[Closed] Anyone good at ArcTeryx jacket identification??

Looks like a Gamma softshell

Is there a prize?

A Gamma variant?

They've had 100s of slightly different models over the years.

Trying to find a review.

Best to figure out which family eg SL (super light), AR (All round), FL (Fast and Light), MX (Mixed use ?) etc as that will make a big difference in fabric thickness / warmth / durability.

Agree, Gamma MX I think. Has it got a fleece backing inside or not? If not might be an LT (?). Looks a good few years old though. I use mine a lot for autumn riding.

There should be code on the label, if you search on that, it’ll tell you what it is, when/where it was made etc

The elastic cuff design is a clue to the model and possibly vintage

Cheers peeps.

Spotted it on Marketplace - worn a couple of times then sat in a wardrobe. I bought it, as it was only $50 so worth a punt. A nice lady is dropping it off at 9am tomorrow for me. Not that I need another jacket, but essentially 25 quid, I'll let you know. So is it a goretex variant? All I have is this one pic. Kinda looks like a grey microfleece lining?

might be an epsilon hoody? used to have with that had wrists like that. fairly light softshell, very little water resistance.

So is it a goretex variant?

The Gamma jackets are more like a windstopper style fabric, not waterproof, but will shrug off a short shower. Depending on the jacket type you make have a slightly fleecy inside to the fabric.

Arcteryx use a lot of their own fabrics (made by Tyro in Japan IIRC), so it's not a Gore / Polartec fabric.

Well there's no item name inside the jacket but there are some codes.

CA#34438 on the main label / jacket Arc Teryx hanger loop. Made in China.

On the washing label it has 12275 68528 01/14 (which I'm guessing is year of manufacture?) and seems to point at it being a Gamma LT from 2015 range.

Extremely good condition - not holes or tears. Quick water splash check and it beads off, doesn't seem to soak in with a light splatter. Fit is really good - it's medium and perfect fit.

Only slight issue is the hood draw string is missing (but the cinch toggle at the back of the hood is there. I'm just giving it a quick wash at 30c. Shame it's 30c today - little too warm for a softshell. But perfect for my trip to Europe I reckon.

All in all, for 25 quid it seems a good deal.

Arcteryx use a lot of their own fabrics (made by Tyro in Japan IIRC), so it’s not a Gore / Polartec fabric.

Early versions of the Gamma MX at least used Polartec PowerShield, though to be fair, that was a long time ago. I have one upstairs. What's impressive is that it still looks visibly Arc'teryx and still works fine, most stuff from that era - probably early 2000s - looks incredibly dated now.

Oh yeah for sure. "Vintage" TNF stuff looks real old school now. Almost as much as the Berghaus fleeces everyone had in the early 90s

Considering the label on this jacket says 2014 you really couldn't tell. And, it fits perfectly (I'm always in between M and L - skinny short body and long arms) but this one's juuuuuuuust right. I don't think it's been worn much at all as the DWR appears to be doing its job (yeah I know it's not waterproof).

Anyway, have a lovely Sunday evening everyone.

Mark

Only slight issue is the hood draw string is missing (but the cinch toggle at the back of the hood is there.

Could the cord still be there, but lost it’s toggles and pulled inside the hood? If so, it should be possible to work it back out through the eyelets and know the ends.

Oh yeah for sure. “Vintage” TNF stuff looks real old school now.

Depends - I’ve got a Nuptse jacket and gilet that I bought with a staff lottery win at a place I used to work at, apart from som slight detail changes, they don’t look much different to current versions. I left there in 2003, they’re older than that.

Just had a shufti at NF, and they’ve re-introduced the Nuptse as the 1996 Retro, which seems about right. My lottery share was £250, which paid for both items, the jacket alone is £290 now.

Nah no cordage at all around the face bit -just the cinch at the back. It's no biggie - I could use some paracord and I've got some toggles.

I guess some designs age better than others in terms of how they hold up over the years. My old Helly Hansen jacket looks it's age!

