As I also explained in my Best Arc'teryx Jackets post, Kappa Hoody is perfect for stationary use when it's freezing.
Along with Dually Belay, Fission SV and Nuclei SV; Kappa (Men's) is one of the warmest and most weather resistant synthetic insulated jackets Arc'teryx has ever manufactured. Being designed specifically for stationary use in damp areas, which is a pretty standard and common type of use, it's a shame that Arc'teryx never offered this absolute unit in women's counterpart.
In summary; if you're looking for a warm, comfortable, casual jacket you can use many years during cold and damp city days, then Kappa can be a great option for you (don't expect any breathability or packability, though). My only complaint is that it's bulky. Wish it was offered in regular fit.
Now let's take a closer look at it.
Warmth
Kappa is equipped with 140 g/m² of Coreloft Continuous. Coreloft, and specifically Coreloft Continuous, is Arc'teryx's most common synthetic insulator. You can see a list of Arc'teryx's all insulated jackets, their insulators and the insulation amounts in this guide I've put together.
- Insulation isn't the only factor that determines warmth (face fabric, fit, length etc also play a role though weaker) - though it's the most important one. So I'll limit the context here to the insulation.
Considering the fact that insulation density of other jackets in the market and in Arc'teryx line up mostly hover around below 100 g/m², 140 g/m² of insulation puts Kappa quite a bit ahead in warmth department.
Speaking of the performance of the insulator itself, Coreloft Continuous, it's almost impossible to determine its stance along other synthetic insulators like PrimaLoft and ThermaTek.
Though reverse engineering shows me that they aren't all that different from one another, as I explained in this post.
Now how do all these play out in practice?
Considering you only have a t-shirt under the Kappa, assuming little wind and casual use (no output), you'll most likely to wear it comfortably in temperatures over 7 deg F (-14 deg C).
Here's the list of the lowest temperatures you can wear each Arc'teryx jacket without feeling uncomfortably cold.
Keep in mind that these are only approximate values assuming:
- worn over a shirt only and no shell over,
- during daily use (strolls, power walks etc at most - no high output activities),
- with light wind,
- and when it's dry out.
Name | Est. Temp (F/C) | Insulation | Review | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arc'teryx Alpha Parka (Men's - Women's) | -17/-27 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Feathered Friends Khumbu (Men's) | -17/-27 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Ceres SV (Men's - Women's) | -15/-26 | Down | Down | Review | Yes | M |
Mountain Equipment K7 (Men's - Women's) | -13/-25 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Positron Pro (Men's - Women's) | -13/-25 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Grade VII (Men's) | -11/-24 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Firebee AR (Men's - Women's) | -10/-23 | Down | Down | Review | Yes | M W |
Mountain Equipment Exo (Men's) | -10/-23 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Thorsen (Men's) | -7/-22 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M |
Patagonia Frozen Range (Men's - Women's) | -6/-21 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Centrale (Women's) | -5/-20 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | W |
Rab Neutrino Pro (Men's - Women's) | -2/-19 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Therme (Men's) | -2/-19 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M |
Arc'teryx Dually Belay (Men's) | 0/-18 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | Yes | M |
Arc'teryx Camosun (Men's) | 0/-18 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M |
Arc'teryx Piedmont (Men's) | 2/-17 | Down | ParkaD | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Fission SV (Men's - Women's) | 3/-16 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M |
Outdoor Research Super Alpine (Men's - Women's) | 3/-16 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Tres 3-in-1 (Men's - Women's) | 3/-16 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Radsten (Men's) | 3/-16 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Patagonia Fitz Roy (Men's - Women's) | 3/-16 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Rab Electron Pro (Men's - Women's) | 5/-15 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Macai (Men's | 5/-15 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Nuclei SV Parka (Men's - Women's) | 5/-15 | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W | |
Patagonia DAS Parka (Men's - Women's) | 5/-15 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Patera (Women's) | 5/-15 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | W |
Arc'teryx Cerium SV (Men's - Women's) | 7/-14 | Down | Down | Review | Yes | M W |
Black Diamond Access Down (Men's - Women's) | 7/-14 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Kappa (Men's - Women's) | 7/-14 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | Yes | M |
Arc'teryx Prema (Women's) | 7/-14 | Down | ParkaD | No | W | |
Arc'teryx Radsten Insulated Men's) | 7/-14 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Rab Microlight Alpine (Men's - Women's) | 7/-14 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Macro Puff (Men's - Women's) | 8/-13 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Feathered Friends Eos (Men's - Women's) | 8/-13 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Macai LT (Men's) | 8/-13 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Seyla (Women's) | 8/-13 | Down | ParkaD | No | W | |
Arc'teryx Koda (Men's) | 8/-13 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Thorium AR (Men's - Women's) | 8/-13 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Kole (Men's - Women's) | 10/-12 | Down | ParkaD | No | W | |
Patagonia Vosque 3-in-1 (Women's) | 10/-12 | Synthetic | ParkaS | Review | No | W |
Arc'teryx Alpha IS (Men's - Women's) | 12/-11 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Yes | M | |
Patagonia Jackson Glacier (Men's - Women's) | 12/-11 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Sensa (Women's) | 14/-10 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | W | |
Patagonia Hi Loft Down (Men's - Women's ) | 14/-10 | Down | Down | Review | No | M |
