Just a couple of things to note regarding the jacket... Regarding the zipper: It has a bi-directional zipper, and they are supposed to be zipped initially by pulling downward, and away on both halves, as you join the two halves together, then pull the zipper up once you have it joined. If you watch closely, you'll see that the two times that you had the zipper mate perfectly, that is exactly what you did, and it joined no problems. Regarding the chest pockets vs lower pockets: This style and design of jacket was originally designed to be worn under military webbing/H-Harnesses. A lower set of pockets would be covered completely by the lower belt, which is why the higher set "slash pockets" are used, since they will still be accessible while wearing your LBH. Just a note, I have this same jacket myself in the Sage Green color, and have worn it for close to 5 years now. I have never had a zipper failure, and other than having to re-water proof it, have found it to be an awesome piece of kit that has served me in all types of weather on the Canadian East Coast. Love the channel and the gear reviews, keep up the awesome job!
HOLY POCKETS! Looks like a great jacket all in all. Most jackets with dual zips will take a second to line up correctly and the stow away hood will almost always create a thicker collar. At the end of the day it has to be comfortable for each person. Great review!
Yup, welcome to the military offset zipper issue... I can't tell you how many times I have fought with that dang zipper on military uniforms!!! They never break, but bother the hell out of me... Looks like a good Jacket.. Thanks for sharing
I think the location of the hand pockets are to accommodate the hip belt on your pack when hiking. My OR rain jacket is the same way. It's nice when hiking but not so nice when your not.
I have been using the Condor Summit everyday for 8 years now. The front zipper has just started to fail. Probably for the reason you see in the vid, it zips uneven and after years of use, it has damaged one side of the zipper and it's now stock (can't unzip all the way down). Also the left chest pocket's zipper has started to unsew, again easily fixable if you own a sewing machine. The writs edge are starting to show a bit of wear, but nothing that compromise the jacket's efficacy. I also had the wrists' velcro binder not holding in place for a few years. I fixed it by simply cutting the plastic hooks and replacing them by self-adhesive velcro tape. Did the job perfectly. I'm considering buying a new one and fixing the zipper of my old one to use for dirty jobs. 9/10 (-0.5 for not being 100% waterproof, -0.25 for being too hot in summer, -0.25 for not having handwarmer pockets).
I picked this jacket up at Brigade Quartermaster for $70... The biggest issue I've had so far is the zipper. It hasn't failed, but it's a two way zipper (i.e. you can unzip it from the bottom while it's still zipped up to your neck. I've had issues where the lower zipper shifts while unzipping and then the zipper comes off track and gets stuck. Other than that small issue, I love this thing...
This jacket is designed for a "Tactical" role, meaning the end-user would be wearing some kind of LBE/Battle belt and more than likely wearing gloves to protect the hands. Thus, no need for hand pockets, and the front pockets are high so they won't interfere with a battle belt/chest rig/backpack straps.
Hey great video! I just wanted to say i recently got one of these and i don't think its a faulty zipper mine is stiff, it grabs on the the fabrics and clings to the other zipper and it does push the other zipper down i think it just is like that for most. Also the hood is the same way when you fold it in its uncomfortable to fold the collar down, but all in all its a great jacket i personally like it its comfortable and all around a really nice jacket.
I bought this jacket about ten years ago in OD green. It held up for about six years until the zipper failed. They need to put a metal one-way zipper on this jacket and that would fix the problem. I liked the jacket so much though, that I just bought another one from the AAFES store in black. I'll just have to be more careful with this zipper. It wasn't worth the cost to replace the zipper considering the cost of the jacket, but I think I got my money's worth out of the first one.
First of all, Two things: 1st. The "chest pockets" are ment to be used with a backpack on, so you can use them while the "belt" of the pack is around your waist 2nd. If your Zippers are not running smooth, take a candle and run it up and down on both sides, lubrication and a little bit of water resistence :) Waited so long for this review.. :D Im looking for a nice softshell at the moment, but i am very specific about the fit of my jackets.. slim cut around the body and long enought arms for biking (same for the lenght of the jacket). I have not found one that suits me but the "Blue Wave Motala" seems to be good, i havent tried it yet, but for every one with comperable needs... it is not that expensive (80€) I will order it soon :) Sadly the condor is not the one for me, but a great review, as always ! Thank's Luke
Rothco effectively sells the same jacket at about the same price. On their version, the hood is removable. I've had mine for about 8 months (so through the winter) and I wore it a lot since it doesn't get terribly cold in southeastern Arizona. I've enjoyed this jacket immensely.
