Ultralight Wind Shell
Arc’teryx Norvan Windshell Jacket
$130, 3.2 oz./91g (males’s medium)
Sizes: males’s XS-XXL, girls’s XXS-XXL
Males’s: arcteryx.com
Ladies’s: arcteryx.com
On winter and spring path runs in my native foothills in each mixture of cool to chilly wind or calm air and overcast to sunny skies, and on a hike-scramble of 11,330-foot Twin Peaks in Utah’s Wasatch Vary—practically 9 miles with 6,200 vertical ft of up and down—on a sunny October day with temps starting from the 40s to the 50s Fahrenheit and funky wind at occasions, the Arc’teryx Norvan Windshell Jacket demonstrated its strengths and minor shortcomings as one of many very lightest of the various ultralight wind shells you’ll discover at present.
Whether or not working on winter days chilly sufficient to put on the Norvan Windshell going each uphill and downhill, or spring and fall days within the 40s to 50s Fahrenheit with mild wind and sunshine, once I pulled on the shell solely on the descents, the ultralight Canim nylon ripstop polyester material at all times blocked wind nicely sufficient to stop me getting chilled. The jacket has a DWR (sturdy, water resistant remedy) to shed mild precipitation, however it should moist out in a gradual rain.
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The jacket breathes higher than most on this class and arguably higher than every other, or at the least matches the perfect in that division. Thanks partly to lighter, extremely breathable Permeair 20 material extending alongside the underside of the sleeves down the perimeters, it by no means allowed a lot moisture buildup inside, even once I sweated arduous on lengthy ascents; that additionally enabled my moist base layers to shortly dry out whereas shifting downhill. The flip aspect of that coin is that it additionally permits some wind to penetrate—a fascinating steadiness of breathability and wind resistance for a lot of path runners and hikers however one to concentrate on, for those who usually end up out in robust, chilly wind.
Most conspicuously, at simply 3.2 ounces (91g), the Norvan Windshell has few opponents for weight-to-performance ratio, and this extremely packable shell stuffs into its one zippered hip pocket, squishing all the way down to the scale of a baseball or barely bigger than a smartphone. With the jacket on you, that pocket can maintain small, weightless objects like a automobile key or lodge key card, and a smartphone does match inside it however is heavy sufficient to bounce round and awkwardly pull this jacket downward on that aspect.
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Its low weight owes partly to it missing a hood, that means much less wind safety than hooded ultralight shells, a few of the better of that are mere grams to an oz. or two heavier. That’s a tradeoff price considering, and the selection comes all the way down to your typical exercise and setting. On shoulder-season path runs or days within the mountains once I count on cool wind and presumably a lightweight bathe, I like a hooded ultralight shell. However on many path runs of some hours or much less once I could solely want a shell to protect towards cooling off on the downhill, the Norvan Windshell is ideal—and the carabiner loop lets me clip it to a bottle belt or very compact working vest.
With the standard articulated sleeves, adjustable hem, and elasticized cuffs present in a wind shell this mild, the trim match feels good when working, mountain climbing, or scrambling and accommodates a few midweight base layers.
One caveat: The Norvan Windshell’s wafer-thin material makes it solely acceptable for working, mountain climbing, mountain biking, and comparable actions that contain sporting nothing greater than a lightweight pack or working vest.
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Arc’teryx Norvan Windshell Jacket
The Verdict
Providing breathability and packability matched by just a few of the perfect ultralight wind shells, good wind resistance, and a weight decrease than just about any severe competitor, the Arc’teryx Norvan Windshell Jacket will enchantment to path runners, hikers, mountain bikers, and others in high-exertion, done-in-a-day actions who sometimes want a average stage of climate resistance in a really minimalist shell.
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You possibly can help my work on this weblog, for free of charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy a males’s Arc’teryx Norvan Windshell Jacket at arcteryx.com or rei.com, or a girls’s Arc’teryx Norvan Windshell Jacket at arcteryx.com or rei.com.
See “The Best Ultralight Hiking and Running Jackets” and “The Best Rain Jackets for Hiking and Backpacking,” and all evaluations of ultralight wind shells, ultralight rain jackets, trail-running gear, hiking apparel, and outdoor apparel at The Large Outdoors.
NOTE: I examined gear for Backpacker journal for 20 years. At The Large Outdoors, I evaluation solely what I contemplate the most effective outside gear and attire. See my Gear Reviews page at The Large Outdoors for categorized menus of all of my evaluations and my professional shopping for ideas.
—Michael Lanza