I guess some designs age better than others in terms of how they hold up over the years. My old Helly Hansen jacket looks it’s age!

I think down garments tend to age relatively well - mostly they're just tubes of down on top of each other in a Michelin Man style, but shell clothing has changed dramatically with more sophisticated cuts, different colours, updated components etc.

Arc'teryx [used] to say that it saw itself as product engineering company rather than a clothing brand and one of the basic tests it used for any new product was whether it looked distinctively 'Arc'teryx', so it's had really distinctive style lines all the way through, they've just been subtly updated over the years, but a pre-2010 Gamma MX is still recognisably a Gamma MX today, despite using different fabrics and a now dated-looking water-resistant zip. Not sure that ethos will survive the Chinese ownership though, I've been told a lot of their staff have jumped ship as a result, but that's just anecdotal.

Not sure that ethos will survive the Chinese ownership though

When did that happen?

Is production now in China, or just Chinese owned?

When did that happen?

In 2019, Amer Sports, which also owns Salomon, Peak Performance, ENVE and others, was bought by Anta Sports, big Chinese sports conglomerate. Allegedly the feeling is that they're more focussed on the Chinese domestic market where Arc'teryx is an aspiration urban brand, but as per my previous post, that's anecdotal and may not be entirely true. Because the desig /production process takes a couple of years before outdoor clothing hits the market and covid will have impacted that too, if there is a switch of emphasis, it'll only be apparent about now.

I just want to know where all their shorts have gone 🙁

Is production now in China, or just Chinese owned?

As far as I know they still have their Canadian factory, which makes some of their high-end technical stuff, but a fair bit of their stuff has been produced in the far east for ages now, as per pretty much every other big outdoor brand out there.

When did that happen?

Already did 🙁

I remember my first job (1999/2000) in an outdoor shop we started selling Arcteryx, it was like nothing else on the market at the time - took a lot of time for the other big companies to catch up!

Already did 🙁

The Veillance stuff's been around for ages as their in-house, niche fashion brand. What's noticeable is that the marketing stuff, which used to be focussed on models who either looked like they were, or at least could be, climbers, now seems to feature fey-looking fashionas prancing around looking trendy and a bit wet.

As far as I know they still have their Canadian factory, which makes some of their high-end technical stuff, but a fair bit of their stuff has been produced in the far east for ages now, as per pretty much every other big outdoor brand out there.

They only ever made a very small amount in Canada - just their flagship pieces. All my stuff has made in Malaysia etc on the labels.

The Veillance stuff’s been around for ages as their in-house

Forgot about that, most of it looks gopping and ridiculously priced.

Forgot about that, most of it looks gopping and ridiculously priced.

Yep.It generally goes badly for outdoors brands when they decide to do 'fashion' at any level. Karrimor's descent into mediocrity started at the point where they decided to trendify themselves after FHM or someone featured an unremarkable fleece top which proceeded to sell out - just making everything in light blue with a stylised union jacket badge doesn't mean peope are going to rush out and buy it . Mostly Arc'teryx has avoided all that crap by basically ignoring it. Except for Veillance, which always felt like a sort blow-off valve to keep fashion away from its mainstream range. Anyway...

Great info.

I had no idea the brand has a trendy following a designer street wear (Virgil Abloh / Drake / Kanye etc etc. I suppose that's fairly standard for decent brands.

Would I have spent #$300 on a jacket? Nah. But I do love tech fabrics / clothing. I have a couple of ex military jsckets, few TNF items. I tend to spot bargains on the likes of Marketplace as stuff can be crazily priced here in Aus. Picked up an unworn TNF hoodie for $30 last night - unworn with tags (as I wanted a new / light / warm hoodie for the various flights I've got coming up). What I see a tonne of is tech clothing for silly prices - usually sold by some dude's partner who has no concept of the original cost. Meh, my win.

Anywho. 6 days til I leave Australia. Yikes.