I actually have this same jacket. And have some of the same pros and cons. Pros Its light, breathable, durable and inexpensive. Easily washable, almost nothing stains even vehicle oils and grease. I live in Colorado where the weather can be well bipolar its held up to rain, snow, sleet and everything in between. Thanks to this jacket I stayed dry! Its even warm, during the winter I work as a plow driver and have seen negative temperatures this last season. This jacket was almost the only thing I wore and stayed warm, if it dropped negatives I just threw on some gen 3 fleece thermals and that was it. Cons The wrist velcro cuffs, mine were barely functional upon receiving the jacket prior to winter. Now they might as well not exist. The rubber retention straps weren't quality controlled well so the triangular grab pieces were more round than triangle. And they have since gone down hill, the tops have even melted from who knows what. (No fire used near this jacket as its materials are flammable) The zipper.. ah yes the hard to align double zipper. I have the same trouble and sometimes the bottom decides to unzip about an inch, annoying but not all together worth scrapping it. The waist draw strings are sewn to the jacket, again quality control is needing to be stressed as mine weren't. The strips of cloth that are meant to hold the draw strings to the jacket were sown to there own selves and not the jacket seams. All in all good jacket for the price I picked mine up for roughly $80 and would happily do so again. Just wish there quality control was a little more on point.
Thank you for sharing your input my friend. It definitely sounds like a quality control issue. I've been receiving messages from viewers with the same issues that you and I both detailed. Cheers. - Luke
I bought this jacket after seeing your review. i got the foliage green. so far i like it. zipper a little goofy but i got it under control after messing with it a little. Like your reviews thanks a bunch!
Great review. Hopefully the company's will listen to your pro's and con's. I've had jackets with zippers that did the same thing and it can be a pain. Thanks.
Very nice review Luke. I've been wanting one of these jackets before last fall but haven't had a chance to wear it. The one I bought was the Condor micro fleece jacket which has served me well. I did a review on it. Can't wait for your next video of a trip man. Take care. -Jacko
I know this is a bit old but I stumbled across it and thought I'd share. I was looking at both this jacket and the Rothco Special Ops Tactical Softshell Jacket. They are nearly identical and I watched many comparison videos of the two before finally going with the Rothco. I did not see your review (wish I did, would have been very helpful) at the time. The Rothco's main difference and what swayed me to it over the Condor was the fact that it has a removable hood. The hood is also fleece lined to add more warmth when wearing it. Obviously the Condor is not as it would probably make the stow away capability impossible. Personally, I do not use the hood much and it stays off most of the time and it is a great feature. The price is also the same and I have zero complaints with it. I use mine when I am at the range shooting and have run it pretty hard and have had zero complaints. Just thought I'd share my experience with a similar jacket.
Last winter I used that coat as my patrol jacket. With my base layer of uniform and UA winter turtleneck it kept me warm enough for patrol duties. More importantly it kept me dry, something my issued jacket did not. I need a new now that I have dropped down a size.
Great review thanks. I am the complete opposite of you with regards to collars. If I need to wear a jacket then I want the collar upright as you showed with the hood stowed... GREAT COLLAR.... for me. If the collar is wide open and flat as you like then I don't need a jacket on at all.
The reason the pockets are so high is that the jacket is meant to be paired with armor or a battle belt. To reach the pockets with armor you must slide your hand down the arm opening at an high angle.
I have the same jacket in OD. I returned the first one I got because the zipper was bad. It did the same thing as yours but would get stuck at the bottom and would not go up or down. The replacement jacket's zipper has been flawless. I wish it had the addition of low handwarmer pockets and 6 inch zippers at 3:00 and 9:00 at the hem for access to a pistol. if it did it would be almost the perfect light jacket in my book.
I really liked it when the new Marine Corps cammies moved the chest pocket to the shoulders sine you could actually use them when wearing a flak jacket or backpack. With the same reasoning I wish more jackets would put pockets in the arms since with the shoulder and waste straps the pockets are pretty much inaccessible. Nice review again though, Luke.
