Customer Reviews Arc'teryx Solano Jacket

The Solano lives up to its billing as a jacket designed for bike commuting and urban travel. It's sleek and well-proportioned with surprising ability to accommodate layers underneath. The interior fabric is similar to the fleece material used in the Gamma MX, but slightly thinner, and combined with the Gore Tex INFINIUM shell makes for a remarkably light and windproof jacket (I've yet to test its water resistance but I'm told the jacket performs somewhat like the Norvan). I appreciate the minimalist design and subtle branding of the Arc'teryx bird fossil logo on the sleeve. I like that I can wear the Solano around town or get on the bike and ride in cold weather without having to change into my 'Michelin Man' bike gear. This is a terrific jacket and a real bargain; if you're on the fence consider the Solano.

One of my favourite Arc'teryx pieces, this all round jacket that looks great and feels great too. The soft, brushed lining feels nice and adds just enough warmth for chilly transitional weather days. The cut and mimimal detailing makes this jacket a great choice for urban adventures, while the WINDSTOPPER softshell material breathes well during more active pursuits.

One of my favourite Arc'teryx pieces, this all round jacket that looks great and feels great too. The soft, brushed lining feels nice and adds just enough warmth for chilly transitional weather days. The cut and mimimal detailing makes this jacket a great choice for urban adventures, while the WINDSTOPPER? softshell material breathes well during more active pursuits.

Having had the Solano Jacket now for a couple of years its my everyday grab piece that never lets me down... Its weather resistance is amazing, fending off light rain and sloughing of wet snow, the fuzz on the inside is real cozy and does a great job of keeping the chill at bay and with the nylon inner on the sleeves its easy to layer with... Again a crossover piece which i use in the Mountains... Love it! If the Bird would give this jacket a hood...........??? The Solano Hooded Jacket....sounds cool...

I was looking for a lightweight windproof jacket with no specific brand in mind, mainly for use in late Spring and early Autumn. Browsing the racks I came across the Solano Jacket, tried on my size and perfect fit. After a few outings a can honestly say this is one of the best fitting jackets I have purchased and also my first Arc'teryx garment. It certainly won't be the last. Top Marks.

Extremely light as advertised, although not as light as the Celeris (not sure anything can be lighter than that jacket), but then this has different uses. Bought the volcano colour which is a very nice slightly darker red and the fits true to the athletic fit profile. I just wear it for spring/fall type temperatures. The interior fleece and inside the collar feels great to the skin, very soft.

I've been finding lately that the Arc'teryx small size has become larger over the year's and was glad that this jacket is available in extra small. I've had the hoody version of this for a number of years and it's great and still going strong. I've also got the first generation of the Solano jacket from many years ago which is more for running or cycling with its short front. This latest version is spot on for urban use. It's great on jeans or for wearing to work and the colour works with almost anything. One thing I've always wished for on the other Solano jackets was a inner pocket and this version now has one. It is one the small side but it fits a mobile phone fine and that's just about it. The cut is great and the length of the sleeves is spot on. I did try a small on and that was too big and the sleeves were very long. I've always liked the light insulation which has always felt great. The sleeves don't have the insulation but a smooth lining which makes getting the jacket on and off easy. I also like the underside of the cuffs which are elasticated but also of a tougher material for better wear. If you're looking for a smart spring or autumn jacket I highly recommend this.

I own a couple of the the Solano hooded jackets and I was very excited to see a hoodless version. I work in an office with a casual environment and this has become the jacket I wear everyday. It also looks good with a pair of dress slacks. It's just enough to keep rain and a chill in the air off when going from my car to the indoors. I would rate for temperatures as cool as 45, maybe 40 degrees Fahrenheit with a breeze and rain. The inner liner is soft, comfortable and breathable.

I use this as an everyday jacket for the fall and spring. I wear small other Arcteryx jackets (Incendio and Atom LT), however, this fits relatively smaller in the shoulders and body. I cannot really wear anything too bulky underneath. It isn't fit for layering with other jackets/mid-layers or thick sweaters. Would be nice to have a bit more room, without making the jacket fit loose. Pockets are small.

Bought this jacket for a Summer hiking trip through Scotland, and after that it pretty much entered my everyday use. Tested it through urban use and another hiking trip in late Summer Norway so I finally feel comfortable enough to properly review it. The jacket is one of the most comfortable I have ever worn. It fits my body (size M, 176 cm, 68 kg) almost perfectly and because it's so light I barely notice I'm wearing it sometimes. It has protected from wind in the Dutch Autumn, the Scottish Highlands and the Norse mountaintops, and is able to shrug off any light rain or drizzle. Combined with a warmer fleece sweater I have been able to use this in the winter as well so long as it doesn't rain or snow too heavily, though it does bulk up and starts to get a little full around the neck. As much as I'd like to say this is a perfect jacket, I do have a few gripes. As many before me have said, the pockets are too small to really fill any other function than storing anything bigger than a 12x12 cm piece of something. However my biggest annoyance was properly adjusting the hood: when I first wore the jacket, it felt like my head was drowning in the hood. The hood cinch in front helped a little bit, but unadjusted I could fit my climbing helmet in the hood. Especially when cycling in headwinds the hood feels like a mini-parachute. Overall, I still totally recommend the jacket. I reckon the pros heavily outweigh the cons, and while the hood may not be perfect for me, the rest of the jacket performs its function as a windstopper and urban jacket extremely well.

