Arc'teryx Sirrus SL Jacket - First Look

Arc'teryx Sirrus SL Jacket - First Look

Price: £250.00

Weight: 366 grammes (men's large)

Features: Ripstop Gore-Tex New Paclite fabric with XCR panels across shoulders and upper back, die-cut Gore-Seam tape and die cut Velcro closures exposed WaterTight front zip with laminated internal zipper flap, helmet compatible hood which will cinch down for bare heads, laminated Dry Cuffs cuff tabs, moulded Zipper Garages, laminate chin guard with quick dry fleece, tiny seam tape (13mm) seam allowances, hood with reinforced peak, single chest pocket, pit-zips with WaterTight zippers (no backing flap), one-hand pull-cords for hood and hem.

Yum, it's exquisitely made, cut and detailed. It's not cheap though...

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The Concept There's a concept in entertainment called 'suspension of disbelief'. The idea is that you sacrifice utter believability in order to enjoy what you're watching. So you may not belive that anyone could possibly find, say, Eastender's hard man Phil Michell attractive, but for the sake of enjoying the programme, you choose to believe that it's the case.

In a way Arc'terys is the same. It's so expensive that you really need to put aside any questions of whether it's worth the price and just look at it for what it is. So what is it? In simple terms it's another jacket made from Gore's high-performing New Paclite fabric, but with a neat twist.

The twist is that while all the other Paclite jackets we've seen have been entirely Paclite, the Sirrus SL has harder-wearing Gore XCR panels built into the shoulders and upper back. Prime wear areas when carrying a pack. The idea is that you get the lightness, packability and breathability of the fabric, but enhanced durability in high wear areas. And of course, being Arc'teryx, from the outside, the different panels are indistinguishable from the rest of the jacket, which is nice.

You also get a hood that will accommodate a helmet along with a bare head, making this one of the few Paclite jackets aimed squarely at climbers and potentially an ideal complement to a technical softshell.

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Features In fact there aren't that many obvious features, it's a minimalist design to keep weight and bulk to the minimum - the XCR panels, long pit zips, helmet-friendly hood and chest pocket are the obvious ones, but the devil is in the detail.

The reason Arc'teryx costs a lot comes down to production in Canada rather than the cheaper factories of the Far East and an extraordinary attention to detail together with innovative construction techniques. Laminated - 'glued' - construction, water-resistant zips, moulded zip garages, die-cut Velcro tabs and more are all features that first appeared on Arc'teryx garments.

So with the Sirrus you're getting a load of neat, cunning construction touches that add up to a jacket that has a hard to define, well beauty really. Arc'teryx developed die-cut, narrower seam tape to reduce bulk and up accuracy, laminated, glued seams to avoid puncture holes and tiny die-cut Velcro cuff pulls to minimise bulk in that area for example.

They're big on minimising bulk too. That's the motivation behind the urethane-coated 'Water Tight' zips for example. The main one is backed by a laminated storm flap, but the pit zips with their extra narrow water-resistant zippers have no backing flap at all and so are hardly noticeable, particularly compared to those with Velcro-fastened double flaps.

Other neat touches include a stiffened laminated 'stand' at the back of the collar which prevents the hood from doing that backward flop we all know so well and the stiffened laminated beard guard with quick-drying fleece.

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In Use It's early days yet and the Sirrus, for its Canadian sins, is off to a place where it'll be getting some concentrated mountain abuse over the next couple of months. It's a short to mid-length jacket and beautifully cut with articulated arms and a slight drop tail.

We've commented on the Paclite fabric often enough, so we'll just reiterate that it's waterproof, light and highly breathable - appreciably more breathable than anything else we've tried bar eVENT. The difference here is that thanks to the features and construction everything feels so perfectly formed.

The minimalist die-cut Velcro tabs at the cuff mean they sit neatly under gloves, the laminated bit at the base of the hood really does stop it flopping, the hood takes a low profile helmet - check if you're thinking of buying - and like Mountain Equipment's similar version, the tensioner hugs the top of your skull so the hood turns with your head. The peak is stiffened but maybe a bit lightweight by UK standards, we'll let you know.

We don't know how the pit-zips'll stand up to really concentrated British rain either - won't be long now - but the lack of a backing flap combined with Water Tight zip means there's so little bulk under the arms that you don't know they're there. You notice the difference as soon as you go back to a more conventional pit-zip equipped jacket.

The laminated chin guard is really comfortably and doesn't fold over or back on itself, the tensioners are all one-handed and easy to use, it seems to work just fine with a harness - no lack of reach high mobility for use anyway and the fit is still neat with a pack.

Overall it feels like a very, very nice waterproof jacket. It'd hard to pick a bad point, though the even map pocket obsessives won't be disappointed, the single chest pocket takes a 1:50,000 OS at a pinch.

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Initial Verdict

Essentially the Sirrus is doing the same job as ME's very nice Firefly that costs a whopping £70 less, but for that extra dosh you're getting both exquisite build quality, features and cut plus the - as far as we know - only Paclite jacket on the market that incorporates harder-wearing XCR panels on the shoulders and upper back.

It is, quite simply, a lovely jacket with a great hood and the design and construction details really do seem to add up to a better fitting, less bulky, neater, more useable overall garment that would work brilliantly with a soft shell for climbing in alpine environments.

The jury's still out on its performance in the damper UK though. In particular we're not entirely sure about those unprotected, albeit water-resistant pit-zips and the hood peak feels like it might be on the verge of not being stiff enough.

That's why the Sirrus is off to the mountains for a few weeks for some intensive torture. We'll be reporting back just as soon as it squeaks. And the price? Well, it's around the same as the very first, much less lovely first generation Paclite jacket and, if you can afford it, you'll not find many nicer Paclite tops. Then again if you have to ask...

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Arc'teryx web site

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