great jacket
First off, durability rating is only a guess since I just got the jacket recently. Jacket appearance, fit and quality are excellent. I tried TNF equivalent on (red point) at a local store. This jacket is better in my opinion on all counts (and less money). Fits great as a mid layer (and much better than a fleece) and the jacket has such a good look that it is no problem wearing it as a light outer jacket. Some jackets in this catagory just look goofy and / or have a shiny finish. Not this one. Altrec service was great. Jacket order was entered promptly, left right away, and came to me when it was supposed to (and fairly quickly considering I am on the east coast).

Quality Insulation Piece
Very impressed with the warmth, weight and compact-ability of the jacket. I'd easily recommend to others.

Marmot Cauldron Jacket/liner
Scored this Marmot Cauldron jacket to add one more layer for upcoming Mt. Rainier trip. Jacket zipped in perfectly to my Marmot Summit liner. Light weight, comfortable, extremely warm. Not going to win fashion points when worn as outer garment but definitely functional and well worth the 1 lb addition to my pack. Highly recommend.

nice insulating piece
The Cauldron Is a 100 gram insulating layer made of compressible nylon with some very nice, functional features (angel wing sleeves, handwarmer pockets, driclime lined collar, chest pocket, etc.). It's light, and the shell blocks wind nicely, but it's a bit puffy. I found it had a bit more volume than I was looking for to layer, so I opted for the GoLite Cady, which has a lower profile but only 70 grams of Thinsulate. I've been told that Marmot's proprietary insulation is quite good so expect the Cauldron to be a nice warm piece.

Great Jacket
My husband says that he can't believe how warm it is considering how light the jacket is. He says that the neck collar blocks out the cold with no problem. Yes, I would highly recommend it.