Arc'teryx Epsilon AR Jacket - Men's - 2007 BCS

This was my first soft shell jacket. It's a pretty good value. The large fit me perfectly at 5'11", 170 lbs with a 42 inch chest. Athletic fit. I really liked the cut of the cuffs, the sleeve length, the dropped hem and the front length. The chest pockets aren't huge, but can holded a folded over map. Very nice looking to my taste. Light, packs down pretty darn well. It's not super stretchy, (like the Gamma MX, which I tried on) but is stretchy enough. Breathability is good, presumably at the cost of wind-proofness. Biking to work on a 55 degree morning, the wind definitely cuts through the arms, though not as much on the torso. It's not completely porous; it does block the wind. But if you hold the jacket up to a light, you can see light through the weave. It worked best in combination with a long sleeved base layer. It held off a moderate drizzle for almost 3 hours ducking in and out of temples in Japan, finally damping out, but still not allowing me to get soaked. Useless as rainwear in anything more than a drizzle. It breathes well enough that I could wear it up to about 65 degrees without being too warm as long as I wasn't hill-climbing. The cuffs aren't really stretchy enough to push up my forearms to vent. (Why wear a jacket over 65 degrees anyways?) Comfortable down to 50 with only a t-shirt, so long as the wind isn't too bad. And it is definitely abrasion resistant. I've never had any fear of ripping a hole in it. Overall, I can't imagine a better reasonably priced soft shell.

I live in San Francisco and this jacket has served me well in the weeks since I bought it. Buy beware, it is more form fitting than most tops I have owned, but I think that is an element that goes hand in hand with Arc'teryx gear. If you are from the area than you can appreciate the fact that I watched the 49'ers win their Monday Night Football game at Candlestick/Monster park in just this jacket and a T-shirt. That place gets windy and cold and this jacket withstood the test. I totally recommend it!

I just got this jacket in Sept. 06 and love it. This is my second softshell, the first was Mountain Hardwear Offwidth. The Epsilon AR is such a better fit, its athletic but not really that tight. It is also the best materials I've seen for the price. Anything from running to class to a lazy stroll around the park to nailin' some nice routes its at home. The only thing I'm not huge on is the lack of hand pockets, two lower pockets would be nice....but its still a kickin' jacket.

I just got this jacket and it rocks. Size L ( I am 5'11''-175) its fits awesome and works so well for layering. Perfect for hikes, climbing, touring anything.

So versatile, light but bombproof. I wear the thing daily, casual to climbing, trail running to classes. Arc'teryx is not a brand that'll fail you.