Arc'teryx released the Beta Insulated Jacket and Beta Insulated Coat in FW23:
- https://arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/mens/beta-insulated-jacket
- https://arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/womens/beta-insulated-jacket
- https://arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/womens/beta-insulated-coat
We'll review the Beta Insulated Jacket and Beta Down Insulated Jacket here.
If you want some thoughts on Beta Insulated Coat, check out the bottom of this post as well as the jacket tables.
After releasing Proton Hybrid Hoody (Men's - Women's - read my review) a few days prior to the Beta Insulated, this makes it their second true crossover between a shell and an insulated jacket.
I wasn't even sure which category this article should be belong to (shell or insulated jackets?). In the end, I decided to include it under both categories.
Summary
The Arc'teryx Beta Insulated Jacket is the true jack of all trades, master of none kind of jacket. You can use it pretty much for anything from casual use around town to high-output activities.
The only area you would not be able to use it would be when it's not that cold. Coreloft 80 gsm is a hefty synthetic insulator and enough to overheat most of us.
If you're looking for a do-it-all Arc'teryx jacket in average cold and/or inclement weather, look no further. The Beta Insulated Jacket would definitely be one of my primary recommendations.
That said, you can absolutely achieve more versatility by purchasing a non-insulated shell and pairing it with appropriate midlayers, such as a Beta AR Jacket or Beta SL Jacket with a Proton or Atom synthetic insulated layer.
So I'd consider that option as well. But the simplicity advantages you get with wearing just one jacket are certainly not negligible for the ease of use.
If this will be your first ever Arc'teryx jacket, then you might have found the one.
Canberk is 5'11" and 165 pounds, with an athletic build. Size Medium fits him perfectly across almost all brands and product lines.
Warmth
The Arc'teryx Beta Insulated Jacket is equipped with 80 gsm Coreloft Continuous synthetic insulation. The main advantage you get with synthetic insulation is that unlike down it doesn't lose its insulating power when wet. At the same time, it provides less warmth than down.
Coreloft Continuous will also provide more warmth than the Coreloft Compact. Read more about synthetic insulators like Coreloft in my CLO Values Explained and Compared article.
So how much is 80 gsm in reality, and what would be the degree of warmth it would provide? We've done the work for you. Check out this table:
Name Activity Temp (F/C) Breathability Weather Res. Durability Bottom line Review Pit zips? Two way zipper? Stuffs into itself? Face Fabric Fit Weight Length Alpha (aka AR) (Men's - Women's) Climbing N/A 8/10 9/10 8/10 4/10 Go-to climbing harshell. Review Yes No No N40d & N80d Most Rugged 3L Gore-Tex Pro Regular 430 g / 15.2 oz 79.5 cm / 31.25 in No Alpha SV (Men's - Women's) Climbing N/A 8/10 10/10 10/10 3/10 Strongest climbing hardshell. Review Yes No No N100d Most Rugged 3L Gore-Tex Pro Regular 510 g / 1 lb 2 oz 78 cm / 30.75 in No Beta (Men's - Women's) All Round N/A 6/10 7/10 7/10 8/10 Streamlined all-doer shell. Review No No No N30p-X 3L Gore-Tex Trim 300 g / 10.6 oz 76 cm / 30 in No Beta Lightweight (Men's - Women's) All Round N/A 8/10 7/10 7/10 6/10 Review Yes No No N40p 3L Gore-Tex Fitted 380 g / 13.4 oz 75 cm / 29.5 in No Beta LT (Men's - Women's) All Round N/A 7/10 7/10 8/10 6/10 Review Yes No No N40d 3L Gore-Tex Fitted 395 g / 13.9 oz 76 cm / 30 in No Beta AR (Men's - Women's) All Round N/A 8/10 9/10 9/10 4/10 Go-to all-round harshell. Review Yes No No N40d & N80d Most Rugged 3L Gore-Tex Pro Regular 460 g / 1 lb 76 cm / 30 in No Beta AR StormHood (Men's - Women's) All