down sweater or both. It is not as warm as you'd expect: either air actually slowly blows through, or it conducts heat. Pretty amazing for a waterproof.

The very stiff waterproof zipper catches and jams on the inner storm flap. This is a big problem.

The hood adjuster is located at the back of the head. Leaning back against a chair or rock presses it into one's skull. So: no relaxing with the hood on.

The great chest pockets are waterproof, so you have to bail them out if water gets in. They have waterproof zippers, but if you are using them as hand-warmers water will run down your arms and into the pockets. There are large interior pouches for things you really want to keep dry.

While I highly recommend this NeoShell fabric, the zipper is making it very hard to use and I can't recommend this jacket.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

Picked this up the other day and finally got a chance to give it a test-drive - in some unseasonably warm weather. Took it up Mount Monadnock on a 60 degree day. I purposely over-insulated myself (two wool layers) and pushed hard and fast to the top (Marlboro trail bottom to top in 35 minutes!). When I broke out of treeline I hit a gnarly hail/rain mix, 65 mph winds, and the temp had dropped to 40 degrees. And there I stood, sweating through both my base layers. However, this shell blocked out all the wind, rain and cold. I stayed at the top for about 30 minutes and guess what? The inside of the shell, fully zipped, had pushed out all the sweat and vapor. I was as comfortable as could be. This is no boring, stifling PU hard shell...this thing breathes! I laughed out loud in delight and ate a granola bar. Despite sweating profusely from my layers I remained comfortable the WHOLE trip...and now I was DRY! I have no doubt Polartec is onto something gamechanging here. Kudos to EMS for making a completely bombproof piece of equipment. One piece of advice for next season: give this jacket and hood more of an "athletic" feel. I'm a big guy and this was even a touch baggy for me. Honestly, this is the only criticism I have for this jacket. However, as a winter shell, with the extra layers, I don't see this being that much of an issue. Can't wait to try this as my full-time winter shell...psyched! Glad to see two New England-based companies collaborating and pushing out some SERIOUS stuff!

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

I skiied in this jacket a few times and did some field work. Overall a nice jacket with enough pockets that really does seem to breathe well even without pitvents (spring skiing will really test this. most of my days out were <20F). the cinch straps worked well too. A couple caveats though: 1. zipper catches on the storm flap. very annoying. at least the zipper is big enough that it looks durable unlike earlier versions. 2. I ordered a medium which is usually fine but it seems to be cut a little slimmer than I'm used to making layering hard...afterall, it is a winter shell.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

I'll use this for hiking, snowshoeing and alpine travel. I sweat a lot and have tried several hardshells with condensation problems. This truly breaths better. After a fast, hour long walk where I sometimes get soaked in a softshell MH Dragon jacket, I was dry. The Helix was only slighly damp inside, my fleece was dry. Main zipper is a little sticky at times, otherwise I would have given 5 stars. Well built.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

I use the Helix as my go-to top layer. Before this I was using two different EMS Gore-Tex Shells depending on the season, but this coat has replaced both. It breathes better, packs much smaller, weighs a lot less, and keeps me just as dry.

The coat has napoleon pockets, so if you want hand-warmer pockets look elsewhere or be prepared to use your pants. I don't use the pockets, so I can't really say much else about them.

My one gripe is the size of the hood... not all of us are climbers that need to wear a helmet whenever we go anywhere. The hood cinches down, but it doesn't feel as good as a head-sized hood like you see on some other technical midlayers and softshell coats.

I have been more than happy to overlook the hood and the pockets given how well this jacket serves its purpose as a great all-rounder.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

Just wore this over the weekend on a climbing trip - everyone else was layered and chilly while I had just this and a t-shirt and was fine most of the day. It's great at blocking wind, stays warm and dry, and is easy to move around in.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

This is the first new shell I have purchased in at least 5 years. I have stayed completely dry during multiple spring ski days where slushy snow hard for hours on end. The breathability was phenomenal on a different ski day when I had a down layer on underneath and worked up some heat. I look forward to packing this into the back country in the future.
The worst part of the coat is how easily the main zipper gets caught when zipping up. Other reviewers noted the issue. I have intermittent issues with it getting caught--and have had it quite stuck once or twice.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

I use the jacket both on the weekend and during my daily commute. It easily handled Chciago winds and rain.

The only down side for me is that the front pockets are a bit tight for storing some items.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

Love this jacket..use it solo or with a liner. I use it for skiing and daily use.

Comments about Eastern Mountain Sports EMS Men's Helix Jacket:

I returned this jacket. The front zipper cannot be unzipped without the zipper jamming on the inner material. Trying to unzip from the bottom is nearly impossible. The hood design leaves something to be desired, but I could have overlooked that had the zipper not been such a problem. Otherwise, basically an awesome jacket. A real bummer that the zipper problem wasn't resolved in development.