I am 5’10”, 170 pounds, have a 40” chest, 30” waist and went with a size medium. The jacket is really quite comfortable and is as warm as you would expect a 650 fill light weight jacket to feel. For me about 30 degrees with a sweatshirt is comfortable temperature-wise. The size is the right size for me. However the one negative is that the jacket is more boxey than I expected. Oddly it seems a tad wider than a regular cut jacket. So good for layering or if you put on a few pounds in quarantine. Personally would have preferred a bit more tapered but overall I am happy with this OR jacket.

I bought two of these for my teenage boys for a winter coat. It is nicely made but is not going to be warm enough for Upstate NY winters.

I was going to use this jacket for work this winter. I live in central Wisconsin where it is very cold through out the winter. When it arrived I was initially disappointed because I was expecting a mid-weight down jacket based on many reviewers saying how warm it was. I figured it had to be a mid-weight piece. It is not, but I was so jazzed at the price I just bought it. I read OR's write up more closely and they actually don't make over stated claims about it's warmth. The write up is pretty fair. People using this jacket in real cold are adding in significant aerobic energy to the equation...rightly so.
This is actually a light-weight down jacket. In fact very light weight in every sense. The jacket is very thin with just a little loft and weighs almost nothing. After checking it out for a while I realized fully what I had purchased. A kick a** light weight down jacket(only 650 fill but awesome sale price). I own mid-weight and heavy-weight down jackets, but this is actually the first really light-weight down piece I have owned. And I love it. In the past(up till now) I have always opted for synthetic pieces because in this range everything is really light and the synthetics deal with water/moisture better than down. I would still go synthetic say on the Olympic Peninsula in May or June because I don't want to wear a shell if I don't have to in warmer moister conditions, but I still want a bit of insulation. This jacket will not do well in wet/moist conditions without a shell. But I'm digging this light weight down jacket thing so much that I'm now looking at the Helium down(800fill) hooded jacket also.
When it comes to layering the most I wear is three and then an appropriate insulated piece and or shell. Often I only wear 1 or 2 layers. You don't need more if your outer insulate and or shell layer is correct and who wants to wear more layers than necessary just to compensate for a poorly chosen or underweight outer layer. I wore this jacket the other night @35F with a ten mile an hour wind and it was fine. Broke the wind and was warm. However, it was clear that 35F was the limit for comfort with this piece. Below 35F I would go to mid-weight. So for me the Transcendent down jacket is a piece I will wear from 35F to 55F(no aerobic input).
Definitely can go lower if more aerobic input I just have not figured out how/if I will use this jacket for energetic activities in real cold. Maybe with a windridge long sleeve and/or piece of capilene for cross country skiing...IDK yet. Definitely spring, summer and fall backpacking. Maybe winter backpacking it's so light, but once you clear your sleeping bag you are going to want to get moving because at 15 degrees you are not going to be warm unless you get moving.
So yeah, I love this jacket for what it is and I'm definitely considering another super light weight down piece with a hood.
This is my initial review, get back to you in 6 months or so for more. We will see if the down leaks or whatever.

I tried this jacket in the hooded version on in store and loved it but wasn’t ready to drop the money yet as my Patagonia Down Sweater still had some life left in it. Fast forward a couple more weeks and the price is perfect for this on backcountry.

What I initially like about this was the fit. At 5’7” / 130lbs I’m not a huge guy but this jacket fit pretty well. Loose enough to layer under. Not so big and puffy I couldn’t wear it under my shell which is the main reason I got it.

It’s plenty warm and the soft interior pockets and collar are a welcome touch.

My only caveat are the elastic bands at the end of the sleeve seem quite loose and baggy. I wished they were a bit tighter to help lock in the heat.

Fit is great, very warm, keeps wind out, and the colors are great. It leaks feathers constantly though, every time I take it off I have to clean off my shirt. Obnoxious and will obviously affect the warmth at some point in the future.

This jacket is awesome! It's lightweight and packable making it a great addition to my hunting gear.

I'm surprised by the positive reviews for this jacket. I own several other down jackets, and this one is -- by far -- my least favorite. It's lightweight but not very warm. The down is unevenly distributed. The quality is poor and it looks pretty cheap. The tag at the neck (used to hang the jacket on a hook) tore off, and I don't know how. I regret this purchase very much.

Breathable material that is light weight, ordered an XL and there is room to wear layers underneath. Warm enough to wear on its own.

Great coat not bulky but plenty of warmth.

5'10 170 lbs, typical build. Ordered a large, so light weight, almost felt like you were not wearing anything. Heading up to Canada and can't wait to try it out. BTW, Julia's husband.

This does not have a hood so it won't be obnoxious when I start wearing it under my snowboarding jacket. It doesn't limit your range of motion at all. You don't need more than a t-shirt underneath if you're just walking around at 45 degrees outside. If you wear a medium shirt you probably wear a medium jacket; it fits perfectly.

great belay jacket! light and warm! I am 6'1" with long arms and the large is a bit big, if you like a form-fitting jacket maybe go with a medium. I like this a bit bigger than normal, however.

