Arc'teryx Tau Pullover - Men's - 2007 BCS

When I bought this, I expected a much more trim and athletic fit, however, the pullover is admittedly somewhat baggy (I'm 5'11'' and 130 lbs and a small is still a bit large). Furthermore, it's far from wind or weather proof. The upside is that it is substantially more wind resistant than a typical fleece. However, because the Tau isn't much cheaper than a light jacket such as the Gamma AR, it's difficult to recommend this product when a light jacket will perform better in most conditions. Use the Tau as a high-end layering piece, but don't rely on it to fulfil the role of a jacket.

I got the Titanium one and it definitely looks better than the pictures here. My wife even commented multiple times on how nice it looks. It is pretty warm for a pullover too. However this pullover it just too long to go with my current softshells as it peeks out about an inch or so below all of them... and these include BC's Shift Softshell, Arc'teryx Trident, Arc'teryx Gamma MX Hoody, and Mountain Hardware's Windstopper Tech. It does layer well under my hardshells though because they are longer.

So I was hesitant to spend this much for a fleece even with the sale price of a buck twenty. Is it expensive for a fleece? Yes, very. Is it worth it? Yes and I'm actually tempted to purchase another because I like it so much. I pretty much live in this thing now.

This is another really nice Arc'teryx product. I wear it has a base layer, and it's warm and comfortable. The material has good wind resistance and fair waterproofing, sort of a 'best of both worlds' compromise which means it does breathe well yet works for most activities. The material itself is a little strange in a good way; it feels a bit like like soft foam rubber. Thee torso length is long; it goes down almost to the middle of my butt. With a pack on, my lower back sweats where the hip belt rests, but I feel totally dry. If I place my hand there, I can feel how wet the shirt is - all of the moisture has been absorbed away from the skin. Full retail price is tough to take, but they go on sale once in a while, and then it's well worth it. I have two, so I'm convinced.

I bought this piece to wear under my Gamma MX Hooded jacked when I go boarding. I went boarding last year and froze, and went again this year to the same place and stayed toasty. I only got cold once on a slow lift in the rain at night, so I would recommend it. I got a medium and it fits great under my large Gamma MX

First off, I want to say that Backcountry.com sent my order promptly will good communication throughout. I am very satisfied with their service.

Secondly, the Arc'teryx Tau is a very nice, stylish, and well constructed shirt. So for that, it gets 2 stars. I call it a shirt because that's all it really is - a half-zip sweatshirt. Calling it a jacket is a bit of a stretch.

Calling the fiber "Wind Pro" and leading folks to believe the garment will protect you from winds is another whopper.

After reading the reviews here and reading the description, I thought to myself, "Wow, maybe this shirt really IS worth $200. Maybe it IS some kind of super-amazing space-age fabric. Toasty warm, light, wind proof, stylish. All that and a bag of Doritos"

Well, sorry to break it to you fleece people, but its not any of these things and I'm still hungry.

Lets talk about amazing fabrics. Gore-Tex is an amazing fabric. Gore Windstopper is unbelievable. It doesn't let ANY wind in AND it lets your skin breathe. Now THATS performance and innovation in my book. What is the Arc'teryx Tau? It is polyester polar fleece that's woven just a wee bit tighter than regular fleece and the face is smoother so it doesn't pill. Oooh! What an innovation!!! God bless you Arc'teryx!! please take $200 of my hard-earned money for this amazing shirt. It's changed my life forever.

By the way, a size medium fit me very well. A medium! I am 6'1" 195 pounds, athletic build, and a medium fit me very well! That is RIDICULOUS sizing in my opinion. Ridiculous. But no worries thanks to backcountry.com's guidance, I ordered a size down.

I put it on, went outside, it was cold, a breeze blew and I sure as heck felt it. Most of my wool sweaters that cost $40 perform better than this. Hell, a $15 windbreaker from Wal Mart would perform better than this. Was it "4-times more wind resistant" than my other polar fleece sweaters? Heck no. But to be fair, I suppose it depends on how you quantify that. I'm sure it performs 4 times better than some polar fleece out there somewhere. Maybe. Who knows.

Bottom line. It's going back. Sure it fits nice, after I got the tip about sizing down. And it looks decent, but I can think of so many better ways to spend $200. Why anyone would spend this much money on a sweatshirt, I have no idea. The local sporting goods stores are always having clearance sales on polar fleece and you could get at least 4 for the price of this one. Hopefully this post will stop the insanity.

