Beyond Clothing PCU level 5 - First Impressions Part 1

Update - September 2016
This article has been updated with new information and photography.
Click here to see the new review.

As you might have read in some of my other articles, I had sadly lost my level 5 softshell. I have seen the Blackhawk! version of the level 5, but didn't really see any improvements over ORC's version; the possibility of finding a Patagonia level 5 was slim to none. I almost gave up hope until one of my buddies recommended Beyond Tactical's version of the level 5 jacket, called the Glacier Shock.

What really attracted me to Beyond was that you could customize the jacket to fit your needs. Zip off hood, roll up hood, permanent hood, no hood, pit zips, thumb loops, bicep pockets, velcro loop for the pockets, and best of all: the entire jacket is custom tailored to your body so it fits "perfectly".
After doing a bit of research, I stumbled upon an overview of the entire Beyond PCU system by a US Navy Search and Rescue Swimmer. He was thrilled with the garments and talked about how happy he was with the Glacier Shock jacket, in particular. I sent him an email to get a bit of information about the effectiveness of Epic's Glacier fabric in rain. He was very kind and gave me a very thorough response. He told me that the time he spent in Afghanistan was rainy, wet and cold, and the Beyond jacket performed very well.

What I didn't know at the time was that I was communicating with Jamie Franks, who was one of the contestants on Top Shot season 2. I guess that's kind of besides the point, but it seems to me that his positive attitude and politeness was not just restricted to the show. Anyway, I was convinced that if it was good enough for him and his buddies in Afghanistan, it would be more than enough for any of my applications.

It took a bit of saving, but I put the order into Beyond just before December. Six weeks later, the jacket arrived at my office. I used my box cutter swiftly and surgically like Luke on his Ton Ton on Hoth to get to my prize. I was just about to go out for lunch so I was already wearing my level 3. When I managed to zip the coat up, I thought to myself, hmm… kinda tight.

I distinctly remember ordering the regular cut, not the slim cut. As I went out with my colleagues, I also noticed that the jacket was very tight in my armpits. I was pretty disappointed, considering the 6 week wait. Surely Beyond Tactical would assume that people would be layering this jacket with the other elements of the PCU system.

When I got back to the office, I took off the level 3 and put the jacket back on. It was a much better fit, but still tight enough that I figured they had made a mistake. So I sent them an email, knowing that their perfect fit guarantee should take care of my issues. Sure enough, I got a quick response with a form to fill out for making adjustments. Every email and phone call that I've had with Beyond has been handled with a level of customer service that far surpasses a lot of the other companies I've dealt with.

I talked to a tailor about the measurements I had initially sent to Beyond. They measured me again and confirmed that my measurements had been correct. She suggested that I added 4 inches to the waist, stomach and chest area. I was a little disappointed when I found out I was responsible for the $30 shipping back to Beyond, but I didn't really have a choice. So off it went.

Of course, I took some pictures for you guys before boxing it back up. As well, I made a few observations. It was raining a bit when I wore it outside, and water beaded - as I expected - since the jacket was brand new. The bicep pockets are accessed on the side rather than the top which makes them easier to use than the ORC and Blackhawk! versions. They are closed with a zipper rather than velcro. I opted for pit zips, which were very generous, especially when compared to the Blackhawk! version where the tiny pit zips look more like oddly positioned hand warmer pockets. The zippers were all YKK and had custom zipper pulls. The side pockets were very large and comparable to the ORC level 5.

Overall, excluding the sizing issue, I was very impressed with the jacket. It's probably all chopped up at the Beyond factory in Seattle at the moment, and hopefully I'll have it back in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to doing a First Impression article on it when it arrives. And more importantly, I'm really looking forward to cycling and hiking with a softshell rather than my level 6 hardshell.

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