Arc'teryx BETA AR

Less than a week later, my wife had a brand new jacket. It might not be as light, but I really like my Beta AR as a do anything shell. While the sl anorak will definitely save ounces, the full zip and ventilation on the AR makes it a bit more versatile IMO.

In my personal opinion, the new 2020 Beta AR pant has widened the gap in Arc'teryx shell pants offering: the Zeta LT having been discontinued in 2018, you now have to choose between the Beta AR in Rugged Gore-Tex Pro and the Beta SL or Zeta SL in Gore-Tex Paclite with nothing in-between. Not sure if there's something in the Ascent collection as I don't usually buy products designed for Alpine climbing.

I used to own an Arc'teryx Beta Ar and i have owned a Fjällräven Keb Eco-Shell for 6-7years. ​. Beta AR, i didnt really like the fit of the jacket, i had it in XL. And in general i never felt "home" with that jacket on.

Here’s my beef with the Beta AR: the collar. It’s a feature of the jacket and is very robust, but the fit of it is just annoying for me. Very stiff and confining for my chin. I couldn’t get comfortable on either size I tried, while the rest of the jacket fit fairly well.

Because depending on the conditions you may be taking off that jacket and putting it back on based on the intensity of the section of the hike you are doing. I snowshoe in deep winter in my Beta AR arc'teryx shell. It has 2 hand pockets that I barely even use for anything besides my gloves.

If it’s like 80% skiing then the more durable beta AR may work best. But if you are hardly skiing and it’s primarily for backpacking and everyday use, I love my beta LT for that. I also don’t like the collar on the beta AR as most of my mid-layers have hoods, but that’s just a preference thing. I would look for past season beta LT personally, many are 40+% off right now.

I second what others have said: the Beta AR, maybe the Beta FL, and potentially the Beta SV (although this one also has the high collar) seem right for you. They're better for urban settings because of the hand pockets and the slightly less stiff (SV) to quite a bit less stiff (AR/FL) face fabric.