This is a review of the Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody after one year of use. I wanted to let others know about this jacket. I have found that it is a very comfortable and dynamic jacket.

During the fall of 2018, I was looking for a jacket that would keep me comfortable in the upcoming winter hiking months and I stumbled upon the Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody. I knew that I was going to be doing some winter hiking with my buddies and my current gear was aged and wasn’t ideal for the hiking conditions that I would be pursuing.

I had a couple of ‘must-haves’ for the jacket that I was looking for:

• It needed to have a hood.
• The jacket needed to be comfortable, allowing me to move freely, and fit me well.
• It needed to have ventilation so that my body wouldn’t overheat.
• The jacket needed to have some level of water repellency.

Research

I was initially going to just purchase a Patagonia Nano Puff Hoody. I appreciate Patagonia’s environmental conservancy efforts and think that they have a solid jacket in the Nano Puff Hoody. Typically, I go to REI to try on gear and see how it fits. On one of those ventures, I was 90% certain I was ready to purchase a jacket and was looking through Patagonia’s offerings. This particular REI did not have my size and I ended up looking for similar jackets. I happened across the Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody jacket. REI had a sale on it and I ended up purchasing it.

The Atom, In Use

I have to say that this jacket is a great all-around jacket. This jacket has amazing versatility.

I wear it to work during mild days and it keeps me comfortable. Also, I can wear it to the mall and not be too concerned that I’m going to get too hot in it. My body naturally runs warm and this is a concern of mine when considering a jacket to wear.

The best thing is that I have worn this jacket in different hiking and climbing scenarios and have never been cold. It has a great ability to balance my body’s temperature. I’ve climbed Mt St Helens in this jacket in 8F weather and was not cold (as long as I maintained momentum). I’ve used this jacket in a number of different hiking events and have always been happy with it. The side mesh does an exceptional job of venting my body heat during elevated heart rate activity.

The hood fits my head well, too. There is a single pull drawstring on the back of the hood used to adjust the fit. There is not a brim for this hood, so I would suggest that you wear a cap underneath if there is a significant down pouring of rain or snow.

After a Year In…

I have had this jacket for over a year now in fairly continuous use. The major issues that I have had with it are that the material by my chin wears faster due to my facial hair growing out and rubbing against it. This material is nice because it is soft against my face but it apparently wears quickly when exposed to mildly abrasive material (aka facial hair).

I have reapplied a water repellant layer to the jacket after the first 12 months of its life. This was in preparation for a night hike up Mt St Helens, as well. This isn’t the biggest drawback of this jacket. Prior to applying the water repellant layer, I had noticed that moisture was beginning to wick further into the base of the jacket which decreased the warmth of the jacket overall.