User Review: Arc'teryx Men's Gamma AR Jacket

This jacket retails at about £200 in Britain, but a friend sold me his as it was too big. He had bought it in a sale and I paid him £30 for the grey version. Could be the bargain of the century!

I have owned it for three years and have spent two winter weeks in Scotland wearing it, three, two week trips to mountain areas in Norway and spent two years skiing for a week each time in France and Italy. The jacket has performed admirably and kept the wind and cold at bay, usually with a Brynje polypropelene string vest, plus one or two merino wool vests underneath, depending on how cold it was.

Mine has no hood, so I wear a headover with a Lowe Alpine cap which seals me in really well. The jacket is beautifully cut and flatters my physique, as well as allowing for freedom of movement. The material is very very tough and gives a feeling of wearing a suit of armour almost. The two front pockets are well placed and will take a map, which is vital on my Scottish trips. It is reasonably water resistant and dries quickly. The jacket is cut short, but I find this not to be a problem.

Considering the battering it has received, the material and stitching are holding up really well, although I have overstitched a couple of frayed stitch areas with thread of the correct colour. If I am honest with myself, my Montane extreme smock, is a far better all round winter performer, but do I want to look like a sack of potatoes or Mr Cool in the bar at the end of the day?!!

I expect the jacket to last me out as I am 62 and own more outdoor gear than almost anyone on the planet!! A consequence of decades of mountaineering and skiing and being unable to resist a bargain. Arc'teryx: so expensive, so much THE LABEL to be seen in. Now come on, don't all you posers out there deny it!!!