What is the Alpha AR jacket?
The Alpha AR is all the jacket you'll ever need for reliable, bombproof protection in the mountains. It's aimed primarily at climbers, mountaineers and alpinists and features a mixture of different Gore-Tex fabrics. It gives you all the tech, features and durability you'd expect from Arc'teryx with a focus on climbing, mountaineering and alpinism. The 'AR' stands for All-Round, which is exactly what this jacket embodies. It will keep you dry and protected from the car, up to the top of the steepest climbs and back down again.
What is the Alpha AR made of?
The Alpha AR uses two different versions of Gore-Tex Pro — Most Breathable in the main bulk of the jacket and Most Rugged in areas which require greater protection. This gives you optimum breathability in areas where you'll perspire more and higher amounts of durability in areas prone to constant rain and snow. The outer fabric follows the same trend, with a super-tough 80D nylon used in high-wear areas and a more breathable, pliable and comfortable 40D used in the main body and arms.
What are the features?
One of the only parts of any waterproof jacket that isn't breathable is the seam taping. Seams are held together with glue and tape, however, sweat can't pass through the glue. To combat this, Arc'teryx have reduced the size of the seams to a minuscule 8mm wide — this doesn't just increase breathability, but increases the comfort and reliability of the jacket as there are fewer places for moisture to ingress. The jacket also features two external pockets that sit above the harness line and one internal security pocket for electronics or keys. Underneath both arms you'll find zips which open the underarms to allow air to pass through when you're working hard. The helmet-compatible StormHood means you can fit a climbing helmet underneath when needed, but when the extra volume isn’t needed you have adjustments in all the right places to synch it down to normal head size.
Inside the hem of the hood is a Recco reflector (we'll forgive you if you've never heard of this!). If the worst should happen, this reflector can be picked up by rescuers with a transmitter, giving them your approximate location.
Moving down, the hem is adjusted with Coheasive adjusters — these are like little buttons which sit inside the fabric, meaning you can adjust them easily when wearing bulky gloves or mitts. The lack of traditional drawcords also means there's no chance of them being caught on crampons or axes. Cleverly, these little buttons sit neatly underneath a climbing harness, preventing the jacket from rising up during use. Even small things such as the zip pulls have been changed to TPU rather than rope, as this prevents them freezing and becoming unusable. While we're on the subject of zips, Arc'teryx have reduced the weight of the jacket by removing the zip garages (the little bit of fabric that houses the zip pull) and simply made a recess in the fabric itself for the zip to slide into. Both are as reliable and effective as the other, but the latter is lighter (and looks better).
How does the Alpha AR fit?
The Alpha AR features a 'regular' fit, meaning there's room for extra layers underneath without being all big and baggy. There's plenty of articulation in the shoulders and back for unrestricted movements while climbing and the back features a drop hem for greater coverage. For reference, the centre back length is 79.5cm.
- Gore-Tex Pro Most Breathable & Most Rugged
- Mixture of 40D and 80D fabrics
- Helmet-compatible StormHood
- Recco reflector in hood
- Two large chest pockets
- One internal security pocket
- WaterTight pit zips
- Cohaesive hem adjusters
- Custom TPU zip pulls
- Drop hem for greater coverage
- Articulated fit