Arc'teryx Alpha AR versus Beta AR

Hi everyone,

I know there is a similar post about this but I didn't get a full answer from it. I am looking to get a hardshell jacket, either the Aplha AR or Beta AR. Could someone please advise me on which one I should get? I would wear it to go hiking, climbing and just everyday use. Thanks!

I think you can go to Arcteryx's website and compare them side by side to see what the differences are.

Unless your doing hard alpine climbing in crappy weather you probably don't need ether of theses jackets. Save your money and get something else non arcteryx.

Apha is their climbing stuff, Beta is their all-mountain/skiing.

If you want a camping/around town jacket don't go dead-bird. If you want the logo then go Beta, alpha won't have any of the features that you want.

Short answer: get something else.

Alpha has a much longer hemline. That and the pocket configuration are the main differences. I have an Alpha FL and would not be happy if less than 70% of my usage of it were other than climbing. It is really great for climbing but not as useful for other things like skiing due to lack of pit zips and pocket config. I think the AR model has pit zips but you still run into the specificity problem a little.