This is a very well made jacket, but I returned mine, primarily due to a few design features that I found unacceptable.

1) The top of the jacket (hood/shoulders/outer arm) is waterproof Ventia. Nothing wrong here.

2) The back is a nice, stretchy, breathable fabric. It's nice, until it starts raining heavily or you have a strong frigid wind at your back.

3) The front material would appear to be extremely water-resistant, but I wouldn't consider it to be very breathable. Luckily, the 2-way front zipper and a good # of pockets should allow for air-flow.

4) Ventilation: this is where OR usually shines, however:

A) pit zips that stop below the pits?
B) elastic inner cuffs at the end of each sleeve that permanently cut off air flow up my sleeves? This is a good idea in a child's winter jacket, not in a performance jacket (just give me a velcro tab, please).

All in all, I wear a Gore-Tex jacket in the rain (with hem to bicep venting), and a Cirque jacket when working up a sweat in the cold: very wind resistant, but breathable.

More expensive, maybe, but they do what the Alibi only 'kinda' does.

i wore this for 3 days of ice climbing near Vail Colorado. i added a 60 gram primaloft insulating layer under this jacket and never needed my belay parka. (OR Meistro). temps were mid 20's. this jacket excells during the approach in my opinon. you can open it up via zippers and vent off the heat and stay comfortable then close it up to stay warm on belay or climbing. i can't imagine a better jacket out there.

I have used the jacket for ski touring in temperatures from 5 to -5C and it performs extremely well because of the full side ventilation for the climbs and the inner hood for descents.

The mix of materials makes it weatherproof but still the most breathable soft shell I have owned.

The main pockets are the biggest downside. The openings are too small to easily fit folded climbing skins. The material is also not robust enough for a high-use area.

I live in New Mexico and hike up the Sandia Mountain three days a week. The mornings start out cold, but when the sun comes out it warms up quite bit. The terrain is quite rugged: large boulders, cactus and granite projections. The Alibi jacket is perfect for me because it breathes great and it has the Ventia fabric on the arms and shoulders that can stand up to the pine boughs and cactus thorns. It has all the bells and whistles you would want in a jacket and is I think its a good value. I'm 5'9" 175 lbs. and I used to take a medium OR jacket, but I took a large in this particular model. Personally I think OR has made their jackets a little smaller fit than before–I've read reviewers who have mentioned the same thing. The only problem is that the sleeves are too long for me, but I just turn them up one hem.
I have one suggestion for the designers at OR, When you unzip the hem-to-pit zippers all the way open, the snap tab at the bottom sticks out and hits your arm when you are walking. I think it would be a good idea to be able to snap the tab back inside the jacket to alleviate this problem.

great everyday jacket for all kinds of winter fun. Very rugged and durable, stands up to the chossy rock of the San Juans in CO. Soft shells rule!