Review of Arc'teryx Fugitive Hooded Jacket

Arc'teryx Fugitive Hooded Jacket - Women's
By: Arc'teryx Average Rating: 3.0 Total Reviews: 1
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Made for Petites

On: 2007-12-26

Item ordered: Arcteryx Fugitive Hooded Jacket - Womens: Small, Black

When I first received this jacket, I had to double -- and then triple -- check the label to make sure that this was the style that I had ordered. The picture (shown above) is different in minimal, but important areas, from how the physical jacket actually appears.

Whereas the picture gives you the impression that this jacket is somewhat elongated, extending over your hips, it does not. Rather, it only comes to the top of your hips -- and the sleeves are a tad on the short side (I admit that my arms might be a bit longer than the usual, but I know that they are not THAT much longer than the usual). The jacket fits me as if I had accidentally picked it up from the Petites section. This is counterproductive if you are trying to keep both your midrif and your wrists dry and warm.

That said, I still kept this jacket.

It was freakishly cold at the time I ordered it, and (as I needed some form of outerwear) I could not return/exchange it. Also, it is nicely water repellent. The windproofing works up to a certain extent (at around 40+ mph you will begin to feel small drafts seeping through the material...but then again, these drafts may just be seeping in from around my cold and uncovered wrists).

I have found that the jacket works marvelously as a layer beneath other coats and jackets -- it will keep you warm without allowing you to overheat, and (this way) your wrists and midrif will stay warm. If you use this jacket as a layer, it will also double the windproofing, so that it will take care of the 40+ mph gusts.

Also, the material itself is not as it is pictured or described. While this jacket is described as fleece, the fleece can only be found lining the inside. The external of the jacket is comprised of a smooth, woven, stretchy material.

That said, the seller for this jacket (Backcountry) is wonderful, for other items I have bought through them. It is only the jacket itself that disappoints.