Round N/A 8/10 9/10 9/10 4/10 Review Yes No No N40d & N80d Most Rugged 3L Gore-Tex Pro Regular 460 g / 1 lb 76 cm / 30 in No Beta Coat (Women's) All Round N/A 6/10 5/10 No data 5/10 No Yes No 3L Gore-Tex Regular 320 g / 11.3 oz 88 cm / 34.5 in No Beta Insulated (Men's - Women's) All Round 21/-6 9/10 7/10 8/10 No data Go-to hybrid jacket. Review Yes Yes No N40d 2L Gore-Tex Regular 680 g / 1 lb 8 oz 78.5 cm / 31 in No Beta Insulated Coat (Women's) All Round 16/-9 7/10 No data No data No data No Yes No N40d 2L Gore-Tex Regular 600 g / 1 lb 5.2 oz 86 cm / 34 in No Beta Down Insulated (Men's) All Round 0/-18 9/10 7/10 8/10 No data Yes Yes No 2L 40D Gore-Tex Regular 760 g / 1 lb 10.8 oz 79 cm / 31 in No Gamma SL (aka lightweight) (Men's - Women's) All Round N/A 7/10 2/10 6/10 5/10 Review No No No Fortius 1.0 Trim 310 g / 10.9 oz 74 cm / 29.1 in Yes Gamma (aka LT) (Men's - Women's) All Round N/A 7/10 3/10 7/10 3/10 Go-to softshell. Review No No No Wee Burly Double Weave Regular 545 g / 1 lb 3.2 oz 76 cm / 30 in No Gamma MX (Men's) All Round N/A 6/10 4/10 8/10 3/10 Strongest softshell. Review No No No Fortius 2.0 Regular 555 g / 1 lb 3.6 oz 74 cm / 29.1 in No Sabre SV (Men's) Skiing N/A 10/10 10/10 10/10 1/10 Strongest ski jacket. Review Yes Yes No N100d Most Rugged 3L Gore-Tex Pro Regular 595 g / 1 lb 5 oz 85 cm / 33.5 in Yes Sabre (Men's) Skiing N/A 8/10 8/10 7/10 2/10 Review Yes No No N80p-X 3L Gore-Tex Regular 705 g / 1 lb 8.9 oz 79 cm / 31 in No Sabre Insulated (See related products) Skiing No data 7/10 No data 6/10 No data Review Yes No No N80p 2L Gore-Tex Regular 815 g / 1 lb 12.7 oz 76 cm / 30 in Yes Rush (Women's) Skiing N/A 8/10 9/10 9/10 3/10 Go-to ski jacket. Review Yes No No N80p-X & N100p-X 3L Most Rugged Gore-Tex Pro Regular 590 g / 1 lb 4.8 oz 79.5 cm / 31.25 in No Rush (Women's) Skiing 16/-9 3/10 5/10 5/10 9/10 Review No No Yes Hadron 2L Gore-Tex Infinium Regular 515 g / 1 lb 2.2 oz 79 cm / 31 in No Macai Shell (Men's) Skiing N/A No data No data No data No data Review Yes No No N80p-X 3L Gore-Tex Regular 775 g / 1 lb 11.3 oz ? Yes Macai (Men's) Skiing 5/-15 7/10 7/10 6/10 1/10 Review Yes No No N40p-X 3L Gore-Tex Regular 990 g / 2 lb 2.9 oz 75 cm / 29.5 in Yes Macai Lightweight (aka LT) (Men's) Skiing 8/-13 7/10 7/10 6/10 2/10 Review Yes No No N40p-X 3L Gore-Tex Regular 855 g / 1 lb 14.2 oz ? Yes Theriss Down (Women's) Skiing No data 7/10 6/10 7/10 2/10 Review Yes No No N80p 2L Gore-Tex Regular 709 g / 1 lb 9 oz 63 cm / 24.8 in No Sentinel (Women's) Skiing N/A 8/10 7/10 7/10 2/10 Go-to ski jacket. Review Yes No No N70p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 640 g / 1 lb 6.6 oz 73.7 cm / 29 in No Sentinel Insulated (Women's) Skiing 21/-6 8/10 No data No data No data Review Yes No No N80p 2L Gore-Tex Regular 600 g / 1 lb 5.2 oz 79.8 cm / 31.5 in No Sentinel Relaxed (Women's) Skiing N/A No data No data No data No data Yes No No N80p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 655 g / 1 lb 7.1 oz ? No Sidewinder (Women's) Skiing N/A 8/10 8/10 7/10 2/10 Yes No No N80p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 570 g / 1 lb 4.1 oz ? No Squamish (Men's - Women's) Running N/A 5/10 4/10 7/10 9/10 Go-to running jacket. Review No No Yes 30D Tyono Trim 140 g / 4.9 oz 77.5 cm / 30.5 in No Norvan Windshell (Men's Running N/A No data No data No data No data No No Yes Permeair 20 Trim 90 g / 3.2 oz 73 cm / 28.75 in Yes Norvan Shell (Men's Running N/A No data No data No data No data No No No 13D 3L Gore-Tex Trim 190 g / 6.7 oz 73 cm / 28.75 in No Nodin (Men's - Women's) Running N/A 8/10 5/10 5/10 10/10 No No Yes 20D Tyono Trim 130 g / 4.6 oz 75 cm / 29.5 in Yes Incendo Airshell (Men's Running N/A No data No data No data No data No No Yes ? Trim 105 g / 3.7 oz ? Yes Solano (Men's - Women's) Around Town N/A No data No data No data No data Review No No No Gore-Tex