Product Review: Arc’teryx Cerium LT Jacket
After months of unseasonably warm weather, the bone-chilling cold looks like it is here to stay in Salt Lake City. While I don’t normally rejoice in this type of weather, it does finally give me a chance to review my Arc’teryx Cerium LT jacket in proper conditions. Let’s take a look shall we?
DISCLAIMER: Arc’teryx provided me with this jacket for the purposes of this review, but Ultrarunner Joe cannot be bought! My reviews are always as unbiased and honest as possible!
Overview
The Cerium LT was recommended to me when I was looking for a lifestyle/everyday wear type jacket to wear during the winter months. In addition, Arc’teryx markets it as a mid-layer to use in dry conditions. As I am not a skier, I can’t comment much on it’s use as a mid-layer during activity, but I will talk to the ways I have used it later in the review. Before we get into that, here are some of the key selling points (from the Arc’teryx website):
- 850 fill European goose down
- 9.3 oz (super light and packs down to a small footprint)
- Down Composite Mapping strategically places synthetic insulation in areas where moisture may buildup; down in the core and the collar gives maximum warmth. In essence, this provides maximum amount of warmth with in the lightest jacket possible.
- Water Repellant
- Hood model also available (I went without the model without the hood based on my preference.
- Two zippered pockets with a stuff sack inside the left pocket.
Fit
The length of the jacket extends down to about hip-level. Also, it has a form-fitting design to provide maximum warmth, which is something you should take into account. In the image below, I am wearing a medium, which is the same as my shirt size. It is super comfortable with a t-shirt on underneath, but I found it to be a bit restrictive while zipped when I had a heavier shirt on underneath. If you plan on wearing this with thicker base layers, I would recommend buying one size up from your typical shirt size. Construction of the jacket is perfect, with no visible defects or deficiencies. Everything you would expect to see from a premium jacket.
In Action
As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to wear this as a lifestyle jacket. I have worn it as an outer shell over a t-shirt (as shown above) and as a mid-layer with a hoodie on over it, with the former being my far more common use. I was surprised by how warm it is for such a light jacket. It performs so well that when wearing it over a t-shirt, I still find that I sweat if the temperature starts warming to anything over 30-35 F. The sweet spot as an outer layer is definitely somewhere between 0 – 25 F. For colder days, you could switch to using it as a mid-layer with something over it. In either case, it does a fabulous job at keeping the core warm due to the fact that it does such a great job at containing body heat. Another plus about this jacket is that it disappears after awhile. In other words, it is so light that you forget you are wearing it after a while. Additionally, despite it being form-fitting, it wasn’t restrictive in the slightest keeping you free to move your arms without discomfort.
Conclusion
If you don’t want to buy another jacket for awhile, I would say that the Cerium LT is a sound investment. Yes, it is more expensive, but you are getting top-of-the-line technology that results in one of the best weight-to-warmth ratios of any jacket on the market. Additionally, its construction and durability ensures you will have this for a while. The only downside to this particular style is that you have to be careful on sizing because the form-fitting design does limit what you can wear underneath it if you do not size it properly. If you have a chance to try it on first, I would recommend that. Otherwise, make sure you order from a place where you can exchange it easily if needed. If not sure, size up one size above your shirt size.
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