I bought this for New England ice climbing. I am 5'8", 148 lbs trim. Traditionally, medium is my standard size. I bought both a small and medium, since there seemed to be much discrepancy in the fit for various reviewers. I tested the shell over my normal clothing layers: poly pro top and bottom, a 100 weight fleece top over that, older BD Schoeller pants, then Marmot Alpinist Bibs (real bibs) over everything. The shell fit me well. It fit well under my harness and is plenty long. The arm pits were a little tighter than what I am used to, but the fabric is stretchy enough that I feel that it will not hinder the swing of my ice tools. It fit well over a couple different helmets, including a Petzl Ecrin. The fabric is lighter and more breathable (so I anticipate that it will not be as wind resistant) than my older shell (about 20 yrs old). I also wore it in the rain while about town in my street clothes. The fit was good, and did not seem baggy to me. Water beaded up on the fabric as I expected. I did not get a chance to put it thru the winter wringer yet. The shell weight was 1lb5oz, 4 oz lighter than my older shell. I anticipate that the fabric will tolerate a lot of abuse. I like the pocket configuration, which is close to what I am used to. I had such a difficult time finding a shell that met my requirements, and this was the closest I could find after searching thru the offerings of all the major brands! I returned the small. I rated 4 star for now, based on fit and design.

Has become my go-to lightweight jacket for the trail. Used it as needed up and down Mount Baker.

Why a climbing/alpine/skiing softshell has a cut for fat people is beyond me. If you're on the larger side, starting out, this is a great jacket. Other than the cut, it feels great and it'll probably be a good alpine jacket for layering. But for ice climbing (why I got it) I don't think it'll be useful. I'm even about 15 lbs heavier than most climbers my height and it's still baggy as hell.

Great simple shell for keeping warm while touring, this baby keeps the wind out and the right amount of heat in.

No need to trap yourself in a waterproof sweat lodge on warm bluebird days. On clear days I love to take this thing out instead, it still gives me some warmth when I need it, but is so much more comfortable and breathable than my hardshell. Nothing too fancy, but I appreciate that they keep it simple and keep the price reasonable.

At 6' 190lbs the size Large has plenty of room for layers.

this is a great all around soft shell.

The Dawn Patrol jacket is a perfect layer for ski touring and climbing missions when you are on the move in the mountains. If it is not snowing, this with a base layer, is all you need to stay warm and get the job done! Even in light precip, this jacket sheds the light rain and snow with ease. I got the medium and it fits PERFECT. Slightly loose, but not too baggy that it would get in the way of a harness.

This jacket exceeded my expectations for a technical softshell. The 4-way stretch woven material is light and comfortable. It doesn't restrict movement even with a down insulation layer underneath. The hood is perfect and the harness-compatible pockets make it a great option for windy/cold/damp climbing days. I also love the design and can get away wearing this casually to work or the local pub. While not technically "waterproof" I've worn this jacket on wet days and stayed dry through light rain.

The only thing preventing this from being a 5-star review is the slightly awkward fit. I'm 6'1'' 195lbs and purchased a large. The length is perfect in the torso and arms, and the torso has just enough room for technical layering without being super baggy sans layers. My only complaint is that the jacket is a bit tight in the shoulders. I have an athletic build but by no means would consider myself bulky enough to warrant a large jacket being tight across the shoulders. With only a t-shirt underneath, the shoulders are already stretched a bit and while the material prevents any range of motion restrictions, it is still noticeable enough to feel awkward. This is amplified with the addition of any layering underneath (once again not restricting motion rather than just feeling a bit too snug). I still give this jacket 4 stars and will continue to wear whenever I can, but felt the awkward fit worth mentioning.

Lightweight, breathable, and super functional. I like the cut and the sizing works well for me. Hood is also done right. Overall I couldn't be happier with this shell.

Surprisingly light weight jacket with great breathability and protection from the elements

The new Dawn Patrol lives up to BD's high standards and performance, but there is a catch or two. No more Schoeller and Nanosphere. No more metal sculpted zipper pulls. The fabric is now a four-way stretch woven type with DWR. The hood is now ski helmet compatible which is a huge plus. The hand pockets are harness/backpack compatible. It's also a touch lighter than the old streamlined Dawn Patrol LT. It's also cheaper in price.