REI Magma 850 Hoodie 2.0 (Men's - Women's) | 14/-10 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Atom AR (Men's - Women's) | 18/-8 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia Downdrift (Men's - Women's) | 18/-8 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Down Sweater (Men's - Women's) | 19/-7 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Magnus (Men's) | 19/-7 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Agrium (Men's - Women's) | 21/-6 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia AlpLight Down (Men's - Women's) | 21/-6 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Topley (Men's) | 23/-5 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Xenon 2.0 (Men's - Women's) | 23/-5 | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W | |
Patagonia Silent Down (Men's - Women's) | 26/-3 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisp/2 (Men's - Women's) | 28/-2 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Cerium LT (Men's - Women's) | 28/-2 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Nuclei FL (Men's - Women's) | 32/0 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia City Storm Down (Men's) | 32/0 | Down | ParkaD | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Atom LT (Men's - Women's) | 36/2 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia Micro Puff (Men's - Women's) | 36/2 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia Isthmus (Men's | 36/2 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Proton LT (Men's - Women's) | 37/3 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia Nano Puff (Men's - Women's) | 37/3 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Norvan SL Ins. (Men's - Women's) | 39/4 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Yes | M W | |
Patagonia Nano Air (Men's - Women's) | 41/5 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Cerium SL (Men's - Women's) | 43/6 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Proton FL (Men's - Women's) | 48/9 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Atom SL (Men's - Women's) | 52/11 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | Yes | M W |
The North Face Summit Down (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Mountain Equipment Lightline Echo (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Mountain Equipment Kryos (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Mountain Equipment Xeros (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Andra LT IS (Women's) | Testing | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | W | |
Arc'teryx Phoria IS (Women's) | Testing | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | W | |
Feathered Friends Helios (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Feathered Friends Volant (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Axion Pro (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Feathered Friends Rock & Ice (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Valiance (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Rab Expedition 8000 (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Zero G (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Generator Alpine (Men's) | Testing | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M | |
UBR Regulator Parka II (Men's) | Testing | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Helly Hansen LifaLoft (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M | |
Mammut Eigerjoch (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W | |
Helly Hansen Lumines (Men's - Women's) | Unknown | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M | |
Haglofs V Series Mimic (Men's - Women's) | Unknown | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W | |
Black Diamond First Light (Men's - Women's) | Unknown | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W |
Liked this table?
If you did, check out this post of mine to see more Arc'teryx tables like this one, such as fill details for all down jackets.
Weather Resistance
This is the other important selling point of the Kappa. Owing to its synthetic insulation, it doesn't lose its insulating power when it gets wet.
- #A sidenote here: Arcteryx.com's PDF guide to their jackets is GOOOLLDDD. Highly recommend you to check it out before you buy.
This is the most important advantage the synthetic jackets have over down jackets.
Lastly, like most other Arc'teryx, Kappa also comes with a DWR coating on top.
DWR is a coating.
It's basically sprayed on to the surface of these jackets as a finish. It stands for Durable Water Repellent - which means that water will be repelled under wet conditions instead of soaking into the fabric.
DWR also decreases dry time.
It's a good thing these jackets are coated in DWR, but pay attention to the fact that DWR is a coating - meaning that it will wear off over time.
Which is why you might want to invest in a DWR spray such as this one for after treatment.
As you see, there's a strong correlation between FP x FW and temperature ratings, but not more than, say, 80%. I explained why this happens here in this post of mine.
Superior weather resistance is one of the two most important selling points of the Kappa (the other one is warmth).
Packability
Like I said, Kappa isn't packable at all. You must have a very good reason to pack it when traveling. I wouldn't recommend doing it at all.
If you're looking for something packable, then I'd recommend you to check out both Arc'teryx's Jacket Finder tool as well as my post on best Arc'teryx jackets.
Breathability
Kappa isn't breathable. But I don't complain about this because breathability isn't something that Arc'teryx tried to achieve with this piece.
After all, Kappa isn't designed for high output activities anyway.
- Some of the Arc pieces you see in this post might be discontinued, and hence might be unavailable at arcteryx.com.
- If that's the case, then I'd recommend you to check out this page at REI. You might be able to find them there.
Fit
My only complaint with this hoody is that it fits a little large. It feels somewhat bulky. Wish it came in a truly regular fit.
Yeah, Arc'teryx does advertise the Kappa as regular fit, but as you can see, I don't find this to be entirely true. I'd place its fit somewhere between relaxed and regular fit.
Conclusion
Kappa (Men's) can be a great option for you if you're looking to buy a warm jacket you can wear when it's freezing.
Keep in mind that it's not designed for high output activities, and that it might not be warm enough under 7 deg F (-14 deg C) with only a t-shirt under if you're like most people!
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