Beta AR Jakke Herre

I sent in my 2013 Made in Canada Beta AR (sigh) for repair after the hem gave out. I whomped on that thing for 10 ski seasons and it really was a fantastic jacket. When they emailed me that I could replace it with the new model for $70 I had to think long and hard about it but I am glad I did. Customer service process was very clunky (took about a month to get an answer) - so instead of emailing call them. The new model is definitely a much different jacket in fit and construction. My use case is as a ski jacket so keep that in mind that some changes may be awesome for me but not for your use case. In short if you aren't going to layer under this jacket - then size down BUT if you plan to add multiple layers (even down layers) then order your normal size. Some of the changes I noted from my 2013 model are; much longer in the front and back. The jacket now fully covers my longest mid layers which is a nice change. The collar is MUCH higher and provides way better protection that the 2013 model. Just a note about this - since the collar is much higher you can not wear hooded mid layers under this coat (go with the storm hood model instead). The sizing in the mid part of the jacket is larger than the 2013 model which accommodates any mid layer you could reasonably want to wear (prior 2013 model I was straining it with a mid weight down jacket under it). The sleeve design is way, way, way improved. They have basically 3D cut the sleeve to match your arm articulation now whereas before it was just a straight down cut. Articulation is really good. My only minor gripe with the fit is the sleeves are MUCH longer. My jacket is going down over ski gloves so not a huge deal and I get it why they did this - you had to increase sleeve length when you make everything else longer or else it looks wonky. Materials. The updated Gore-Tex Pro fabric has an amazing feel to it and is much less crinkly than the 2013 version I had before. I got the blue tetra color and oh man the website does not do this justice. Its amazing. The jacket color does have a bit of sheen to it but it really has a nice look. Both the 80D reinforced areas and the 40D areas have a very nice feel to them. The zippers for the pockets and pit zips are light years ahead of my 2013 model - meaning they are much easier to operate. This jacket is Made in Vietnam. Overall construction seems top notch and the stitching is the best I have seen on any jacket. Time will tell if it remains as durable as my 2013 did. Overall I think this is the best hardshell Arcteryx makes (for my use) as they have the fit dialed in just right (big but not huge, room for layers, but not sloppy). As a comparison I tried the Sabre jacket in large and that thing fits like a shower curtain. I'm 5'9" tall and 190 lbs with a 42 inch chest and 34 inch waist. I got the large.