Wind and snow resistance feels about the same to me.

All around, everything is an upgrade right? Yes, but the sizing is WAY different than any prior generation of BD products. If you wore a large with prior generations, you'll probably want a medium now. I tried the large first, and it's huge! The medium was just right.

The cut is a more regular than athletic/slim as well. Around the neck, shoulders, and arms it's roomier, and layering feels a bit easier as well. The neckline doesn't compress the trachea when fully zipped up. Mobility of the head is much better. Personally I sold my old Dawn Patrol LT immediately and picked up the new Dawn Patrol and I'm more satisfied with it. Especially the neck fit and hood size.

Provided you're not absolutely married to the old sizing and don't mind sizing down this time around with a little more internal volume, you'll probably consider the new Dawn Patrol overall better than prior models.

Design and materials are amazing as with most black diamond products. I'm 6'3" and weigh about 185. I almost always wear a size large and that's what I ordered in the dawn patrol. The hem length is quite short for me, leaving me exposed for snow to to dump down my pants. I could however pack a massive double cheeseburger American beer belly or extreme crossfit chest and arms in this thing. Strange cuz the build of most climbers and skiers doesn't fit that description and a lot of brands have moved away from the fat fit. What I would do for a dawn patrol that fit.

I bought this jacket to replace a North Face Apex jacket and overall have been quite pleased. The fit is great and I like all the details like Velcro cuffs, high pockets, stretch material, hood size, etc. I bought it in black so it could pull double duty as an adventure jacket and a daily driver. My only watch out would be that it was thinner than expected based on my previous experience and comparison to the Apex softshell.

There’s a lot to like about this jacket – the mid-weight fabric, placement of the pockets, hood adjustments - it even looks good! Unfortunately the cut is a bit strange.

I’m 6’2” 175 lbs and usually take a large in Black Diamond jackets. The large in this jacket was just too big in the body (I don’t care for my technical jackets to be way loose due to thermal inefficiency). The medium fit my body very well, the sleeve length was great (I have 34” arms and this jacket would have worked fine for reaching overhead), and the shoulder fit was just about right. The fatal flaw (for me) – where the arms attach to the shoulders is just too tight, causing the jacket to bind up into my arm pits.

If it fits you, I think you’ll like it. I don’t like to leave less than positive reviews for fit reasons, but the cut of this jacket is just plain weird (for me).

This jacket has everything I wanted. It's a great hoodless technical softshell. It's well made, heavier than a wind jacket, but softer, more mobile and more comfortable than a hard shell. So why only two stars? Black Diamond has decided to size their jackets for small-framed people and as such they've cut me out of their market. I'm 6' tall 190 lbs with a 34" waist and wear a 44 or 46 in a suit jacket. I'm not out of shape. This Jacket in XL does not fit my arms or shoulders in any way that would allow good movement and certainly wouldn't allow for any kind of layering. They don't make the jacket to fit me. I really loved this jacket and am confounded by BD's market strategy. I guess BD has no interest in me as a customer. Frustrating.

If anyone can recommend an alternative hoodless softshell that has everything this jacket has but actually fits someone not built like an elf, let me know.

(added later)
So I'm revising my above review. As I said I really liked this jacket and wanted it. After looking at other hoodless softshells (Arc's Gamma MX (thanks Johnathan) the Marmot Gravity and others, I just kept wishing this jacket worked for me. So I went to the Backcountry warehouse with the wife and some laying clothes to see how it fit and get her opinion. While the jacket fits snug in the shoulders and arms, with normal clothing, the wife thought it looked fine. I also tried it with a light fleece and it was okay too. It was very tight with a thicker fleece and with a down sweater on it was pretty crazy tight. The wife convinced me that most the time it would work and that she thought it looked good. So I bought it.
I wore it skiing on a nice spring ski day and it was great. It was a windy day and blocked wind well. It was also warm but not too warm for a spring slushy ski day, it also kept me dry considering how wet the snow was. If you open the chest pockets they work as vents pretty well (no pit vents).
So I'm upgrading to four stars and accepting that it can't do it all. But buyers should be aware that it's got a trim fit and fits kind of small for size. As such it's not well suited for extreme cold because there's just not room for much layering.