User Review: Marmot Kingpin Jacket

Summary

My jacket of choice for pretty much any condition.

I bought this jacket on Altrec for 50% off, amazing deal considering how much I love this jacket.  I was looking high and low for a jacket that resembled my Mountain Hardwear Brono softshell, as I had purchased it several years ago and wore it frequently and loved the versatility of the waterproof/windproof/breathable material, but felt it lacked a hood, an essential feature for rainy fall/spring days and warmer snow days in Utah.  

I looked high and low to find something with a similar softshell weight as the brono, with an athletic alpine fit, and finally found the Kingpin.  It's a fantastic softshell.

Pros:

Fits extremely well.  I'm 5'10" 160, slim, and the small fits close to my body.  Not much room for layering, but I don't tend to layer a lot anyways, and prefer piece of outerwear if possible.  It's very comfortable and extremely supple in the arms, but the torso fabric is a bit stiffer.  It's thicker, warmer, and more windproof, but can be stiff.  The only time this can be annoying is around the neck.  The jacket zips up VERY high, almost to my eyes if I do it all the way, and when unzipped, the flaps can get annoying at times.  Other than that, fit and comfort is perfect

Very water resistant, never had it leak on me in moderate rain and snow.  I've never taken it into a downpour, but I expect it would do fine for a reasonable amount of time.  The water just beads up and rolls off, and the waterproof zippers work flawlessly.

Very breathable.  I sweat quite a bit, and overheat quickly.  This jacket does a good job of breathing and exporting the sweat.  I get wet armpits frequently, and although I know it's a softshell, I do wish there were pit zips.  I know, I know, that's the point of a softshell, but it would be welcome after my daily hard climb to campus on my bike.

Warm.  For its weight, it's warm.  This is also an effect of windproofness, but the fleece insulation is good.  It's not incredibly soft, and can be a bit abrasive on the skin after being worn down, but it's not static cling crap either.  Good balance.

I've layered with another fleece, or long sleeve thermal, and it works, but there isn't a lot of space.  Had I wanted a layering piece, I would have bought a size up, medium. 

Very durable, excellent construction.  Absolutely no complaints there.  I'm quite picky about the construction of my gear, and this is top notch.  Zippers are a bit stiff, and I don't really like the arm pocket, it's just not useful, and I wouldn't want anything in there anyways for my purposes, but they are all constructed well.

Cons:

I really don't like the black color fleece inside.  In the Marmot ROM, they use a grey color, which I would have preferred.  Black gets all dirty, especially since I have dry skin.  

I don't like how stiff the flaps around the neck are.  Part of this is the stiffer waterproof zips, and part is how tall the jack zips up.  Not a huge deal.

The contrasting softshell weights are a little too different.  The torso is a thicker softshell material than the arms and the waist area, and I wish the two weights were a little more similar.  It gets floppy in the thinner areas, and stiff in the thicker areas.  Over time it breaks in, but it feels a bit weird at first.

Overall, excellent jacket.  Not sure I would pay the 275 full retail, but it would be tempting.  I love the jacket.  Great buy for $200 or less