Great Backcountry Skiing Jacket

By pmu2556650 Ranked #2843 - Men's Softshell Jackets April 20, 2009

I bought the Seeker Comp to replace my old Mammut Lazer Jacket. I wanted a helmet compatible hood, and better breathability than the Mammut had. I got all that and a whole lot more.
The seeker comp is a "hybrid" jacket meaning that it's made of both hardshell and softshell materials. In this case, the PTFE is pretty waterproof/breathable and it comprises the hood, shoulders, tops of the sleeves, and bottom hemline of the jacket. The more breathable fabric is on the chest, back, and bottoms of sleeves. This makes the jacket very breathable, light, and compressable, but still with good weather resistance.
This jacket is not marketed as a hardshell waterproof jacket. If that's what you're looking for, Arc'Teryx makes a number of Gore-Tex jackets to fit your needs. If you're a backcountry skier / ski mountaineer looking for a great coat, this may be it. I'm 5'8" 145# and a small fits me well. It's athletically cut so I can layer some under or pull a puffy over for really bad weather. With a simple T or base layer under, I can skin fast without sweating through everything. The helmet-compatible hood keeps the spindrift out when I'm booting up a couloir. The powder skirt works well for snorkel days. The fabric cuts (doesn't eliminate totally) the wind. If you need a warmer coat, pull one over this or skin faster. The cut keeps the jacket from pulling up when you're climbing. Nice pockets work with a harness.
A damn near perfect backcountry skiing jacket.

View Details: Arc'teryx Seeker Comp Softshell Jacket - Men's

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