Designed for the serious mountaineer, this GORE-TEX Pro Shell delivers exceptional strength and durability and provides enough room for layers in an all-mountain cut. Welded components, micro-tape construction and a helmet-ready hood meet the elements head on.
Durable All Mountain Jacket
I went back and forth between the ARC'TERYX Theta AR, OR Mentor and this jacket for a few weeks. I ended up going with the Beryllium mainly because I got a good deal on it. Overall I like the jacket a lot and it will suit my demands for the next couple years (14er Mountaineering, US Alpine Climbing, Ski Touring, PNW Backpacking, everyday abuse). The fit is good and as expected, I'm 6'0 155 skinny-med build. I wear a MED is every brand of outdoor clothing and the size medium fits great, sleeves are a little long (even for overhead reaching, climbing) but it's not to bad and I see this with almost all shells. I love the hood, helmet compatible, one hand drawchord works awesome. Jacket has a drawchord about a quarter the way up the bottom of the jacket (similar to where a snowskirt would be), I'm not exactly sure the idea behind that but I guess while alpine/rock climbing you could make it tight and leave the bottom drawchord loose so that it lays over your harness. I played around with it and dont see the jacket gaining much from it. The only other thing I really don't like about this jacket is the double flap front zip. Waterproof zippers have proven their durability over the years and everyone has moved them so I'm a little confused why Mtn Hrdwr went with the old school design in that area. I also would have liked to see some reinforced material on shoulders/sleeves. Used the jacket in the rain and in heavy snow and it performs excellent as you would expect; GORE TEX PRO is the best out there. I think the Theta AR and Mentor are burlier jackets overall and for the same price I would pick one of the other mentioned. That being said this is a great jacket that I anticipate getting years of good use out of, I have no concerns using it on my winter mountaineering trips!