Infinium Relaxed 355 g / 12.5 oz 72 cm / 28.3 in No Alpha FL (Men's - Women's) Climbing N/A 7/10 No data No data 10/10 No No Yes Hadron 3L Gore-Tex Trim 209 g / 7.4 oz 76.5 cm / 30 in Yes Alpha SL (Men's - Women's) Climbing N/A 5/10 7/10 No data 9/10 No No Yes N40p 3L Gore-Tex Trim 326 g / 11.5 oz 77.5 cm / 30.5 in Yes Alpha IS (Men's) Climbing 23/-5 7/10 5/10 No data 8/10 No Yes Yes N40p-X 2L Gore-Tex Regular 610 g / 1 lb 5.5 oz 78 cm / 30.75 in Yes Beta Long All Round N/A 4/10 9/10 No data 3/10 Review No No No N80p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 441 g / 15.6 oz 85 cm / 33.5 in Yes Beta LT Hadron All Round N/A 7/10 6/10 4/10 5/10 No No No Hadron 3L Gore-Tex Fitted 255 g / 9 oz 76 cm / 30 in Yes Beta SV (Men's - Women's) All Round N/A 8/10 10/10 10/10 3/10 Strongest all-round harshell. Review Yes No No N80p-X Most Rugged 3L Gore-Tex Pro Regular 495 g / 1 lb 1.5 oz 79 cm / 31 in Yes Andessa (Women's) Skiing 8/-13 10/10 No data No data 1/10 Yes No No N40d 3L Gore-Tex Trim 869 g / 1 lb 14.7 oz 67 cm / 26.4 in Yes Andessa Shell (Women's) Skiing N/A 5/10 No data No data 3/10 No No No N70p 3L Gore-Tex Trim 560 g / 1 lb 3.8 oz ? Yes Micon Heather Skiing N/A No data No data No data No data Yes No No NP100-d 3L Gore-Tex Regular 685 g / 1 lb 8.2 oz 83 cm / 32.5 in Yes Micon (Men's) Skiing N/A No data No data No data No data Yes No No N80p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 685 g / 1 lb 8.2 oz 83 cm / 32.5 in Yes Cassiar (Men's) Skiing N/A 8/10 7/10 8/10 3/10 Review Yes No No N70p 3L Gore-Tex Trim 820 g / 1 lb 12.9 oz 74.5 cm / 29.3 in Yes Cassiar LT (Men's) Skiing N/A 6/10 6/10 6/10 5/10 Review Yes No No N70p 3L Gore-Tex Trim 605 g / 1 lb 5.3 oz 75 cm / 29.5 in Yes Ravenna (Women's) Skiing N/A 8/10 7/10 8/10 3/10 Review Yes No No N70s-4 3L Gore-Tex Trim 725 g / 1 lb 9.6 oz 69.5 cm / 27.4 in Yes Ravenna LT (Women's) Skiing N/A 6/10 6/10 6/10 5/10 Review Yes No No N70p 3L Gore-Tex Trim 540 g / 1 lb 3 oz 69 cm / 27.2 in Yes Procline (Men's) Skiing N/A No data No data No data No data Yes No No N70p Gore-Tex Infinium Trim 720 g / 1 lb 9.4 oz 76 cm / 30 in Yes Shashka Stretch (Women's) Skiing N/A No data No data No data No data Yes No No N70p Gore-Tex Infinium Trim 670 g / 1 lb 7.6 oz 71 cm / 28 in Yes Sabre AR (Men's) Skiing N/A 7/10 8/10 7/10 7/10 Review Yes No No N70p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 700 g / 1 lb 8.7 oz 79 cm / 31 in Yes Sentinel AR (Women's) Skiing N/A 7/10 8/10 7/10 7/10 Review Yes No No N70p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 590 g / 1 lb 4.8 oz 72.5 cm / 28.5 in Yes Sabre LT (Men's) Skiing N/A 7/10 8/10 7/10 8/10 Review Yes No No N80p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 660 g / 1 lb 7.3 oz 83 cm / 32.5 in Yes Sentinel LT (Women's) Skiing N/A 7/10 8/10 7/10 8/10 Review Yes No No N80p 3L Gore-Tex Regular 565 g / 1 lb 3.9 oz 73.5 cm / 29 in Yes Incendia (Women's) Skiing N/A 8/10 9/10 9/10 3/10 Review Yes No No NP100d 3L Gore-Tex Trim 610 g / 1 lb 5.5 oz 79 cm / 31 in Yes Indencia IS Skiing No data No data No data No data No data Yes No No N80p 2L Gore-Tex Regular ? 78 cm / 30.75 in Yes Incendo (Men's) Running N/A 7/10 4/10 5/10 10/10 Review No No Yes Lumin Trim 125 g / 4.4 oz ? Yes Norvan LT (Men's - Women's) Running N/A 5/10 5/10 8/10 6/10 No No No N13p 3L Gore-Tex Trim 190 g / 6.7 oz ? Yes Norvan SL Ins. (Women's) Running 39/4 No data No data No data No data No No Yes Gore-Tex ShakeDry Trim 270 g / 9.5 oz 71.5 cm / 28.1 in Yes Cita (Women's) Running N/A 7/10 4/10 5/10 10/10 Review No No Yes Lumin Trim 120 g / 4.2 oz 67.5 cm / 26.5 in Yes Cita SL (Women's) Running N/A 7/10 4/10 4/10 10/10 Review Yes No Yes Permeair 20 Trim 65 g / 2.3 oz 61.5 cm / 24.2 in Yes Incendo SL (Men's) Running N/A 7/10 4/10 4/10 10/10 Review No No Yes Permair 20 & Canim Trim 80 g / 2.8 oz 73 cm / 28.75 in Yes