Haha, and they are YKK zippers, lol. Nit quality of the jacket but the zipper itself. Jacket is still very good, only cons you say are personel ones. I don't wanna buy me a 250 dollar jacket XD condor summit soft shell, best other option there is. Its only luxery your cons :p Good review dough! love ur vids
I've had this jacket for four years. My only real complaint with it is the hook and loop at the wrist which failed three months after I got it. Stood in a hour long down pour to see if it would protect me did so. Did get to feel damp sorta
About the zipper, I have a tad gear stealth hoodie that while it doesn't do it as bad, I do run into the uneven zip issue if I don't pay attention and the two zippers are not lined up right when I run the other end through them and I've read comments similar about them. It might be a symptom with that style of zipper.
The double zippers are always a bit of a bear to get started in my experience. It seems to be "The Nature of the Beast" so to speak.The metal pit zippers are cold under the arms when wearing only a T-shirt . For the most part I just keep the hood removed on my " Rothco" and a Columbia "Shiver- me -Timbers" or Patigonia "Down Sweater" under it as an insil layer when needed.
Thanks for this video, I will give this one a pass - the zipper issue is a deal breaker for me: I had to cut myself out of a coat once when the zip broke :D
Good review it would be interesting see if there were other people having issues with that zipper, like you said it could just be that you got a bad one. To me I think the side pockets are too high instead adding another set lower I would just lower the ones they have a couple of inches. The two arm pockets are cool but not sure I would like or use the wrist pocket. I don't see the rear pass through pocket being very useful though I do love pass through pockets for the purpose of keeping your hands warm but I would rather have them in the front, obviously not possible with a full zip jacket. $87 dollars is a excellent price for a soft shell jacket and I could easily look pass all the gripes for that price. Jason
It sounds like this is a fairly common issue as I have heard from many since the video went live. Even so, it's a great jacket. Be well and take care. - Luke
TheOutdoorGearReview Great review but I still have one question. You said you have been in the rain with it, and you may have answered this in the video but I didn't catch it. How water resistant is this shell? Where I live when it rains, it pours. I don't doubt this shell will keep you dry when it's drizzling, but would it keep you dry and warm if it was raining heavily with a bit of wind?
Know what you mean about zippers have a sleeping bag with the same problem. The price is right . If it came with the out door gear review patch I would buy it for sure
I would wear it with pride. The Out Door Gear Review that's how it all started with me long story but I feel lots of people made their way back because of you.
I have the same jacket, my only issue is there 3x is barely a 2x. Collar takes getting used to for sure. Overall i think its worth the money and a good jacket. I also have the propper soft shell, it costs more but seems of better quality.
great review as always, thank you :) Considering the features of this jacket... and the quality ... i think that out of that 90$ price tag... more than 40% you pay for the name of the company that produces it... There are other jackets, with a more budget friendly price that give you ALMOST the same features, but as long as there are people that do like 10 minutes research on the web to find what make should they buy a certain piece of gear, these jackets will sell quite good. When you buy a certain piece of gear(ANY kind of gear) you should first head to the local shops that might have that kind of gear you are searching, discuss with the shopkeeper as he might give you some feedback about the company. Then if you don't find the thing you like, head over the the on-line shops. Save the links of the things you like, then head over to google/ other search engine and search more info/reviews about that specific gear. Then put in balance: -price; -quality; -how much will you use it; -how will you use it; .. and then make your choice. And check those thrift stores/second hand stores as well, you may find some awesome things there, really cheap( as i found an extremely good gore-tex jacket with less than 5$ and the only problem it has was that the zipper was a bit broken, but easily fixable)
I’m with you on almost all your points except for the second hand thing. With most of gear that works well and I must say I buy a lot of things used. But especially on gore tex or any product with membrane I would never try to buy them second hand. The reason is simple: First, membranes wear out over time. With the right treatment and care you can extend the lifetime by removing residual sweat and fat particles from the membrane. Nevertheless the physical movement wears out the fabric so it becomes useless. But the second point is way more important: The wrong treatment destroys the membrane. This can be either a use of conditioner destroying the fabric chemically or the use of “dwr” spray closing up the membranes tiny holes physically. Either way the membrane is destroyed although you can’t see it when buying. The result is, you get a piece of cloth that doesn’t breathe like a cheap shopping bag and as such is worth not more then 5 bucks.
