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James

Site owner at Canadianomad

I sold everything 8 years ago to play professional sports & explore the world. After living in 7 countries, I made this to share everything. 100% authentic and strange!

Latest posts by James (see all)

• review: Arc’Teryx Gamma lightweight jacket – what OutdoorGearLab doesn’t tell you - October 22, 2025
• Has AI killed it all? The future of this website & my projects - October 12, 2025
• Review: Lono Wild – Best budget barefoot hiking shoes around? - April 30, 2025

I expected a lot from this jacket, and maybe that was the problem.

However, I paid $275 brand new for it…

I have owned it for 2.5 years now, so let me tell you how its gone in this unbiased, honest review of the Arc’Teryx Gamma Lightweight Hoody.

Why do I call out OutdoorGearLab (which, is honestly pretty darn good)? Because I use my gear for years on end in a truly demanding set of conditions (paragliding, climbing, urbex, etc…) instead of a casual bloggers weekend hike. Anyways, trash talk aside…

I’ll go over comfort, durability, performance, heat management, style, and more. Let get right in it, shall we?

TL;DR: Keep your $15 thrift-shop jacket, save your $275, buy something not Made-in-Bengladesh. Check my Arc’Teryx alternatives list instead.

Performance

In my earnest opinion, it’s barely better than my 90’s tracksuit jacket. If we go what the worlds biggest gear review publication says, it sounds amazing.

Which all bodes nicely, right? Furthermore, as on the product description page:

…the Gamma Lightweight Hoody – our lightest Gamma hoody – is an essential softshell for anyone maximizing their time outside. Wind resistant and water repellent…

Is what Arc’Teryx says on their marketing material. And sure, it keeps me moving through rugged terrain – but wouldn’t any top too? The weather resistant fabric is where it already falls apart.

As they say, its been treated with FC0 DWR coating, which pretty much did nothing. Brand new from the shop in a light drizzle climbing up the Eiger North Face via Ferrata, it wets out immediately. Great, pretty much zero weather protection. It’s also well permeable to wind, so while it breathes decently when wearing, it also lets in that freezing draft.

Maybe I’m expecting too much here, but for $275, shouldn’t I?

Okay it says wind resistant (not wind-proof) and water repellent (not water-proof), so technically their description is “correct”, but really, it does about the same as my $10 thrift shop Nike windbreaker, which, actually is more wind-resistant than the Gamma Lightweight jacket…

It does have nice stretch and the hood is great, but that’s about where my compliments end there. The fabric is strong against abrasion from rocks and bushwhacking, but, so is my cheapo windbreaker.

In fact, my model weighs 313 grams, and the newer ones weight 361 grams. So, if a durable, truly waterproof hardshell jacket weighs 50 grams more, why take this one at all?

How in the ever hell OutdoorGearLab rates it #1 of 14 softshell jackets is beyond me.

Comfort

The stretch is nice and the nylon is relatively soft. When dry and in optimal conditions, it’s fine.

Wetted out, windy, and brisk outside? You’re better off with that Nike windbreaker… I layered the Gamma Lightweight hoody with my Arc’Teryx Atom LT jacket while wetted out on that Via Ferrata, and it was actually colder than with the Atom LT itself. It compressed the insulated Atom LT layer and simultaneously reduced its effectiveness and worsened the heat transfer due to conduction.

So – dry, moderate, ‘walk-in-the-park’ weather? Great. To rely on it as a shell layer in a difficult environment. Absolutely never.

If I’m climbing in a completely dry and cold environment, sure – the stretch, ventilation, and durability is nice, but I probably could get the same out of that $10 thrift shop jacket…

Durability

I’ve definitely scuffed it up against rock, sand, branches, ice, snow – you name it. The fabric itself has held up very well. However, the beautiful Arc’Teryx Solace Blue began to fade, stain, and get all marred much too fast.

This is one of my least used jackets in my lineup, and the fact it’s gotten to be so marked with colour-based problems is disheartening.

Most people buy Arc’Teryx these days to look nice. It’s trendy. Cool name, cool logo.

And coloration is part of durability, where, it has definitely stared to fail in that department. Also, the stitching on the cuffs was already coming a part after week one. So much for that build quality…

Material & build quality

Fortius™ 1.0 softshell (nylon) is pretty much the whole construction. FC0-DWR (Durable Water Repellent) is pretty much next to useless and failed on wear 1.

$275 and made in Bangladesh? Really guys? About the cheapest, lowest-paid, lowest quality-control, highest-pollution place to manufacture this ‘high-end’, steeply priced jacket?

The build quality overall is not bad per-se, but, it’s just… not good. Definitely not $275 worth…

Enough said.

Style

It’s great! It looks beautiful, the Solace Blue colour is fantastic, it fits my frame very well (6’3″ 185lbs, tall skinny, wearing size M), and that’s half the reason people buy Arc’Teryx these days.

But, they changed the old-fashioned embroidery for a simple heat-press logo. To save more on manufacturing costs on the $275 made-in-Bangladesh unit?

Anyways…

Conclusion

I wouldn’t recommend this jacket to anyone except my mother who walks the dog on a 15°C degrees windless day.

Looking for an outer shell? Not if theres rain or wind!

Mid-layer? Also not it.

Base-layer. Obviously not.

So where the hell does this jacket fit in?

Exclusively in the category of: casual outdoor use in mild temperatures and dry conditions.

Which is the same category your $10 thrift shop jacket already fulfills…

I hope you’ve enjoyed my honest review of the Arc’Teryx Gamma Lightweight Hoody jacket – if you didn’t catch my drift, I think Arc’Teryx is going downhill and selling out, and I recommend checking out my Arc’Teryx Alternatives list to see what else there is on the market.

Thanks all for now, peace!

Vivobarefoot ESC Tempest

A swimrun hybrid barefoot shoe made for trail running and swimming. Overall a great shoe with a unique design but a little fragile due to the buoyant foam.

Product Brand: Vivobarefoot

Editor's Rating:
4.7

Pros

• [Fast drying],[Lightweight],[Great grip]

Cons

• [Funky look],[Expensive]