Arc'teryx Atom LT Hoody Men's | Lightweight Versatile Synthetically Insulated Hoody

I own a bunch of arcteryx coats and jackets.Atom LTs are my go to jacket for lightweight late fall/earth winter temps. Have had several in other colorways: grey, blue, orange. Wanted to try a lighter shade this time.Great but minimal water resistance - if you expect a lot then you know you need an outer shell.Delivers a lot of warmth. Compressible. Style is simple, not overly boring.

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I patiently read lots of articles and researched outdoor websites after watching a few YouTube videos praising this jacket. Even though it was nearly $250, I made the leap of faith that it would be 'next level' in the form of lightweight, packable and warm. Instead of real down feathers, the jacket features synthetic insulation. Instead of a generic term like polyester (which I'm sure it is some form of) Arc'Terxy uses the trademarked brand name "Coreloft™ Compact 60". It's marketed as "minimalist". And that's exactly what you get. Literally, very little insulation. What is between the top layer and the backing must be no more than 1/8" thick, so yes "lightweight" and "packable". I wrestled with 'do I give it 4 stars or 3?" Because I don't think you're getting that much extra for the money, I don't see the value benefit, so it's a "middle of the road" but well-made jacket.Bottom line: Despite glowing reviews, in my opinion, it comes down to preceived warmth. Because you're pending $250, you might convince yourself you're warmer, but most likely not. I did admittedly unscientific comparisons of fleece jackets, and other jackets made of man-made materials and determined I was foolish in chasing a really cool logo.In most situations, down insulation will be your best bet. It's warmer, lighter, more compactable, and will last longer than any synthetic insulation coat.Granted, man-made insulation can get wet, have quick dry times, durability and retains warmth when damp but the problem I have is for the PRICE, you don't get much but a cool company logo letting those in the know you're part of their elite fashion team. This jacket is for two types of people, folks with money (luxury symbol, nothing wrong with that) and those outdoor enthusiasts that represent the 3% hardcore technical backpackers who are getting after it every weekend and who LAYER.This isn't a 'walking to the store-be-back-in-an hour' warm jacket for the other 97%. For literally $150 less, I recommended you get a Columbia jacket that is tailored almost identically, with comparable features using "polyester" (vice the fill-in-the-blank fancy name material that makes you believe you'll be 10x warmer than those peasants with simple polyester fill jackets) because either way, you're going to put another jacket on over it to be warm in temps at or under 40 degrees. Might as well spend your $150 elsewhere.If you actually made it this far, I appreciate you. I'll end with this, I had road cycling friends that would obsess over shaving as much weight off their custom carbon bikes, literally tracking the grams ("oh, I can't buy these bike pedals, they are ridiculously heavy at 275 grams; I'll go for these over here because even though they're $100 more, they are only 250 grams!"). But then just before a ride, we get together and they'd drink a pitcher of beer, smash a pound of wings and not think twice. This jacket is for them. If they had a $5000 bike, their ride times would be the same as if their bike cost $1500 but they'd think it made them a faster rider. Same is true with preceived warmth and comfort. A dose of skepticism is good for the soul, and your wallet...

If you're here, you want this jacket. It is extremely warm, soft, well featured, and styled well. Buy it.

Warner than expected

My finacee loved his new jacket. He is 5"11 and XL was the perfect size!

Bought this a little over a month ago. Kept me warm enough on a few hikes around 40F. For a price tag over $200 it better do at least that. Anyway it does tend to absorb odors pretty easily, after maybe 5 intense hikes/uses it was smelling pretty dank. So I read the tag on the inside of the garment which says simply "DO NOT USE FABRIC SOFTENER / DO NOT WRING / FRONT LOAD WASHER RECOMMENDED". To be safe I put it on gentle/delicate cycle in both the washer and dryer and did NOT use fabric softener. Came out of the dryer with this huge gap/hole formed on the left side at the top of the zipper. If washing it on delicate cycle results in this kind of wear, it's ridiculous that they advertise this as some kind of "Rugged / outdoor / survivalist" product. I wish I could get my money back but it has unfortunately been JUST over 30 days since I bought the stupid thing. Just get a standard Down Jacket from any big box retailer, it'll probably be a fraction of the price, keep you just as warm, and not fall apart after one wash.

Amazing jacket. Very lightweight but very warm. Love it. Somytionwarm for hot wet weather. Does an amazing job.