As you can also see in my Best Arc'teryx Jackets post, Zeta FL (Men's - Women's) would be my top emergency shell pick for hiking purposes.
As most of you already know, I've been sharing helpful guides to all kinds of Arc'teryx jackets for the last couple of years now (find full post list at the bottom). Recently I keep getting asked to make a Zeta FL Review, so here you go.
Summary
Zeta FL is light, packable and streamlined. But, as you can guess, this enforces some significant performance sacrifices in breathability, weather resistance and durability departments.
Now... Having said that...
In order to gain weight and packed size advantages, all emergency shells like Zeta FL inevitably make some performance sacrifices in return.
Fortunately, Zeta FL is positioned in the "sweet spot" of performance vs weight trade-off: All performance sacrifices are kept at a minimum while making the most of packability and weight benefits. If you'll be using it as an emergency shell when hiking, then I'd highly recommend it.
- Poll results: Giant Arc'teryx & Patagoina survey (Gore-Tex, pockets, hoods, fit, & more) [1000+ participated]
- Pics from outrageous discounts I ran into at Arc'teryx Parndorf Outlet
- I bought Gamma Lightweight (aka SL), Gamma (aka LT) and Gamma MX
- Patera Parka (one year update): Ain't worth the price...
- Alpha vs Beta: I bought all 4 Beta's and both Alpha's. Settling this for good
- Proton Hybrid: A "hidden" way to stuff it in itself!?
- Best Insulated Jackets: A hands-on Arc'teryx & Patagonia face-off
- 2024 Nano Air is in! Bought it immediately...
- I bought all 7 of Winter '24 Atom and Proton jackets
- Best Arc'teryx Ski Jackets: Rush is ideal, Sabre SV is overkill
- Arc’teryx colors: Most and least liked (poll results)
- Took my Nuclei SV to the Alps near Pfander, Austria
- Arc'teryx Alpha Parka Review: The most impressive jacket of all time
- Arc'teryx ReGEAR: OutdoorCrunch exclusive promo code!
- Beta Insulated Jacket is in: Pit zips AND two way zipper
- DropHood vs StormHood: Pros/cons and best uses
- 7 things all Arc'teryx newbies should know
You might also want to check out my Arc'teryx Zeta vs Beta post to see my performance ratings for all Zeta (and Beta) jackets.
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.
Now let's get to the nitty gritty.
Zeta FL Review: Packability 10/10
I gave Zeta FL a rating of 10 out of 10 in terms of packability. It's actually the only hardshell I gave a 10/10 packability rating.
This doesn't require much explanation. It simply packs very tiny:
Zeta FL Review: Durability 2/10
This might be a problem if you'll be wearing a backpack most of the time.
...then it might get old quicker than you think. Especially in the shoulders and back. Because, Zeta FL is quite minimalist, and hence more fragile.
So, if that's the case for you, then I'd recommend you to check out Beta FL (Men's - Women's - read my review).
- Beta line isn't hiking specific like the Zeta line. It's more of an all-round line. It is, however, used perfectly fine for hiking. In fact, in some cases like a lot of backpack use, it can often be even more suitable than the Zeta line.
For the record, I would not recommend the Beta SL Hybrid (Men's - Women's - read my review), if that's also in your mind.
Zeta FL Review: Breathability 4/10
Yes, in surface, a score of 4 does make the Zeta FL look like it puts forward worse breathability capabilities compared to its cousins Zeta LT (6/10) and Zeta AR (7/10).
Zeta FL Women's.
This, actually, is far from where we should be look at things. Like I said earlier, Zeta FL is an emergency shell, and it should be assessed that way.
So, when you look at this from emergency shell standards, then you'll realize that its breathability is actually not bad at all.
I gave other emergency shells like Zeta SL and Beta SL Hybrid lower breathability ratings. Not to even mention that the emergency shells of most other brands out there perform much worse than these two.
In summary... Zeta FL offers sufficient breathability.
Canberk is 5'11" and 165 pounds, with an athletic build. Size Medium fits him perfectly across almost all brands and product lines.
Zeta FL Review: Weather Resistance 5/10
Again, 5/10 might seem low, but it actually isn't bad at all among emergency shells.
- Zeta refers to products with hiking purpose.
- FL, on the other hand, is short for Fast and Light.
Zeta FL face fabric and zippers are sufficiently water resistant. They of course wouldn't protect you from storms, but they'll be perfectly fine for unexpected downpours.
...which is the standard expectation one should have from an emergency shell.
Zeta FL is also DWR coated.
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.
Lastly, I'd also recommend you to take a look at the Jacket Finder tool at arcteryx.com. Arc'teryx jackets are far from being cheap. Better be sure before you get one.
The product video for Zeta FL:
Check out our other content on jackets:
Guide: Insulated & Shell Jackets
Start here:
Also see: