Arc'teryx Beta AR

[DarrellJNewsome]

Anyone got any experience with these? I'm looking to get into a bit of hiking and am lead to believe that Arc'teryx make some of the best jackets on the market. I'm currently in Mt Isa, so unfortunately I can't just duck down to the local Mountain Designs and try something on, but the reviews I've read lead me to believe that a medium should be fine for me at 180cm and 80kg.

[wayno]

yup good quality if you're willing to pay the price. proshell is their top of the line waterproof fabric, good durability without too much weight. if you're using it for warm conditions you probably want to look at a jacket with pit zips or some sort of vented pockets gore tex can get rather warm. , i'm not sure that model has them.

[forest]

I have a Theta SL (I think that's the model)

Mine is a Large and I'm 178cm and 78kgs. I would fit the medium I believe well but like the extra room in the large to layer a puffy jacket under with plenty of room.
My Arc'teryx jacket would be the best I own in construction, design and functionality. It's suprisingly durable considering the low weight.

[roysta]

Are you thinking of using this jacket in the Isa area?
if you are I wouldn't waste the expense.
You do not need this jacket in the tropics.

[DarrellJNewsome]

No, I'm booked in for the Overland next month and plan to do Milford and Routeburn at the end of the year. I have a Windstopper fleece, so I really just need water protection.

[wayno]

I"d still make sure the jacket has some sort of venting, like pit zips. or core vented pockets.. gives you more flexibility on the conditions you can use the jacket on. The weather could be anything on those tracks you are going to do, hot. cool or freezing... arcteryx do have pit zips at least on some of their jackets..
i was on the routeburn last weekend, woke up to eight degrees, it was the high twenties by early afternoon

[DarrellJNewsome]

It has pit zips. Thanks.

[wayno]

air permeable waterproof hardhsell fabrics like event, Dry-Q, neoshell are touted as better for warmer conditions because they let a bit of air through the fabric helping to reduce heat buildup and excess sweat. i see gore tex as a more winter fabric, except active shell which comes close to being as breathable as the air permeable fabrics although you have to be careful on durability ideally you'd want something reinforced in high wear areas.
but again look for garments with venting on the design.
still cant go past gore tex for a quality fabric at the end of the day.

[DarrellJNewsome]

Thanks. Would you classify Tasmania and Fiordland as "winter" or not? Do you mean that if it's not snowing, that I may be better suited to something else? Bear in mind that I'm from the tropics and think anything under 10C is cold.

[wayno]

depends when you're going there. the temps vary, could be hot one day cold the next... in summer,

personally i dont use gore tex in nz. event is enough, i live in auckland, i'm used to warm humid weather. personally gore tex is something i'd use if i went to those places a lot in the colder seasons a lot, which i don't.
i just did the kepler and it was below 10 , i was toasty warm in event jacket and just had a thick polypropylene underneath,
in theory you'd just need an extra layer under something like event in comparison to gore tex and you'll be better off the warmer it gets.
bear in mind all rainwear companies using gore tex had to make a black and white decision when event came along, switch to event and have gore tex cut off their supplies to you permanently or keep using the known brand gore tex.... there are plenty of companies still making winter storm shells using event..

its not fullproof. nothing breathes if the rain is heavy enough to saturate the outside of the fabric...

i struggled to find conditions where i was alking in nz cold enough where i wasnt sweating under a gore tex. so something more breathable was a beter option for me..
if you switch later to walking in warmer climates personally i'd steer away from gore tex other than their active shell jackets

[wayno]

look at queenstown this week, 20 most days and its been hotter.. hit thirty just after new years...
http://metservice.com/towns-cities/queenstown

[stuey69]

i'd steer away from gore tex other than their active shell jackets

+1

[wayno]

if your'e looking at active shell something like teh north face meru has reinforced areass on shoulders and hips for better wear. been used by top climbers like conrad anker..
or heres an example of an arcteryx active shell
http://www.arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN ... FL-Jacket#

mainpeak are doing a sale on montane event jackets at the mo

i'm also a fan or westcomb jackets they use neoshell and event,

[DarrellJNewsome]

Righto, thanks for complicating it on me. d= Life was so much easier when I could admire the striking hues of the Arc'teryx range and long for pay-day to arrive. Which eVent jackets should I consider?

