Description of Arc'teryx Covert Hooded Fleece Jacket - Men's:
The Arc'teryx Covert Hoody is a sweater with a secret. Its generous hood and deep pockets remind you of your favorite hooded sweatshirt while its sculpted silhouette does away with that old hoody's baggy look. With its sweater-like knit, Polartec Thermal Pro material feels better every time you put it on. This hardworking performance fabric stays warm and dry from the inside out.
Bottom Line: The Covert Hoody enjoys all of the standard Arc'teryx innovation but keeps its technical side on the down-low.
This is a high quality, comfortable, hoody for casual wear. Good for Fall & Spring weather as a casual sweater around town. I'm 6'4" and 185 Ibs with an athletic build and a large fits me pretty well. I wish my sleeves were about an inch longer but they're not bad. When I first got this hoody I was a bit disappointed. It's quite thin and seemed like a regular cotton hoody but with a better look and fit. After wearing it for a few days in SLC's January weather I began to notice how warm it really was. It offers little wind protection and minimal protection from precipitation but is about 2 to 3 times as warm as a cotton hoody. The two front pocket are nice and decently insulated. The arm pocket is so small it can't even hold my IPhone but it does look cool. I also wore this as a layer above a Smartwool Micro weight base layer and below my Marmot Exum hard shell in the Wasatch Mountains on a partly cloudy day with temps in the 20's and I was fairly comfortable as long as I kept moving. Lastly, the $200 price tag is way too much. I paid $120 for mine and I think it was a little too steep. A reasonable price is between $70-$100. If you get it for that much you'll be happy.
Straight up, this is a warm hoodie. beats the pants off of cotton or polyester. THAT BEING SAID!!!! i would not pay full price for this, and i did not. if you want a warm hoodie for the same price, go with merino wool, or a yummy fleece. when i think that this jacket is a comparable price to the Ibex softshell or the Colombia R2 series, i cry a little on the inside. if you have the kind of money to spend this on a hoody, spend it on a Westcomb arcane softshell, or a better fabric hoody. Polartec is not a new material, and better ones exist. if you can get this hoody for cheap, however, do it. its the best casual hoody ive ever had, but casual hoodies shouldent hit above the 60 dollar range to begin with.
This is really not an outwear piece - but is great for lounging around in the winter. Don't expect it to protect you from the wind. Go with the Gamma softshell if you really want a technical outwear jacket.
