The top-end Canadian Gore-Tex Pro Shell jacket has been updated for winter 2010 - we're impressed.
For the first time ever, we've got an Arc'Teryx shell jacket in for review and it's the newly updated for winter 2010 Beta AR Gore-Tex Pro Shell jacket.
The Beta AR isn't new, it's been around for a while, but for this winter, it's been tweaked so it's slightly longer and better suited for its 'All Round' tag, which is what AR stands for, if you were wondering. The new length is described as 'hip length' and that's about right. It gives some crotch protection without impeding movement rather than being short and boxy like many North American climbing designs.
What is North American is the massive shoulder allowance – clearly Canadian climbers are big up top. Normally we find shell jackets tight in this area, but the Beta AR has space to burn.
It's light too. Not insanely light, but 440 grammes for a fully featured technical mountain jacket is pretty damn good. And the funny thing is that it doesn't feel remotely flimsy.
A lot of that is down to the fabric. Arc'Teryx actually specifies its own face fabrics, the outside layer, because it feels Gore's standard fabrics simply aren't tough enough and you can feel a certain toughness and stiffness in the material – it's hard to explain, but it simply feels bombproof. There are two fabrics as well, a reinforced, tougher one on shoulders, yoke and outer sleeves and a standard one elsewhere.
That's just the start of it though. Pick up an Arc'Teryx jacket and even if you don't know why, it has an uncanny feel of finish and quality to it. You can work that out even if you don't understand the fine details, but actually it's the details that make the jacket.
Every little touch has been thought through – the zip is a water-resistant YKK one, not a Urethane thing, but a Riri Aquazip-style, plastic-toothed affair that presents a mechanical barrier to water. Then there are the exquisite seams with milimetre perfect 'tiny' 13mm seam tape, incredibly neat.
Zips? The pit-zips and pocket-zips are water-resistant sitting in die-cut slots, but there's a difference here too – Arc'Teryx has extended the bonding across the zip so there's no exposed fabric edge to fray and become detached. It's incredibly neat and should stay that way with use too. Even the internal, zipped security pocket is a thing of beauty.
Think we're exaggerating? Go and have a close look at one of the Canadian brand's jackets in a store then come back to us. It's not just about prettiness, better construction means increased durability and reliability.
So, yes, you might surmise that we're impressed – and you'd be right. Build quality, fit and design are mostly first rate, but there are a couple of details we want to keep an eye on. First, the hood cords aren't fully tethered and we're not sure how they'll behave in strong winds, particularly without a helmet. And second, the helmet peak, while stiffened, isn't quite the classic full-on, wire-stiffened brim favoured by a lot of UK walkers and climbers – again, we'll be keeping tabs.
That aside though, this jacket feels both bombproof and sophisticated at the same time and it 'only' costs £330. We say 'only' because while that's undoubtedly a steep price for a waterproof shell, you'd getting an awful lot of jacket for your money and while it's still more expensive than many competitors, the price gap has definitely narrowed over the past few years. Factor in the durability of those über tough face fabrics and it suddenly seems like it could be a very good value in the long run.
Full test to follow. Acrc'Teryx information at www.arcteryx.com.
