What happens when you subject a £250, ultra-lightweight Paclite jacket to several months of relentless abuse? We thought we'd better find out...
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Arc'teryx Sirrus SL Jacket -
Wasdale Tested
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Price:
£250.00
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Weight: 366 grammes (men's
large)
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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.
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Yum, it's exquisitely made, cut and detailed.
It's not cheap though...
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The Wasdale Concept Like most magazine and web site gear
testers, we
can
only use individual bits of kit for a limited time. That's fine for
getting an idea of how something's made and cut, how well it works
generally and how it compares to its competitors, but it doesn't tell
you much about how it will stand up to use and abuse in the longer
term.
Our user review system is one alternative and now there's another
one - the Wasdale Test. OUTDOORSmagic member Guy Newbold works in
Wasdale and is out on the fells pretty much every day, he's also a
member of the local MRT.
Guy's task, which he chose to accept, is for him and fellow
members of the team to use test kit with the minimum of sympathy. In
his words:
'The jackets have been used almost constantly by myself and by
some dedicated members of the Wasdale MRT who have tried their
hardest to destroy the garments and have gone out of their way to
test them in the hardest of environments while treating them with
little or no sympathy and care.'
This is the first of three lightweight jackets Guy and team tested
for us.
The Jacket The Arc'Teryx Sirrus SL is a beautifully made New
Paclite jacket with XCR reinforcements at prominent wear points. It's
lovely, but horribly expensive and we wondered whether an
ultra-lightweight technical jacket could possibly survive... See our
original
test.
The Test This was worn by me for almost all of the time I had
it, except for one occasion when it was worn by the team leader of
the rMRT who had it for two days outings. The jacket was used in all
weather conditions and was used for walking, running, climbing,
mountain rescue and scrambling as well as a spot of Beck hopping.
Out of all of the jackets tested this was the one which received
the most sustained use and abuse. Coming with a hefty price tag of
£250 it needed to do a lot to impress me, indeed it had to
perform superbly as I had it in for this jacket just on grounds of
price...
How on earth could a jacket like this be worth the money? Well after
all the use I'm still not sure about the price tag BUT I really like
this jacket.
It
has a superb fit, short enough for climbing but long enough to worn
on its own. The draw cords and closures are all one handed operation
and while they don't look like they will stand up to any abuse I can
assure you they do!
The zips are a waterproof affair and again you get
the impression that their slim design will lead to difficulties and
weaknesses in use but this is simply not the case. Not only are they
waterproof ( the waterfall test alone proved that!) they have stood
up to repeated abuse, fumblings with gloves on and with bare
hands. One slight weakness is in the under arm zips as they can be
difficult to open and close fully, but this is more down to the
thinness of the jacket than to the zips themselves.
The fabric which is Gore-tex Paclite is reinforced
around the rucksack wear areas with Gore XCR and does its job very
well, the seems are welded and once again look to be a little
weak, but again these have stood up to the abuse without any
problems.
So try as I might I am unable to offer downsides
to this jacket, it is very breathable, very tough, designed well,
and is very, very light. It has performed very well
in howling rainstorms and while running along the Cumbrian coast. It
has been used in a waterfall pitch of a beck hop and while climbing
on tough granite, it has also stood its own while paddling on the
becks of Lancashire, all without any problems and with no signs of
wear or tear.
Indeed, apart from the price, this jacket is a very
good lightweight alternative and one which I am loathed to give back
after this trial.
It gets a 9 out of 10 and only loses a point
because of the price!
Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own experiences of this product check
out our user review system and post your opinions to the world. If
you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear
forum.
