My Arc’teryx jackets are falling apart. And yours?

It all depends on age and general maintenance.

You can buy the most expensive shell on the market (which the Alpha SV pretty much is) but if you don't wash and waterproof it regularly (3-4 times a year with heavy use) it will fall apart eventually. But even then, complicated jackets can brake down over time. I work in outdoor retail and a lot of people (even experienced alpinists) don't fully grasp how complicated and thus susceptible to wear and tear laminated membrane jackets are.

Now, for the SV I would say that 5-10 years of intensive use is a good lifetime. In that regard I understand Arc'teryx's decision. Gore XCR has been out of production for a while and seven years of intensive use is pretty good for a shell. I can't look in your head so I have no idea how well you took care of it but glue failure on the pit zips kind of scream salt/acid deposition to me.

For the PacLite one it depends, again, on age. I have no idea how old it is or how intensively it has been used. In general I don't like PacLite because it is a 2,5L laminate meaning it is much less durable and much less up to the abuse of a backpack for (nowadays) negligible weight savings, compared to modern-day 3L membranes.  

In terms of independent repair, you could choose to have the seams on the SV stitched by a trusted tailor, but chances are that this is only the beginning of a more general breakdown. Even if it doesn't show it, it might have other faults that will become apparent over time. the PacLite one I wouldn't bother repairing, it looks like the fabric itself is damaged. Not much to work with there. 

If you want quality, look no further than the ​Climb-tech jacket​​​

Why people are apparently okay with paying that kind of money for that kind of clothing continues to baffle me beyond belief. 

Just a short update. With the first jacket the Beta LT they offered me a 40% discount for a new one.

I am waiting their response for the Alpha

Kyle Elliott wrote: If you want quality, look no further than the Climb-tech jacket

Sure... but the REAL question is... what is that Red thing on his foot???  I think that is how THEY track you. 

Shaniac wrote:

Sure... but the REAL question is... what is that Red thing on his foot???  I think that is how THEY track you. 

I assumed it was where you plug in the extension cord. I guess I don't understand the kids these days. I mean, I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary. It’ll happen to you!

Carlos Danger wrote: Coming from a guy who is a giant dork and who owns a small fortune of Arc’teryx and Patagonia I think that in most cases the Arc equivalent of most Patagonia products is more durable. 

This was not my experience.  I got 10 years of hard use out of a Patagonia Stretch Element jacket that they fully warrantied due to glue/stichless seam failure.  I got less than a season out of an Arc'Teryx Alpha SV that had laminate separation from the face fabric (fully warrantied).  Sold the replacement Alpha SV on ebay and currently happy with my Patagonia Triolet replacement (1st season of snowsports use).  Just my personal data point, but I feel like my Patagonia stuff has held up as well (if not better) than my Arc'Teryx pieces.  Caveat I own nearly 2x the number of Patagonia pieces to Arc'Teryx or Outdoor Research.  

Same here, I guess we found the life expectancy of glued seams and zippers. I just sent pics in to arc teryx and I'm awaiting their response.  I have two other pullover shirts where the chest pocket was glued on. They fell off both shirts, meh, no big deal. But gore tex jackets are pretty pricey .

Is it mostly newer stuff? My two 5 years old shells are still holding up. 

Doug Chism wrote:

Is it mostly newer stuff? My two 5 years old shells are still holding up. 

Considering the original post was about goretex xcr I doubt its a new jacket. 

Since this thread’s already been necro’d:

If arctyrx or any other company is giving you the runaround on warranty stuff on a goretex hardshell, contact Gore. They have a “guaranteed to keep you dry” warranty that covers materials, workmanship and design for pretty much anything with the goretex label. Exclusions for “life of the product” and “normal wear and tear”, but if it’s 3 layer goretex, less than 10 years old, and delaminating or failing at the seams they will probably give you credit for a replacement. They might be less generous if it’s 2L/paclite, older, or obviously abused, but it’s still worth a try.

I had the same issue with the glue on my Arctyrex jacket. Everything that was held together with glue has come apart--the hood lining, wrist lining, the pocket liners, the pockets on the sleeves, everything. 

The jacket is lightly used (I live in Hawaii) but old (15 years old). 

The jacket was purchased at an Arctyrex retailer in Jackson, Wyoming in 2008. 

My complaint to ALL outdoor clothing brands: why in the *world would you use GLUE on *apparel that is going to get WASHED? Was I not supposed to WASH it? Please stop the madness. 

The rest of the jacket is in great condition. However, the jacket is falling apart because of the issues with the glue. 

At the time of OP XCR tech was at least 14 years old?

Jacquelyn Chappel wrote:

I had the same issue with the glue on my Arctyrex jacket. Everything that was held together with glue has come apart--the hood lining, wrist lining, the pocket liners, the pockets on the sleeves, everything. 

The jacket is lightly used (I live in Hawaii) but old (15 years old). 

The jacket was purchased at an Arctyrex retailer in Jackson, Wyoming in 2008. 

My complaint to ALL outdoor clothing brands: why in the *world would you use GLUE on *apparel that is going to get WASHED? Was I not supposed to WASH it? Please stop the madness. 

The rest of the jacket is in great condition. However, the jacket is falling apart because of the issues with the glue. 

PU based glue is vulnerable to hydrolysis eventually. 

Has anyone successfully get warranty on glue delaminating? I didn't have any luck at the store. Wondering if I should do online.

Giovanni Bertani wrote:
Is totally a glue issue that loses any adhesive characteristic and the pieces of the garment get detached even if there is no wear. It’s incredible that Arc’teryx does not have a solution for this and forces you to buy a new jacket.

As I was not going to replace two super expensive jackets in one season i decided to look for alternatives. After asking a friend that does a lot of expeditions I ended up to order a North Face Summit L5 that is built with a new material called futurelight.. By the reviews I read futurelight looks like a much more breathable option than the classic goretex used by Arc’teryx. If it works could be a game changer for my backcountry split boarding and long trails in humid weather like southern patagonia or North Pacific.

https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/mens-summit-l5-lightweight-jacket-nf0a35qf

I bought a Futurelight Summit L5 jacket a year or two ago and agree that they are awesome. As far as I can see they are no longer on sale. Do you agree?

divnamite wrote:

Has anyone successfully get warranty on glue delaminating? I didn't have any luck at the store. Wondering if I should do online.

I tried to no avail. The glue was coming apart on the bottom hem of my alpha sv. They sent it back to me without doing anything and I just sewed it since it didn’t matter if I put holes in it at the bottom. Warranty has taken a nose dive but you might get lucky if you deal with the right person. 

That's why I buy patagucci. . .

Steve Williams wrote:

That's why I buy patagucci. . .

I haven't had any luck with them repairing their 'welded' seams, though they would give me credit if I desired and didn't want the item back.

I have an Arcteryx day pack I bought in 1996 and have been using heavily ever since. Still going strong.