Arcteryx Kappa Review

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). 

• Related Data Set: Temperature ratings of Arc'teryx jackets

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	Temp (F/C)	Insulation	Insulated	Review	Discontinued?	M-W
Canada Goose Expedition (Men's - Women's)	-20/-29	Down	ParkaD		No	M
Feathered Friends Khumbu (Men's)	-18/-28	Down	Down		No	M
Arc'teryx Alpha Parka (Men's - Women's)	-17/-27	Down	Down		No	M
Arc'teryx Ceres SV (Men's)	-15/-26	Down	Down	Review	Yes	M
Mountain Equipment K7 (Men'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)	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 - Women'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)	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 (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)	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)	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)	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 Regulartor Parka II (Men's)	Testing	Synthetic	ParkaS		No	M
Helly Hansen LifaLoft (Men's)	Testing	Synthetic	Synthetic		No	M
Mammut Eigerjoch (Men's - Women's)	Testing	Synthetic	Synthetic		No	M W
Helly Hansen Lumines (Men'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.

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. 

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. 

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!