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  Arc'teryx Theta AR Jacket - Men's By: Arc'teryx Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 2 More Information Segway Jacket  On: 2008-06-22Living in the Seattle area and having recently joined the Segway cult I discovered I had some specialized jacket needs. Light weight, absolutely the best water/wind resistance, yet breath so work clothes dont get sticky, compatibility with Giro Atmos helmet, hard shell that could stand up to/offer protection from strokes from tree branches at speed and do all that while looking stylish to help soften the Segway dork image. A tall order but this jacket delivers! The only lack Ive had with the jacket is the hood. Unfortunately the designers seem to have assumed the wearer would always need the hood. Zero thought seems to have been given to securing the hood when not in use. Which is amazing given the incredible attention to detail immediately obvious in all other aspects of the jackets design. As Ive unfortunately discovered since my Segway acquisition the municipalities do a miserable job of keeping the ornamental trees pruned out of the sidewalks here and any Segway jacket needs to be capable of standing up to attention from tree branches at Segway speeds. This jacket survives the attention while offering my clothing and skin excellent protection from them as well. It truly lives up to the hard in hard shell when it comes to protection. The ample hood fits well over a Giro Atmos helmet and is adequately adjustable to maintain a stylish fit and still provide moisture protection. The incredible build quality of the jacket answers the question of: where did all the money go? This isnt a Gucci jacket: the money is in the jacket build, not in the jackets logo. All seams are taped, although tape seems like an inadequate word to describe what has actually been done to all of the seams. All cordage used seems impossibly frail since it is roughly the diameter of the shoe laces used for a high quality mens shoe, yet is strong enough for McGyver to employ as climbing rope. The Goretex Pro material is as water proof as dolphin skin yet breaths like a NikeFIT Dry Golf shirt! Which I would have previously considered an impossible combination. All zippers are the top notch water proof design. The sleeve closure velcro adjusters are designed to keep the sleeve closed while employing the minimum of velcro material so you dont find yourself attached to all sorts of fluffy stuff. And the interior key pocket fits the Segway key beautifully. The styling is flattering and says you care about style rather than just having a jacket that hangs off you like a potato sack. An all to common hazard with outdoor jackets. Im very pleased with this purchase. Great Jacket! Best of the 2007-2008 Pro-Shells! On: 2008-01-05After many years of gracing the hills and trails with North Face, Patagonia and Mammut on my back, I decided to go with this much talked about Canadian-Made brand. As my first Arcteryx Jacket, and someone that needs the extra rugged protection for Ice Climbing, I was on the line between three jackets; The cheaper Beta AR (which was too short and ill-fitting in the shoulders for me), the ultra pricey Alpha SV (At $599 and only two color options available I thought Arcteryx could have given a little more for the price beside the safe design and Canada-Made origin), and third the Theta AR which, at $350-$450, was the most economical, best fitting and well designed for me. In my opinion, it offers all the Alpha SV offers and a little more; More pockets, more Hem length and a much, much better slim/stream-lined athletic fit which actually works better with my climbing harness. The only advantage I can see of the Alpha SV is the extra stiff nylon outer shell and slightly bigger hood. Things that are not important to most people with normal sized heads and those that dont wear rain gear to sword fights. INITIAL THOUGHTS: Most reviewers suggested sizing up for the size. At 58"/150lbs I normally wear Medium and found Small in this Jacket fit perfect with plenty room to layer my Patagonia Micro Puff Pullover or R4 fleece Jacket underneath. I think the Arcteryx GoreTex XCR shells used to fit on the small side, but the newer GoreTex Pro Shell Theta and Alpha definately fits on the big side. So either get your size or size down. FIRST TEST: I just got my Theta AR over the New Years weekend and during a first quick climb on the ice I find it works well with my Harness and definately does not ride up or bunch up during climbs. The Thetas collar/hood combo takes a little getting used to since most jackets have hoods either stow away or hang openly. But this was not a problem since the extra collar keeps out wind and ice melt. All the pockets are small on this jacket (No water bottle and mitt warmer pockets here, just lipbalm and car keys). You could argue that they should be bigger with handwarming-fleece lining but that would add weight and subtract versatility so its not necessarily a 100% bad thing. I miss having the dual belay zippers that you find on virtually all other alpine mountain jackets. On the Theta and most Arcteryx brand jackets there is only one one-way front zip, so you either have to zip up or just leave the zip open. I kept it zipped up and tucked the hem inside my harness and wore the jacket like a shirt. Goodthing the ProShell material breathes really well (better than XCR) so I didnt find myself unzipping the front zippers to vent at all during my climb. Another thing that took getting used to is the ultra-thin shock cords and tiny pull tabs. They seem so frail like they will pull right off, but then you soon see that the quality of this the jacket is for real. BOTTOM LINE: Great Jacket with minor gripes about it. Expect it to last a long time and for the price it should! Recommended for Serious Adventurers! Urbanites stick with your TNF and save your money for Lattes! |