Norvan SL (Men's - Women's) Running N/A 7/10 6/10 8/10 8/10 Review No No Yes Gore-Tex Infinium Trim 120 g / 4.2 oz 77 cm / 30.4 in Yes Trino SL (Men's) Running N/A 8/10 5/10 7/10 6/10 Review No No No Gore-Tex Infinium Trim 340 g / 12 oz 74 cm / 29.1 in Yes Trino SL Anorak (Women's) Running N/A 8/10 7/10 8/10 7/10 Review No No No Gore-Tex Infinium Trim 290 g / 10.2 oz 65 cm / 25.5 in Yes Venda Anorak (Women's) Around Town N/A No data No data No data No data No No No Gore-Tex Relaxed 255 g / 9 oz 75.5 cm / 29.7 in Yes Zeta FL (Men's - Women's) Hiking N/A 4/10 6/10 4/10 6/10 No No No N20r 2L Gore-Tex Trim 221 g / 7.8 oz 76 cm / 30 in Yes Zeta SL (Men's - Women's) Hiking N/A 3/10 5/10 4/10 5/10 Review No No No 2L Gore-Tex Trim 310 g / 10.9 oz 77.8 cm / 30.6 in Yes Zeta LT (Men's - Women's) Hiking N/A 5/10 7/10 8/10 5/10 No No No N40P-X 3L Gore-Tex Trim 335 g / 11.8 oz 78 cm / 30.75 in Yes Zeta AR (Men's) Hiking N/A 7/10 8/10 7/10 4/10 Yes No No 3L Gore-Tex Regular 425 g / 15 oz 80 cm / 31.5 in Yes
Performance data axis of synthetic jackets (table above) and shell jackets (this table) are different. Don't compare them.
Breathability
The breathability of this jacket is outstanding - not because of any state-of-the-art face fabric, but because it's the rare Arc'teryx shell that comes with not one but TWO mechanical venting options (pit zips and a two-way front zipper).
As you may or may not know, two-way zippers have been a big deal around Arc'teryx jackets. It seems like customers are also split in two (get it?).
The overwhelming majority wants to see two-way zippers because of the added breathability and comfort (when sitting down - more on this in a second), while the remaining minority dislike them because of how much of a headache they cause due to durability issues.
To each their own. I personally belong to the minority. I do think two-way zippers break often, but most people aren't like me and love them. Only you can decide if you want it or not.
Poll results: Best colorways of Beta Series
Upvote your favorites.
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Comfort
The two-way zipper doesn't only make a difference in terms of breathability, it also does in terms of comfort when sitting down.
Keeping only the upper half zipped, you can prevent it from crinkling due its lengthy nature.
Weather & abrasion resistance
The face fabric of this jacket is 2L 40D Gore-Tex main fabric, which is not as stiff as 3L Gore-Tex Pro jackets like Beta AR (Men's - Women's) and Beta SV (Men's - Women's). But it certainly is more comfortable, more stretchy and less noisy.
And it's still pretty stiff if you're not planning to wear the jacket for, say, 15+ years. Beta AR and SV (read my comparison of the two) are mad durable in this regard, so it's not Beta Insulated that is the outlier in here.
It does come with DWR by the way.
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 at arcteryx.com 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.
Pockets
In addition to three external (two hand warmer and one chest) pockets, Beta Insulated Jacket offers one internal drop in pocket (only on ONE side), and one zippered internal security pocket.
Alternatives
Besides layer combos, this jacket doesn't really have any alternative. At least until now. If we were to include the discontinued pieces, Alpha IS (Men's) could be the closest (as it too is an insulated hardshell), but it was centered around climbing activities instead of being an all round jacket like Beta Insulated, and it does NOT offer pit zips.
For women, there's also the option to get a Beta Insulated Coat. But it doesn't offer pit zips either, though does come with a two way zipper. If you want to increase warmth, and you aren't planning to perform any high output activities with it (because it's stupid long), then consider getting that too.