I love this shirt.....great color (cactus), tailored fit, long sleeves (I'm a woman with long arms so I buy men's smalls all the time)..... repels much wind so it doesn't breathe as well as some thinner fleece, so I use it when I need more heat.....like winter time and late fall... or stormy mountain weather. I love the pocket on the chest and arm. I love the high neck....since mine needs more protection or I get sore throats. And I love the long torso length since I have a long torso. I love the weave of the fleece.... gives a permanent loft to the fabric. It washes and dries super.
The only thing is that under pack belts the fabric does pill up. But I'm living with that!
Mary Ann Rombach

I haven't gotten a chance to trail-test this yet (just got it), but I wanted to note that it was manufactured in Canada (not China). I couldn't find out where it was made anywhere online, so figured someone may want to know.

I'll give the pullover 4 stars initially. It fits quite well (6'3" 200lb and a large is great) but I'm taking a star off because it is so long. The zipper is really nice as well, because it comes down so low on the chest.

yep, it's not a full blown jacket, and as it is an arcteryx piece, it is expensive (even on sale).

that said, it is very well made (stitching, attention to details) and the materials are very nice for what they are, relative to expectations.

wish i could have kept it, but a size S was way too big for me (i'm 5'7", 138lbs). the sleeves were a tad long but most notably there was way too much room in the body and waist area of the shirt, almost as if it was made for someone mor in the 160lb range. most smalls from mt hardwear, marmot, OR, even some north face stuff fits pretty well and trim...so this was disappointing.

Love this fleece. It loses a star because of its price. They run REALLY large. I ended up sending my large back for a medium. At 6ft 175 pounds I could easily fit 2 fleeces beneath the tau and it hung below my shells. The medium still allows for a lightweight fleece under it and has the length to cover my torso but doesn't hang under my shells. My other Arc'teryx fleeces are large and fit extremely well.

This shirt is really sweet. Not very bulky but still warm enough to wear skiing with a hardshell over it. But also light enough to wear on cool fall or spring days. Love this as a top or mid layer in for any cool weather activity.

very warm and comfy, a little bulky though. pretty weatherproof also.

My husband has had the Tau for 4 years and wears it all the time. When say all the time I'm serious! If you look at our pics from New Zealand, he's wearing it. Germany, wearing it. France, wearing it. New England, wearing it. Montana, wearing it. San Diego, wearing it. It's a little embarassing, but hey what am I gonna do? He has other Arc'teryx pullovers but this one is by far his favorite. So, it's X-mas time and he's put it down on his list again. The other one has been washed over 100 times and is still going, but he figures it could use a rest. Needless to say, I'm here shopping for a "replacement."

Can't say enough good things about this pullover. Sure it may be expensive, but it's totally worth it. Great as an outer layer on spring/fall days. Works excellent under a shell as an insulating mid layer. The inner fleece is so soft and the outer face repels water and wind effectively. One thing of note: I found the sizing to be a bit off with this piece. I normally fit perfectly into an Arc'teryx Large, but found I was swimming in this one. The Medium I exchanged it for fit great. Maybe the tags were mixed up at the factory?

Excellent. I wore it skiing in New Hampshire under a shell and was fine all day. Runs a little small, order a size up.

As with all Arc’teryx gear this is nothing short of perfect. It’s good enough to wear with a T-shirt and to temps to 40. This pullover keeps you warm and sheds water for those cold misty days. Excellent piece of equipment.

A nice second-layer pullover.

This is another beautiful piece by Arc'teryx. Pricey? You bet, but worth it. This is the perfect layer for cool weather hiking with a light wicking layer underneath. Decent wind blocking protection and excellent light weight insulation keep you comfortable in a wide variety of conditions. The perfect layer.

I wore the Tau Pullover a couple of times now and I'm not thoroughly convinced that it's worth the money. The first time I wore it, I was skiing for two days. Both days I wore a cold gear under armour under it and I was cold on the first day and comfortable on the second. I also wore it running once in 23 degree weather. Again I wore a cold gear under armour under it, and I was warm. So right now, it's kept me warm two out of three times - 66%. That's not bad. It is comfortable and looks great. But I still ask myself if it was worth the money. I have other pieces in my wardrobe that cost half to a third of the price and work just as well. So I'm still not convinced....