Arc'teryx Hades Jacket - Insulated Soft Shell (For Men)

While I love many products made by Arc'Teryx, I didn't love this item--mainly because it didn't fit well. Arms were long, chest was tight. It's not clear to me what sort of "medium" sized person the jacket was made for but not for this one! I can't imagine how the "large" could be both shorter in arm but looser in chest. I returned it.

my son had a size medium easy rider arcteryx that he outgrew. i think the style was a shorter cut/shorter sleeve length. this one is a large, a little roomy on him, could easily fit layers underneath, and the nice long sleeves are nice and long(!) so i shouldn't have to replace this one as soon as the last! although the easy rider is a great soft-shell, this is more wind proof.

great coat, just a little short for my 6ft 2in son

This is a typical Arc'teryx piece: athletic cut with nicely tailored fit. No frills, no extras. Just a warm, close-fitting, technical layering piece. I am a "typical" size large guy (5' 11", 190#, long arms, wide shoulders) and find the size large to be about perfect. I do not find the sleeves to be overly long. They extend to about the meaty part of my thumb/palm, and this is a nice length when you raise your arms up. I wore this jacket under a hardshell quite a bit while snowboarding recently. Temps were in the mid teens to mid twenties and life was grand. The handwarmer pockets are easy to open and close. The collar stands up nicely and the whole jacket has a relatively low loft, dense insulation layer. The shell is a sort of 80's polyester weave that seems to pick up stains pretty easily. I have not tried to wash it yet. The only minor gripe is that you need to wear a relatively low bulk top under it since the jacket's sleeves are not that wide.

I got this for winter bicycle riding as a shell or 2nd layer but ended up returning it, fit was a bit weird, and I thought it was overpriced for what it was. Too bad, because the material looked and felt pretty good, plus the fact that it wasn't made in China alone made me want to keep it. Ended up getting something on sale for twenty bucks at some big box store that does the job just fine.