Let me give you a short answer first.
Arc'teryx's Beta line products (SL Hybrid, LT, AR and SV) are focused on versatility and all-round use. You can think of:
- AR (All Round) as the most well balanced and hence placed right at the center between these 4 jackets,
- And the SV (Severe Weather) as the more robust model of AR (also the most robust between all these 4 jackets) - it provides approximately 25% more weather resistance and 25% more durability when compared to the AR. But it comes at a cost: It's much less packable and 30 grams (1.1 oz) heavier.
You can see this in Arc'teryx's Naming Scheme Page here as well - for both "SV" and "AR", as well as "Beta".
In addition to these differences, SV is also longer: Covers your butt (not an unimportant advantage especially if you aren't wearing any insulated pants) whereas AR reaches mid-butt level. Lastly, SV is also baggier: Gives you the option to under layer using thicker and/or more garments than the AR (AR is also baggy - just not as much).
So what's the take-away here?
If you'll be wearing the jacket during high output activities out in quite extreme weather/circumstances (think severe wind, precipitation, abrasion and/or cold), then Beta SV would probably worth going for. For all the other folks (probably 90% of you?), Beta AR is probably the way to go and SV would most likely be an overkill.
Colors indicate design intentions:
- Red: All-round, general purpose;
- Green: Hiking, backpacking, trekking;
- Blue: Snow sports,
- Grey: Climbing & alpine activities.
Bold are my top picks for each category. Also see my Arc'teryx Favorites post to read more about this.
| Breath-ability | Pack-ability | Weather Resistance | Durability | Length | Bagginess |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3/10 | 7/10 | 5/10 | 3/10 | 7/10 | 6/10 | |
7/10 | 7/10 | 7/10 | 6/10 | 7/10 | 7/10 | |
8/10 | 5/10 | 8/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
8/10 | 3/10 | 10/10 | 10/10 | 10/10 | 10/10 | |
10/10 | 7/10 | 3/10 | [T.B.D.] | 6/10 | 5/10 | |
10/10 | 6/10 | 3/10 | 7/10 | 7/10 | 6/10 | |
9/10 | 4/10 | 4/10 | 8/10 | 4/10 | 6/10 | |
3/10 | 8/10 | 5/10 | 3/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
4/10 | 10/10 | 5/10 | 2/10 | 7/10 | 5/10 | |
6/10 | 6/10 | 7/10 | 4/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
7/10 | 4/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 10/10 | 7/10 | |
8/10 | 5/10 | 8/10 | 9/10 | 6/10 | 7/10 | |
8/10 | 5/10 | 9/10 | 10/10 | 7/10 | 5/10 | |
8/10 | 3/10 | 5/10 | 8/10 | 6/10 | 3/10 | |
8/10 | 3/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 | 10/10 | 6/10 | |
7/10 | 8/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 10/10 | 7/10 | |
7/10 | 7/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 9/10 | 8/10 | |
5/10 | 3/10 | 8/10 | 6/10 | 10/10 | 6/10 | |
7/10 | 7/10 | 7/10 | 6/10 | 7/10 | 7/10 | |
8/10 | 5/10 | 8/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
8/10 | 3/10 | 10/10 | 10/10 | 9/10 | 10/10 |
If you're planning to get one of them, I'd also highly recommend you to check out Arc'teryx's own guides:
- JacketFinder Tool: https://arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/jacket-finder/
- Naming Scheme: https://www.arcteryx.com/us/en/help/arc-naming
- Hardshells vs Softshells: https://www.rei.com/blog/hike/ask-an-expert-whats-the-difference-between-a-soft-shell-and-a-hard-shell
Check out their side-by-side comparison on Arc'teryx's site here.
Now the longer answer:
 |  | |
MSRP | 575 USD | 649 USD |
Breathability Packability Weather Resistance Durability Length Bagginess | ||
Beta AR | Beta SV | |
Weight | 455 grams (16 oz) | 485 grams (17.1 oz) |
Gore-Tex | N40r-X GORE-TEX Pro 3L N80p-X GORE-TEX Pro 3L | N80p-X GORE-TEX Pro 3L |
Current Price | Beta AR Men's: Beta AR Women's: | Beta SV Men's: Beta SV Women's: |
Cell | #Note: All face fabrics are DWR (durable water repellent) applied. ​ 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. | |
| | |
MSRP | 575 USD | 649 USD |
Breathability Packability Weather Resistance Durability Length Bagginess | ||
Beta AR | Beta SV | |
Weight | 455 grams (16 oz) | 485 grams (17.1 oz) |
Gore-Tex | N40r-X GORE-TEX Pro 3L N80p-X GORE-TEX Pro 3L | N80p-X GORE-TEX Pro 3L |
Cell | #Note: All face fabrics are DWR (durable water repellent) applied. 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. | |
And now the longest answer...
N80p-X (Beta SV) vs N40r-X & N80p-X (Beta AR)
The numbers 40 and 80 represent the thread mass - usually referred to as denier and indicated as 40D and 80D. The heavier the thread, the stronger it is.
80D is one of the strongest and most expensive most robust fabrics used in Arc'teryx's high quality technical jackets.
If you mostly won't be out in extreme weather, then the Beta AR is probably the way to go for you.