What temperature range is this jacket good in? It gets around 56-80 degrees F where I live so I'm wondering if I should get the Summit zero or the Summit regular.
Hey nice review on the jacket, however what really catch my eyes is the triangular TOGR patch on your left arm. Dying to have one, do you sell it pardon me for asking.
4:40 This jacket breaks wind. Hahaha. In all seriousness though, imma have to say this is a FANTASTIC jacket!!! Right after you buy one, you wanna buy another! I DEF agree with you on the cheap feeling front zipper though. Even though its YKK which is generally solid, double zips are by nature a bit difficult to manipulate and on this jacket specifically they're fairly unnecessary. The front zips also seem to be somewhat undersized for the overall durable design of this jacket. Also, I totally agree on the missing lower hand pockets. You def find youreslf wishing there were some. Haha. Still, its a great jacket and one im sure ill enjoy for many adventures to come. Thanks for the great review dude.
Seems quite similar to the "Rothco's Special Ops Tactical Soft Shell Jacket".. A jacket I'll be buying soon for a price of $110, however that jacket has an option of removing the hood and similar pockets all together. The zipper issue you're having I find quite common around these types of zippers and seems to be caused by tight clerance which if I personally will find on the jacket I'm buying will be dealt with by filing down a bit of material. Started watching your videos today and they're great by the way!
Good deal on price or not, that zipper is a poor design. The pockets are annoyingly placed but the collar/hood issue wouldn't bother me. Thanks for a great review, this helps me with a decision to buy one of these.
Luke, I hope that Condor will send you a replacement jacket if you contact them. That zipper would be very frustrating for me. It's a nice looking jacket that seems to be functional as well. I have always wanted a TAD Gear jacket but haven't sprung for one yet. Im sure your familiar with their products. They seem to be top notch quality, but at a MUCH higher price point. Apples and oranges I suppose. My philosophy has always been buy once, cry once. Thanks for the excellent, objective review as always. Take care. D Rag
in the beginning of the video hes wearing what looks like slim fitting cargo pants..anyone know what and where to buy them? this jacket is not $77 on Amazon.. definitely picking one for the winter this year
Are you wearing your normal size or did you get 1 size up. I wear a small for just about everything. Yours looks a bit big with just a t-shirt, but I imagine if you were wearing a fleece it would pad out well.
Scorpiuszeroone Hmmmm, it has been so long since I have looked at the tag, I don't remember what size that I bought. I will get back to you on this. - Luke
mackuss I normally wear a small, I'm fairly thin, so I did buy a small and it is still roomy enough to wear a base layer or light fleece underneath, so I'd say they run true to size. I got mine on sale from Amazon for about $53 so I had to get while the getting was good. Great jacket in my opinion.
Condor, Rothco and a few other brands sell this jacket. You can get a generic one on eBay for $25. But they are all the same exact jacket. Made in China and sold to these companies. Don’t even waste $90+ or more. Just order the $20 one from eBay. Oh... and these are all LH zip. Seriously, isn’t that obvious? That’s why your having a problem zipping it, your forcing it trying to zip it up with your right hand.
Yeah the zippers suck 🤬 Zips up just fine? Not mine 🤦♂️ The side zippers can’t be zipped up or down unless you hold the wrist tight to keep it straight
+John Longo Try using a simple glue on the bottom zipper making it static and not able to move. I wouldn't use anything more than hot glue gun to see if it works.
+John Longo To hopefully clarify put a drop of glue between the very bottom zipper and the zipper "links", ruining the two way zipper idea but hopefully making the zipper more functional
good review, but this jacket is for tactical use, hence the alpine pockets which make access easier with a pack or vest on, better to have a hood and fat collar than nothing. guess it depends on your use but that zipper would thoroughly piss me off! thanks for your time, you sold me on getting one, can't go wrong for the money...
fanof runbot a la DPM smock. get it right, then go on & off sweater style. 2 way zip great for accessing fly or pants pockets without unzipping jacket.
