Arcteryx used to be next to none. While their designs are still good, they have become a North Face of today since they outsourced their production to China. It was interesting to hear their reps doing mental gymnastics as to why the customer should be paying the same price they used to pay for a Canadian-made hard-shell for a China-made one.
Unfortunately, another brand of comparable quality and innovation, Westcomb, never gained traction in the US. Westcomb was still made in Canada and tried NOT to use Gore materials, which, for reasons unknown have become more and more trash-bag sounding. I still have my trusty Theta AR from years ago and the difference in noise, compared to the Beta AR of today is dumbfounding...
But, we are obedient, ignorant consumers and after a while, Arcteryx has become the new North Face on the slopes and pretty much nobody cared that it was made in China and got bought by a huge sport conglomerate:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc%27teryx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amer_Sports
Then, Amer Sport got bought out by...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anta_Sports
And in just the last couple of years, Arc'teryx (who puts on a good "ethical" manufacturing face), moved their manufacturing to one of the most ethical places on Earth:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_genocide
It's kinda entertaining to see some of the jackets with "Myanmar" and some with "Burma". Worry not, Arc'teryx will still ask well over half-a-grand for the MSRP on this thing. I guess this is what was meant by "Anta Sports shall provide R&D and production resources"... The upside is that now, when you smell the desperation and destitute of the workers who make these things, the smell is that much more intoxicating and you can really understand the "value" for which you've paid.
Feature wise, this is not a bad shell, BUT the collar and the hood suck - just use the same layout as the one on Beta SV already. Again, the shell sounds like a garbage bag when moving around. It is that bad. Someone made a comment to that effect within seconds of me trying this on. Your fit and mileage (and level of intoxication once you realize what you have just financed by your purchase) may vary.
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