Arc'teryx Beta Jacket Review

The Arc'teryx Beta strikes an impressive balance of storm protection, mobility, and weight. It's among the top-performing rain jackets we've tested. It's pricey, sure, but it also stands out across all metrics as worthy of praise.

Performance Comparison

Water Resistance

The Beta uses Gore-Tex in a 3-layer construction, meaning a Gore-Tex membrane inside of two thin layers, all sandwiched together. This keeps the rain and snow out while still breathing well enough to expel sweat. After extensive testing, we are confident that this jacket is one of the more stormworthy models in the current lineup.

Even after extended camping trips in the pouring rain, the Beta had one of the longest-lasting DWR (Durable Water Repellent) coatings, resisting “wet out” far more than most of the competition.

In our direct side-by-side comparisons, it also excelled in our shower and garden hose tests, keeping us comfortable and dry. Similarly, it kept us dry during two dozen days of backpacking, climbing, and ski touring over a very damp autumn in the Pacific Northwest.

The Beta offers an array of well-designed features that rank highly for functionality. We appreciate its sleek, low-profile Velcro wrist closures, which minimize the probability that raindrops will run down your arms. The main front zipper is watertight and sports a minimal but effective internal storm flap to keep water out in even the wettest of storms. As noted above, the DWR coating holds up incredibly well and has proved to be one of the best in this fleet.

This jacket features one of the most high-performing hood designs, exceptionally preserving the wearer's peripheral vision. Our testers love how deep it is, providing more protection from the elements with an extremely functional brim that effectively keeps the rain off the front of the face. The hood design is also easy to cinch down. Unlike options with three cinch points (one in the back and two in the front) that tighten independently, this model pulls all three places simultaneously from the same rear cinch.

Our lead tester noted, “I particularly love how effective this hood was in stormy conditions, and how easy it is to tighten with one hand or loosen with two.” It also easily accommodates most headwear and head sizes, whether you wear a helmet, beanie, baseball cap, or nothing at all.

Breathability

The Beta uses standard Gore-Tex for its weather protection and proved one of the more breathable models in our review.

The 3-layer Gore-tex construction of the Beta does a decent job of ushering sweat away from the body, considering it is intended to be a rain jacket. In cooler temperatures and snowier seasons, we could wear this layer all day, even while storm skiing, without ever getting wet from the inside out.

Comfort and Mobility

The Beta has a quiet and soft interior lining that proved among the most comfortable in our review. Not all Gore-Tex jackets feel as nice as this one. It is significantly less clammy and sticky inside than many others and feels great directly against the skin, even when worn with just a t-shirt. For this reason, it scored very well in this metric.

The Beta boasts better overall mobility and range of motion than most as well. Our testers love this jacket's slightly longer arm length and nicely articulated sleeves. Even folks who don't have long arms benefitted from this combination of design choices, as the ends of the sleeves don't pull back, even when reaching directly above the head. Though the sleeves are slightly longer than average, all of our testers agreed they never felt bulky or too long, and most folks commented that this aspect of the fit made the jacket more comfortable overall.

The Beta is a relatively minimalist jacket with several small comfort features, like a micro-fleece lining at the top of the zipper just inside to protect the chin. There is also a similar piece of fabric on the back of the neck. This extra material adds comfort and increases longevity by absorbing oil and sweat, reducing the chance of the interior fabric delaminating in an area known to get a lot of wear. We love the slightly more athletic fit, which allows for effective layering without bunching in the underarms. Lastly, this option was easier to size and to fit layers underneath than its otherwise higher performing sibling, the Beta SL.

Weight

We weighed the Beta at 11.3 ounces —- lighter than most full-featured hard shells — yet we didn't find it lacked overall weather protection compared to most of these heavier models. The lower weight is achieved in several ways. First, there's no additional ventilation besides simply unzipping the primary front zipper. This saves at least a few ounces in materials, between zippers and stitching. Second, Arc'teryx uses a 16mm seam, which is among the narrowest in our review and helps to keep the construction light and tight.

In addition, the zippers are watertight, enabling this jacket to minimize the size of the storm flap, further saving weight. Even the velcro wrist straps are low profile, minimizing weight without giving up functionality. Though it's not the absolute lightest rain jacket we tested, this model is plenty light enough to satisfy most outdoor enthusiasts. Sure, you can buy another model that weighs as little as 6.5 ounces, but you will get a lot more performance out of the Beta for the nominal amount of additional weight.

Construction Quality

The Beta is surprisingly durable when considering how little it weighs, offering a fairly sturdy construction quality. The 3-layer 80D Gore-Tex with its ePE membrane and Gore C-KNIT backer provides good resistance to tearing and scuffing, and is notably tougher than most models of similar or less weight.

The longevity of its FC0 DWR finish also impressed our review team, saying “Even after a full winter and spring, it's still going strong, though I needed to wash it frequently to keep its water resistance at its best.” Besides the Beta's tight-knit exterior fabric, it offers several features that increase its overall durability. For example, there are no seams on the shoulders, which is typically the first place seam tape will pull back due to the pressure of shoulder straps and abrasion. By adjusting the design overall, the Beta avoids this problem.

Another thoughtful move is that the inside of the chin area is designed with an additional layer of nylon to combat the wearer's sweat from clogging the membrane's pores, which can cause it to break down or delaminate prematurely. The Beta is one of the most robust jackets we tested, which is particularly impressive, considering it weighs less than 11 ounces.

Should You Buy the Arc'teryx Beta?

Despite being one of the more expensive jackets in its category, any demanding or passionate outdoor user will be willing to spend the extra money for such high quality. No question, the Beta is surely worth the price when budget allows. It offers the best storm protection, freedom of movement, breathability, and comfort of any rain jacket we've tested. If you are looking for quality, this sits among the top of our list. Be it the smaller seam tape applied, its lightweight materials, the smart hood design, or the athletic cut of the garment, it's hard not to be taken with almost any aspect of this jacket's design — that is, if you can stomach the price.

What Other Rain Jackets Should You Consider?