Great shell. But...

By Colorado_Rocks Ranked #351 - Men's Technical Shells December 3, 2009

First, let me start off by saying this is a wonderfully-made, quality shell. I'm 5'6" 150lbs, and after reading many reviews I got a size Small. It fits me perfectly with just a t-shirt underneath. But I'm not sure about the fit once layers are added. Today is in the single-digits where I live, so I thought I would try it out. I wore a tight thermal shirt with my TNF Redpoint jacket under the Theta AR. The Theta is just so close-fitting that there just doesn't seem to be enough "space" between the cold air and my skin, so I could feel the cold coming in a lot...it's as if the tight fit of the Theta is compressing the insulation layer too much and making it less of a barrier. Not to mention, the armpits rise up quite high and press against my underarms...I felt the outside of the jacket armpit, and there was a lot of warmth escaping. I would probably be warmer just wearing the Redpoint by itself. I've tried on the size Medium at the store and it's pretty big on me with layering and HUGE on me without layering. Now if only there was a size that's between small and medium, it would be perfect for me. So I'm going to keep the small and use it for spring/summer/fall, when I'm not wearing an insulation layer underneath. I might try to find a used Medium for the winter, when I need layering and warmth...but these things are not cheap, so it really sucks that I have to do that to get 4-season use out of it.
This frustrates me quite a bit, since lots of people writing reviews who are bigger than I am say the small is a little loose on them. It's definitely bigger than the average small, but not as much as I thought it would be. Does anybody else notice this?

View Details: Arc'teryx Theta AR Jacket - Men's

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes