Arc’teryx Nuclei sv

Arc Teryx Nuclei SV

The jacket that saved me.

During prep for our Patagonia expedition, I was looking for the perfect warm jacket to bring. It had to be incredibly warm, reasonable size and weight, and ideally waterproof or at least water resistant. One of the main benefits of this jacket it the synthetic insulation – this means it’s not as breathable as something like down which has its pro’s and con’s. This does mean that it traps more heat in and is also better for wet conditions as synthetic insulation keeps you warmer when it is damp/wet.

For our trip I knew this was the perfect choice as I was happy to sacrifice the packability and light weight of a down jacket to instead have the warmest jacket possible for the conditions. We were kayaking through ice for about 1/4 of the trip and temperatures were very low once the sun went down. If you want to read the story, click on – patagonia trip

It weighs in at around 600grams, is water resistant and super warm. It does pack down surprisingly well into the kayaks and was super durable. The fabric doesn’t seem like it would be tough when you feel it although I definitely put it through its paces in the thick Patagonian bush for 32 days and not one hole in it. 

The only cons I had found with this jacket is

a) the zip is on the other side to every other hoodie or jacket I’ve ever owned, doesn’t harm the jacket at all but it did annoy me sometimes when trying to do it up or take it off. I’m not sure if there is a reason they did this, but I couldn’t figure one out for it.

b) the waterproof coating did wear off pretty fast, no biggie as the jacket itself was water resistant so it was still fine to use in the rain/wet afterwards. This could also be solved by adding some more once you have some available. The first week was amazing though, it was just a super warm rain jacket, beading the rain off for about a week before that coating started to wear off.

How it saved me – long story short, about 2 weeks into our 32-day kayaking trip my sleeping bag got wet, for a couple of different reasons – Leaky drysuit and a mishap with leaving it out to dry for too long that there was a thick layer of dew when I went to grab it. Also, we didn’t have good drying days at all while it was wet, we had about 1/2 a day one morning to dry it out a little bit. The Arc Teryx nuclei sv was my savior in my sleeping bag, with the water resistance it was keeping my top half of my body dry and warm throughout the nights. I was still cold but nowhere near what I would have been without it or with a down equivalent. Getting hypothermia in an area like that could’ve been a very serious situation.

I would highly recommend this jacket if you were looking at a wet and cold expedition area and aren’t too worried about weight or willing to compromise. Even if you just want a really nice winter jacket for around town, it’s very comfortable and looks cool especially in my green/yellow color way. 

Arc’teryx Men’s Weather resistant Nuclei SV Parka Blue – Fluidity – Arc’teryx New-Zealand

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