This article provides additional information on the various offerings in the Arc’teryx Professional Jacket line as of 2019.
As I’m sure you know, Arc’teryx makes a line of jackets (and other items) specifically for professionals which are sold via their pro-member site. However, that site doesn’t provide very much information on these great products. This can make an online purchase difficult. However, that’s the only choice we have as these items are not carried in stores. To solve this issue I’ve put together a little write-up on each of the jackets with the help of the great people at Arc’teryx. But before getting to the jacket details I’m going to touch on the new Dope Dye option.
Dope Dye:
Professional users have indicated that colour fading from UV exposure, particularly when working at higher elevations, is an issue with hardshell jackets. Dope dyeing results in a fabric with much more resistance to colour-fading from this UV exposure while also reducing CO2 emissions and water usage. A win-win! However, it requires Arc’teryx to order large quantities of fabric per colour from their supplier. Because of this supply challenge Arc’teryx is piloting the new dope dye fabric in a single colour, red, for now. Eventually this technology may spread to additional colours if they’re able to meet the order minimums.
You may have noticed that the dope dye jackets don’t have the signature orange panel on the top of the hood. This is because of the bulk fabric purchase issue discussed above. As Arc’teryx cannot get this fabric in the iconic orange colour economically at this point they would have to use a non-dope dye fabric instead. However, due to the resilience of the dope dye fabric to colour-fading the choice was made to not combine them with non-dope dye fabrics for the first generation of products as they may fade at different rates. Of course Arc’teryx will continue to undertake field testing and seek feedback from professional users like us and could potentially choose to introduce a high visibility hood on the dope dyed products in the future.
Ski Guide Jacket vs. Alpine Guide Jacket
The Alpine Guide and Ski Guide jackets feature the same sizing, fit and material. They’re differentiated solely by their features, such as pocket and hood configurations. The Alpine Guide jacket is a fairly stripped down and simple jacket whereas the Ski Guide jacket has all the bells and whistles.
Fit: Arc’teryx used their Regular Fit on both the Alpine & Ski Guide jackets. This is the same fit that’s used on the Alpha AR & SV or the Beta AR & SV. It’s looser than the Trim Fit that’s used on the Alpha FL or Beta LT.
Ski Guide vs. Alpine Guide Feature Chart:
Practitioner AR Hoody:
The Practitioner AR Hoody is an active insulation piece that seems to be based on the Proton line. The external fabric and design is quite similar to the Proton LT though it features dual chest pockets .The Practitioner is insulated with 88g Polartec® Alpha which creates a highly breathable but still quite warm jacket that’s ideal for medium output activities on cold days. For comparison the Proton LT is insulated with 80g Coreloft™ and so is arguably a bit warmer but less breathable and compressible.
Practitioner AR Hoody Features:
- Fit: Trim
- Dual chest pockets
- Dual hand pockets
- Helmet compatible hood with drawcord
- Dropback hem with drawcord
On a final note, individual pro orders placed online do not come with a logo. However, ACMG members may contact Arc’teryx prior to ordering to add the ACMG and IFMGA logos to their jackets for an additional cost. I’m sure the same is true for the CAA and other organizations partnered with Arc’teryx. Other logos, reflective heat transfers and velcro are only available for group uniform orders.
Black Sheep Adventure Sports was provided with test samples of the various jackets to aid in preparing this article but we were not influenced or reimbursed by Arc’teryx or any other organization.
