Comments about Gitzo Gitzo Four Season Waterproof Jacket for Professional Photographers, Xtra Xtra Large (XXL):

I have been using the Four Seasons Jacket for a few weeks now and am happy to report that it is very well constructed, well designed and comfortable to wear. The two large outside cargo pockets are gusseted and can be expanded to hold up to 4 lenses - I have held the 70-200 f2.8, 105 f2.8 Macro, 12-24 Sigma and 10.5MM fisheye in them while having the camera with a fifth lens hanging over my shoulder. There are two large zippered pockets on the inside into which I put filters, an angle finder, batteries and other accessories. These inner pockets are not segmented in any way, so the filters are in a Tamrac pouch (that holds 5) and the other small stuff in a zippered clear case (from Think Tank). The point is, though, that they all fit in easily with room to spare. There are "slot pockets" in the upper left inside breast area, presumably for business cards.The side zippers allow for the jacket to be opened such that it is more ventilated, and also allow you to crouch or sit without constriction. This is particularly useful for me when I ride to a location on my Vespa - with the pockets full of gear I can zip up the bottom of the main front zipper and also unzip the side seam zippers; this allows the jacket to flow over my legs while seated.As for weather resistance - I have ridden the aforementioned Vespa in the rain (we recently had a very wet week here in Southern California) and can report that the jacket completely withstood fairly hard rain pelting me at 30+ MPH. All the seams and zippers (the closed ones, at least) remained completely protective.I really only have two small quibbles about the jacket, neither of which compel me to reduce the rating to 4 stars:1) the front zipper is of the European style - that is, reversed from the standard American men's zipper. In other words, the mechanism is on the left side rather than the right (like most women's garments). This is just annoying; I still haven't gotten used to casually unzipping the jacket - I have to consiously think and remember it's set up on the 'wrong' side.2) The two outer cargo pockets are equipped with thin stretch lycra inserts, ostensibly to help hold an inserted lens in the upright position. They're too thin to provide any real padded protection, but that's okay. The problem is that they are not really pockets so much as open ended sleeves, so if you insert a short lens in one it eventually just falls out of the bottom of the sleeve and lays sideways in the bottom of the pocket itself. Again, just something that takes a little getting used to.In all, though, I think this is an excellent product. It's a bit pricey, to be sure, but then again quality usually is. I plan on using this jacket in lieu of a photographer's vest any time the weather is too cold to allow me to work in short sleeves.By the bye; as I understand it the "visibility kit" that does not come with this model amounts to some large orange "Press" logos that can be attached to the outside of the jacket - something I don't ever foresee needing. I guess real Photojournalists might like to have that additional bit, though.Also,as for sizing - I guess Gitzo adheres to a more Euro type of sizing standard - my jacket is an XXL and it fits comfortably; I normally wear a 42" suit. I think the XL jacket might have been a bit too snug, particularly if I were to wear a sweatshirt or heavy sweater underneath when it is very cold. Apparently, Gitzo designed their fleece jacket to be either stand-alone or zipped into this Four Seasons jacket as a liner of sorts, so again the XXL seems most suitable for me should I win the lottery and decide to spring for another [$] fleece jacket.