Beta SV vs Beta AR

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.

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.

Check out their side-by-side comparison on Arc'teryx's site here.

Now the longer answer:

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.

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.