Equipping a jacket solely with a 80D fabric will result in robust structure and very weather resistant & durable nature - but also a heavier weight and less pleasant & somehow "stiff" touch compared to lighter fabrics such as 40D.
That's exactly the case for Beta SV which uses 80D fabric.
So why are there two different fabrics (N40r-X & N80p-X) for Beta AR?
Because, like I said before, AR is meant to be the most versatile and well-balanced jacket of all 4 different Beta jackets.
In order to achieve that, the high wear areas are reinforced using N80p-X: Shoulders, back, forearms and top of the hood. Whereas for all the remaining low wear areas, N40r-X is used.
If you'll be wearing your jacket mostly out in extreme weather, then the Beta SV is probably your better option.
By combining two different thread mass where necessary throughout the entire jacket, AR successfully manages to catch a very well balance between weight, packability and price advantages on one side (so called fragile but fast side) and durability and weather-resistance advantages on the other side (so called sturdy but bulky side).
Beta LT, for example, uses 40D throughout the entire jacket. Beta SV uses 80D. These are the jackets with more extreme intended uses compared to the AR.
By combining these two, Beta AR avoids both extremes and offers to be a suitable option for all-rounders like most of us.
Speaking of which, you can check out my Beta LT vs AR comparison here.
What I covered so far makes up almost all the differences between Beta AR and SV, but let's continue.
What about r and p?
First of all, both jackets offer the highest quality Gore-Tex: 3L Pro. This makes the weave (r and p) less important.
I didn't mention warmth anywhere, because these jackets probably won't be enough on their own out in fairly cold weather. I'd recommend you to under layer them with a mid layer such as one of these.
- R stands for ripstop, a grid texture where the borders of each square are elevated.
- P stands for plain, where there are no elevated fabrics whatsoever.
So how do they work out in practice?
- Typically, ripstop is expected to cross the pathways of potential tears in the fabric and prevent them from propagating. But in our case Gore-Tex 3L Pro of both jackets is already high quality, so this doesn't cause a noticeable difference to say the least.
- Similarly, plain weave is expected to bead the water more effectively since there aren't any elevated fabrics that block the droplets from sliding. However, in our case, both jackets are DWR coated, so the elevated fabrics doesn't cause a negative impact in water-proofing.
Beta AR in action.
The differences caused by the weave (ripstop vs plain) are really minimal (if not non-existent) especially considering more important stuff like the Gore-Tex type and thread mass (denier).
Breathability
This practically feels the same in both jackets.
Equipped with very robust fabric and strong Gore-Tex, neither of these jackets lean on the breathability side of the equation unlike what some synthetic insulated mid layers such as Arc'teryx Proton LT or Patagonia Nano Air tend to do.
That's why most of what you get for breathability comes from mechanical venting, instead of genuinely breathable membranes.
This trade-off is actually the case for all the shell jackets, not just Beta SV and AR. A shell is meant to be abrasion and weather resistant first, other things second.
Then make sure to check out this post of mine as well.
Both jackets come with pit zips (which is a mechanical venting method) so they're the same in breathability - and considering all the other shells out in the market, they're pretty breathable.
Length
Beta SV is longer than the AR {79.5 cm (31.25 inches) vs 75.5 cm (29.7 inches)}.
Like I said before, this can be more important if you won't be wearing insulated pants - since the SV is lengthy enough to cover your butt whereas AR reaches down to mid-butt level.
Beta SV in action.
Bagginess
Beta AR already offers more than enough room for under layering, but SV offers even more of it.
I'd doubt the ample room you get beneath the AR will come deficient for you when you're using it in non-extreme conditions.
This is another outcome of Arc'teryx's approach to these jackets. AR is intended to be for all-round users and SV is for extreme weather users.
Conclusion
If you're having a hard time deciding, then checking out this post of mine that covers all the Arc'teryx Beta and Zeta Jackets might be helpful for you.
If you think both of these jackets would be too heavy for your specific needs and desires, then I'd recommend you to check out my Beta LT vs AR comparison.
Now if this is you:
- "I really don't need any specific features. I want to stay active during the quite cold winters in my town: A lot of fat biking, outdoor climbing, hiking, skiing, snowboarding etc. I'm looking for a shell jacket I can easily use during all these."
I'd recommend you the Beta AR.
Beta AR Men's:
Beta AR Women's:
If, on the other hand, you either (1) want something even more durable than the Beta AR, (2) will be hiking in quite severe weather or (3) want something baggier to maximize your under layering options, then Beta SV can be an amazing choice for you.
Beta SV Men's:
Beta SV Women's:
I hope this post was helpful for you to learn more about the jacket(s) in your mind.
Feel free to ask me any questions or provide feedback and I'll be happy to respond in the comment section below.
Guide: Insulated & Shell Jackets
Start here:
Complete list:
Thank you for reading!
You give some fabulous reviews! I want something for winter backpacking. I have 2 lighter but durable shells (maybe the Gamma SL?) that when layered, work well. But nothing really durable for very windy conditions. We also want to back to Greenland and hike the Arctic Circle Trail in a different season-late fall. I think the Beta SV is the direction I want to go. Torn between Beta SV/Beta AR
Thank you for your comment and kind words Stacy!
When in doubt, I always recommend going after the harder shell – which is Beta SV in this case 🙂