Only had this jacket a few months, but I really like it so far. I've used it underneath a shell on really cold days and just over a t-shirt on not so frigid ones. Like Ian said before me, this jacket really warm up when even slightly active. I tend to be on the warmer side of things so it kept me adequately warm when just standing around, but once I start moving again I warmed up extremely quickly. During a recent winter backpacking trip I would wear the jacket while we were taking breaks and stopped and pack it once we started moving again. Packs up very small and very light. The only tarnish on my experience so far was when I walked by a thorny branch and caught the arm on it. I didn't think it even tugged that hard but before I knew it there were a couple holes in the nylon. So if you plan on doing a lot of backcounty bushwhacking, either wear something more durable over or leave this jacket at home.

This is a good jacket. It's less than a pound and has roughly the same warmth as the patagonia down sweater for almost forty dollars less. The down quality is lower, however it's not really a big deal because it's only got around 3 oz. of down inside it. The price is great for a jacket of this quality, and while the 20D ripstop exterior is thin, it's fairly durable and will last awhile.

I love this jacket. It's very warm for it's weight and has been durable for a down jacket. It bleeds the occasional feather, as to be expected, but overall the jacket is holding up well. It packs down into its pocket and makes for a good firm pillow. I'm 5'6" 135lbs and a small fits me great. This is one of my go to layers for cool summer nights in the northwest or cold spring/fall days.



Great jacket, like most OR gear, it's well designed and a great value!

I bought this jacket after my Mountain Hardwear Compressor feel apart in the wash and man am I glad. I was only able to find the vest version of this jacket locally to try for size and opted for a Medium (I'm 5'10 - 170lbs) hoping that the body would fit as well as the vest and that the sleeves would be long enough and I was right on both accounts. This fits like a glove, sleeves are long enough and it's insanely comfortable. The shell is so soft it actually feels like you're not wearing anything, but there's enough down to keep plenty of body heat inside. My wife owns the Aria jacket (which is basically the same as this but has a hood), and she's raved about it all season. I was skeptical at first thinking I wasn't going to like it more than the MH Compressor I mentioned earlier, but I'd choose this jacket of that one any day.

If I were to do anything to improve this jacket it would be to add wrist straps with velcro adjustments and neck/waist elastic adjustment pulls. Not that this jacket needs anything and I actually appreciate the lack of bells and whistles because it does feel more like a sweater, but I'm just saying, if I was going to do anything to it...

I tell everyone about this jacket and force them to try it on... so far 3 of my friends now own one.

Oh yeah, and the stuff pocket is the perfect size to stuff it and use it as a perfect pillow inside my sleeping bag, which is AWESOME too.

In a product category that seems to have exploded in the last several years, the Transcendent jacket dominates the competition.

The features that set this coat apart from other lightweight down layers are:

- The brushed Tricot lining around the collar: comfortable, soft and warm.

-The napoleon chest pocket: my go to stashing pocket.

-Elastic finishes on the cuff and hem give it a finished look and better feel.

Don't let the comparatively inexpensive price dissuade you, this is the lightweight down layer you have been searching for.

I've had my Transcendent for a couple months now, and I must say it's great. True to down jacket form, it's very light weight considering the amount of warmth you get. The cut is generous enough to throw a couple layers underneath when one must battle the icy cold heart of Mother Nature herself. Pack size is, of course, impressive and the entire jacket packs into the front right hand warmer pocket. This makes the jacket easy to throw into a backpack, or a convenient size to use as a pillow.

I must say that my inital impression of this jacket was a little lackluster. The Transcendent simply wasn't as warm as I had expected it to be. I would stand around outside or sit in my car and still feel cold when the temperature was around the freezing mark. Then I started moving. This jacket is not meant to keep you warm when you're waiting for the bus in the dead of winter. Instead, it's an active outdoor mid-layer than excels at retaining body heat when the user is in motion. I would have to disagree with the review by Glapierre as I don't believe this would make a good belay jacket. It simply isn't thick enough to be warm when standing around. However, everyone is slightly different and it might work fine for you. As a rule, I'm cold all the time, so I would need a heavier jacket to keep me warm whilst on belay.

Like any down jacket you will get some feathers "bleeding" out every now and then, but fear not. Since OR has a fantastic warranty program if you blow a baffle, OR will fix or replace the jacket in a timely fashion. That being said, I find the face fabric is tougher than one might expect considering its relative thinness.

Overall this is a great insulating piece for active outdoor pursuits. The light weight and packability mean that it'll find its way into my backpack no matter what and, as Andy put it, it just looks damn good. This jacket is awesome approved.

I bought this jacket in orange last winter (08-09). Basically I love this thing. Whenever it is slightly chilly outside I will take it along. I have done multiple ski tours, climbing trips, and backpacking trips while wearing this jacket and it has held up really well. The pack size is phenomenal. Super easy to throw in a pack or pack it in its own stuff sack (i.e. pocket) for a comfy pillow. The sizing is perfect too. Kind of athletic but even though it fits snug on me I can put a lot of layers underneath it as well. The best part though, everyone loves it.

Great coat. Surprisingly warm, VERY packable. I leave it in my pack whenever I go skiing, climbing or camping. Works well as a pillow when camping (fuzzy coating inside pockets adds comfort) Not meant for wet conditions, but works great and fits well under storm shells. Great belay jacket as well.