Proton Hoody

I've been using my proton hoody for the last few weeks. I live on southern Vancouver Island and this jacket offers the perfect amount of insulation beneath a shell for coastal fall and winter months. The sizing is bang on. Nice to see that it is pretty long in the torso for very good coverage. It seams very thin, almost too thin upon first handling of the jacket, but my concerns vanished after wearing it as it offers tremendous amount of warmth for its thickness. It is very breathable, which was my incentive for buying it. It has a thin exterior material which, I was nervous about for durability, but it is actually very well built and my fear of tearing the outer material has diminished after using it daily for the last few weeks. I wouldn't want to wade through thick devils club with it for any length of time, but it is more than durable to wear on its own in most conditions.

The Dark Jade colour way is one of the best in the last five years. Throwing that mongoose colour patch on the pocket doesn't work unfortunately, which is too bad. Solid dark jade like the solid black proton would have been great. The rune colour way and it's different coloured patch do work well together. I hope this jacket performs well.

I bought this for my boyfriend to use as his go-to for rock climbing and alpine days as he needed an active insulation layer. He says it's honestly the best piece of gear he's ever owned. He's obsessed with it. He's put it through a lot of abuse already, and it's been perfect. The face fabric is noticeably softer than the Atom, which he really prefers. It feels great but still seems tough enough to handle the rock.

Very light weight , keeps you warm but allows it to breath at the same time , great product

Great insulation along with lightweight design, exactly the right one for mountain activities!

The proton used to be my favorite jacket. It was the best fitting, most comfortable, all around best jacket I have ever had. But, at some point over the last two years, they made a design change to it. I recently purchased a newly designed one to replace my older one, and it fits more like a jacket you would find at a big box store. No taper, no thoughtfulness to the end user, just a big trash bag that would fit anyone within a size and a half. The arms got longer, the width got wider and less fitted, the hood and collar got bigger, The material got softer in a bad way and felt cheaper, and there was less insulation making it a colder jacket. I don't know what their intent was, but it seems like they are trying to move away from fitting athletic builds, and moving towards fitting the larger audience of overweight Americans. I regret to say this, but I will likely never buy another one of these jackets, unless something changes with the design to return it closer to its original size and shape.

Cheap feel. Zippers fail. Branding wore off. Stitches come apart.

I've been using a Proton the last 4 months for winter season and travel. I've used it from 20 up to 70f and have felt comfortable thanks to the superb breathability. It's not the most wind resistant - a cold breeze can still sneak through - but its a tradeoff that works. The Proton is meant to be an active piece. The jacket is still plenty warm, and when I'm hiking, the breathability is a big plus as opposed to feeling like I'm in an oven. I took this jacket on a 3 day motorbike trip in the north of Vietnam (ha giang loop) and the wind resistance worked great. The jacket itself feels durable and the fit lends itself towards slender, athletic people (it fits my 6ft frame flawlessly). I love the articulation and quality of the pockets and cinchcords - everything is top notch. My favorite aspect of the jacket though is the insulation. You get this wonderful burst of warmth the moment you put it on. The lining is buttery soft and it's the perfect jacket for those frigid mornings you need to step out of your tent for hike to the restroom.

Super versatile jacket, and I have used it a ton for hiking and ski touring as both a mid and outer layer; however, the fit is a little off for me, this being my first Arcteryx jacket, I went with a large (6'1, 168ish) it feels great in the shoulder/chest area but is seriously loose around the waist/stomach didnt really notice at first but as time went on it started to bug me a fair bit. The medium felt too tight for my liking, maybe just a me issue though. Recommend it, but just be very careful choosing a size.

After using it for some months on Alps and Hokkaido area, Barely windy resistant. Not suitable for mountaineering. Low isolation level.