Arc'teryx Theta SL Jacket

I just bought this jacket today. The temp's 21 with windchill. I wore this shell with a t-shirt, thin fleece long sleeve, softshell, and then the Theta SL outside. I was lightly sweating just standing around, and walking the dog.

I'd want to go with less layers and something with more of a goose down or pullover Patagonia sweater on the inside over a t-shirt. I can say that this doesn't breath well, but it's been my experience of gortex that they never quite "breath" as well as they say they do.

I have never had a nicer made jacket, and I've had several military gortex jackets and pants in the army.

All that being said I'm 6'1" and roughly 190 or so, and an XL is perfect in the arm length, yet slightly long in the torso area.

I have had this jacket for about a year and a half now and use it primarily for backpacking and skiing.

The Good:
The jacket is WATERPROOF. I live in Juneau, Alaska, and in wet years Juneau has more than 250 days of precipitation, so this jacket has been tested quite a bit. I bought this to replace an 8-year-old North Face shell that I absolutely loved. The fit is good, esp. if you want to climb with it because the cut accommodates a harness well. The hood is stowable but is not too thin to actually function.

The Bad:
I was a little disappointed with the cut of the body because Arc'teryx generally has an athletic fit, but this jacket has a lot of extra material in the body. Doesn't seem to vent as well as I would think for Gore-tex. When I am done skiing, I am generally wetter on the inside than the outside. Pit-zips generally help this, but I don't have this problem with other shells that I own.

Overall I like this jacket a lot, but would never shell out retail price.

I bought the Theta SL for one reason, lightweight DURABLE protection form the elements, and it simply delivers. It has become the standard by which I measure all my other gear. It was the lightest 3ply GTX shell I could find when I bought it one year ago, and so far it has performed up to my expectations.

The construction, as usual for Arc'Teryx is perfect, seriously perfect, and the design is darn near perfect. They have the best hood design I have ever worn. The only way it could be better would be to make it from stretch fabric, and add just a little bit of elastic at the cuffs. That is the only reason it gets four stars, and really that should be like a 4.8, but not 5, it's not that perfect. At this point though, the new Alpha SL looks even better, hence you cannot get the Theta SL anymore. Great jacket, great company.