Arc’teryx Cerium LT Jacket Review

A 850 fill down midlayer weighing 8.6 oz is hard to beat. When Canadian based Arc’teryx is behind it, you know it’s going to be fantastic. And it is.

Canadian gear store Live Out There asked us to give an honest review of Arc’teryx’s Cerium LT Jacket and we were happy to oblige. We were even happier once we’d put it through its paces.

Let’s look at the features of this fantastic jacket and then talk about what we think about it.

Features

• Down Composite Mapped Insulation:
  • 850 fill EuropeanWhite Goose Down
  • Coreloft 80 (80 g/m2) insulation
• Fabric: Airetica breathable nylon (34 g/m2) 20×10 denier ripstop nylon
• DWR Finish
• Weight: 8.6 oz
• Wind Resistant
• Style: Midweight
• Fit: Trim, Hip Length
• Compressible, packable
• Other features:
  • Insulated collar
  • Chin guard
  • Elastic Cuffs
  • Two hand pockets with zippers
  • Included Stuff Sack
• Lifetime Manufacturer’s Warranty
• MSRP: $360 CAD (10% off with Live Out There Lifetime Membership)

Testing

This jacket has faced the Canadian North’s cold mornings, afternoon snowshoes, day hikes, frigid evenings and Sunday morning paper routes. It has battled the elements and even a savage attack by triffids… ok maybe it was just an aggressive tree branch, but needless to say, we survived.

Who is Arc’teryx?

Arc’teryx is a Canadian based creator of high end outdoor gear. To quote them, “Arc’teryx is built on the principle of obsessive, precise design and production.” After chatting with reps from Gore-tex last year I believe it. I found that Arc’teryx even pushes them to better performance with their designs and goals for higher performing gear.

As a brand that focuses on the future, they are very concerned with environmental stewardship, working within the community and ethical manufacturing processes. Which is important for us outdoors types!

What do we think of the Cerium LT Jacket?

How many times can we say fantastic in an article? Seriously, this minimal midlayer jacket by Arc’teryx is incredibly warm for the weight, is incredibly comfortable, allows you to move freely and has all the features you need for your active sports! But let’s break it down and spend some time on each feature.

Designed as a lightweight midlayer, Arc’teryx went for a minimalist feel. It’s got two decently sized and insulated zipper hand pockets… and not much else, except warmth. As a midlayer that’s nice. This jacket isn’t designed to show off to your friends in the coffee shop, it’s designed to be functional outdoors.  It’ll do well alone or underneath an outer layer when needed. You get a streamlined, functional jacket that keeps you warm and moves with you, without extra bulk. oh… and it only weighs half a pound!

The Cerium LT is designed as a standalone layer for cool weather, or as a midlayer for colder conditions. It uses  a combination of 850 loft down and their own Coreloft polyester insulation wrapped in an Airectica shell. Most of the jacket uses 850 fill goose down (90% down, 10% feathers), while the areas where moisture is more prone to build up use synthetic insulation to preserve warmth.

Despite the light weight aspect of the jacket (8.6 oz) it’s incredibly warm. Even though it packs down into the small, included stuff sack (look for it in the left pocket) it lofts up nicely and kept me toasty even on a slow snowshoe (how fast can you go while following a 3-year-old go on snowshoes?).

The LT (light weight) Cerium is designed to be close fitting. It fulfills that, while still allowing easy movement… and a flattering look for even a 33-year-old father of 4 who spends more time at his desk job then he’d like to admit! There’s no restriction on this jacket. I’d forget it was on if I wasn’t so warm!

We put the Airetica 20×10 denier ripstop to the test on a recent hiking trip in the woods near the house. We snagged it hard on a branch and I panicked thinking I had torn through it. It turns out the damage was almost microscopic. As you can see, even using my microscope camera, damage is minimal – a testimony to the effectiveness of the rip-stopping capacity of the shell fabric. When you consider that this whole jacket including down only weighs 8.6 oz with insulation, that’s an impressive feat. Arc’teryx got back to me quickly as well and recommended some tenacious tape, even though the area isn’t at risk  of losing insulation (it’s over the synthetic fill).

Oh, and the DWR finish on the fabric means it’ll stand up to a bit of rain if the weather turns on you too!

The chin guard is great for those of us who tend to suffer from the five o’clock shadow, and the insulated collar means you don’t have to worry about cold breezes either! The packability of this jacket means it’s easy to store when you don’t need it. It’ll be a great jacket to take while ultralight backpacking. It’ll even double as pillow at night!

Packing it all up

Ok, we’re impressed. For $360 CAD you get a high-end, high performing midlayer jacket that comes with a lifetime warranty. It’s fantastic as a standalone jacket when you’re active and perfect as part of a layering system when weather gets really old. It packs down small, is extremely lightweight and fits like a glove… and very comfortable and functional glove. The choice of fabric and insulation combined with the cut and style of the jacket results in an extremely functional (and good looking) top that you won’t want to take off.

I can honestly recommend this to anyone looking for a high-end, high quality jacket… even if you do go with the drab black or admiral blue, instead of the flashy “magma” that I chose. Take a look at it here on Liveoutthere.com

Keep your eye out for Arc’teryx gear and try on the Cerium LT jacket when you get a chance. You won’t be disappointed.

Have you tried Arc’teryx gear before? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below!

 

 

Full Disclosure: We were given the Arc’teryx Cerium LT for review by Live Out There, a Canadian based outdoors store based in Calgary, Alberta that has an excellent selection of outdoor gear available online. We were asked for an honest review of the jacket, and that’s what you see here. All opinions are our own, and what we’d recommend to family and friends.