[wayno]

up to you, if you dont want to get bogged down in more options a proshell is still a good jacket to get
have a look at mainpeak.com.au at the montanes, hmm the sale has ended, they arent made for scrub bashing though, they are on the lightweight side
the venture or the superfly-xt
super-fly has buckets of pockets plus vents
venture is a simpler version with vented pockets
those ones have reinforced high wear areas, look at the sizings.
rab make good onees but no venting on all but the heaviest
theres westcomb, their jackets are shorter than montanes, be warned there are a lot of theirs to choose from..... varying weights some with reinforced areas.
neoshell is the most breathable but most epxensive and its unproven long term for retaining waterproofness

[wayno]

can get cheaper from the states but you'd have to add the complication of a mail forwarding company
i just amended the link the previous one was wrong

http://www.gearbuyer.com/sc/mens_clothi ... &q=montane

[stuey69]

Just to throw something else into the mix .......
I'm an unabashed Mountain Hardware fan and they have a few jackets worth looking at, the Kepler, Jovian and Drystein II.
The latter is very expensive though.
You would have to get them from the states though.
The Kepler is currently on sale at www.backcountry.com

[wayno]

the dry q elite fabric they use is essentially the same as event. membrane made by the same company GE

[stuey69]

It's similar, but you're an eVent fan anyway aren't you?
I don't think Darrell could go too far wrong with any of the eVent or Dry Q jackets.

[wayno]

i'm a fan of air permeable membranes over non air permeable ( eg gore tex)
just be aware of the weights you want in a jacket, mountain hardwear make some heavy duty alpine jackets and some of them can get up in weight to three quarters of a kg...
i have a montane super-fly xt and i'm happy with that, i havent used mountain hardwear...
i'm looking at picking up a very lightweight westcomb jacket, as a jacket for lesser frequencies of rain when a storm shell isnt really needed.

[stuey69]

Yes, that's true, some of the MHW jackets are up to 850g, but you'll get a solid one for 200g lighter than that.
The Jovian and Beacon are 540g, the Kepler 650g.
Gear Zone in the UK have the Montane Super Fly on clearance right now at 190GBP, that's A$290.
Nice jacket and 475g.

[DarrellJNewsome]

Thanks guys. I checked out the Kepler and will progress through the others today. My mother gave me a Kathmandu WindStopper fleece for Christmas. I understand this to be a softshell, is this correct? Furthermore, would that mean that the Kepler is intended for the same or similar purpose? How much water will WindStopper keep out? If I have this, am I really only looking for something to wear in emergencies?

[wayno]

windstopper is showerproof only. will only hold out rain briefly. mainly used as a wind breaker only. more breathable than a raincoat. but the ones i've mentioned come close in breathability to windstopper. something like the jackets we've mentioned are fully waterproof hardshells. heavier more duarable.
it could rain all day in fiordland and tasmania so you want a raincoat thats good to go all day long, ideally three layer which is what your arcterycx and the ones we've mentioned all are.

[wayno]

this was my take on the montane super-fly

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=11924&hilit=super+fly

[wayno]

at the end of the day all the brand mentioned including arcteryx are good brands so you're looking at good gear regardless

[DarrellJNewsome]

Thanks, Wayno. Would eVent or Active Shell over the WindStopper be enough for Tasmania and Fiordland, or is there another layer that I'm forgetting?

[wayno]

does your windstopped have fleece? not all do windstopper is actually a windproof membrane

[wayno]

while youre on the go if its a fleece windstopper and you have a thermal base layer for cold conditions it should do you while you're on the move. but when you're stopped for the day and the weather is cold, i usually have something additional a fleece or down vest or for really cold weather a down jacket.

[wayno]

removed comment on pack, wrong topic.

[DarrellJNewsome]

I have a One Planet Strezlecki pack. I'm pretty sure that it's this soft shell: http://www.gore-tex.com.au/kathmandu-ca ... /i1083561/
Mum had mentioned to me to take a vest too. Thanks.