Bought this jacket for a Summer hiking trip through Scotland, and after that it pretty much entered my everyday use. Tested it through urban use and another hiking trip in late Summer Norway so I finally feel comfortable enough to properly review it. The jacket is one of the most comfortable I have ever worn. It fits my body (size M, 176 cm, 68 kg) almost perfectly and because it's so light I barely notice I'm wearing it sometimes. It has protected from wind in the Dutch Autumn, the Scottish Highlands and the Norse mountaintops, and is able to shrug off any light rain or drizzle. Combined with a warmer fleece sweater I have been able to use this in the winter as well so long as it doesn't rain or snow too heavily, though it does bulk up and starts to get a little full around the neck. As much as I'd like to say this is a perfect jacket, I do have a few gripes. As many before me have said, the pockets are too small to really fill any other function than storing anything bigger than a 12x12 cm piece of something. However my biggest annoyance was properly adjusting the hood: when I first wore the jacket, it felt like my head was drowning in the hood. The hood cinch in front helped a little bit, but unadjusted I could fit my climbing helmet in the hood. Especially when cycling in headwinds the hood feels like a mini-parachute. Overall, I still totally recommend the jacket. I reckon the pros heavily outweigh the cons, and while the hood may not be perfect for me, the rest of the jacket performs its function as a windstopper and urban jacket extremely well.

A lifestyle jacket should have great pockets it is essential for city life and commuting. Also a chest pocket for your cell phone would just flat out make sense. A few revisions of this and it would be a Grand Slam! The hand pockets are terrible boy sized make them able to fit a Mans hands. I like the jacket but would like it much more with better pockets. The hood cinch could be better.

I bought it now for my vacation in windy San Francisco. The jacket did the job very well. I felt protected and warm, but not too much. I used it only around town, not for hikes. So my experience is limited. It is reasonably packable and looks very stylish. I would maybe change only the zipper, which doesn't feel sturdy enough (probably a style choice) and definitely those small hand pockets.

First the bad: The pockets are indeed quite tiny, but I guess the patterning necessitates that. The neck is too tight for my liking. Having worn the jacket for a week and breaking it in a little, I find the neck less annoying then at first, but it can be a little snug zipping up all the way over a button up collar. I think I will get used to this eventually; it's not choking me. The good: Very comfortable, very good looking, great wind protection, totally suitable as a rain jacket for city commutes where you go in and out of dry places. Overall: I think the pros easily outweigh the cons and I think I'll be using this jacket a lot this year. I wouldn't expect this to be much use in active pursuits except perhaps shoulder season hiking, but there are better shell options for that anyway. If you need a jacket to walk to work, or walk the dog, then this is really perfect.

I really (really, really) like the cut of this jacket - I'm 178cm/70kg and usually find it difficult to find jackets long and skinny enough for me, while this jacket is bang on for sleeve and body length and overall size. It's windproof and water resistant, which makes it great for casual bike rides around town or cool hikes in the forest. My only gripe (and reason for 4/5 stars) is that I wish the hand pockets were bigger - my average sized hands barely fit into them. I would love a revision of this jacket with bigger hand pockets (and another version with no liner for summer wear / higher layering versatility).

Big Arc'teryx fan here. I own a Beta AR and a Venta AR... or I used to. The latter was stolen, so I tried to replace it with the Solano. The interior of the Solano is wonderful and soft. The fit is consistent with my other jackets. I am 5'7 and 160 lbs, and the smalls fit me well everywhere but my lats, which are a little tight if I flex. Regardless, the sleeves on the Solano are noticeably baggy, which destroys the elegance and cut of the jacket. I miss my Venta.

Big Arc'teryx fan here. I own a Beta AR and a Venta AR... or I used to. The latter was stolen, so I tried to replace it with the Solano. The interior of the Solano is wonderful and soft. The fit is consistent with my other jackets. I am 5'7 and 160 lbs, and the smalls fit me well everywhere but my lats, which are a little tight if I flex. Regardless, the sleeves on the Solano are noticeably baggy, which destroys the elegance and cut of the jacket. I miss my Venta.

I own the Solano jacket for a few weeks now, and have started wearing it almost on a daily basis. It has some heat retention, but won't stand on its own in cold weather. It shines in its weather resistance though, being very windproof and much more resistant to water than I had expected. The downside is the fit. I ordered a medium, but the sleeves fit as though they are built for Jean-Claude Van Damme, and are much too wide for the average individual with a sporty build like myself. The body could also be a bit more fitted. If I could give one tip to Arc'teryx it would be to create a new version of the Solano jacket with a fit closer to that of the Nodin jacket.

I own the Solano jacket for a few weeks now, and have started wearing it almost on a daily basis. It has some heat retention, but won't stand on its own in cold weather. It shines in its weather resistance though, being very windproof and much more resistant to water than I had expected. The downside is the fit. I ordered a medium, but the sleeves fit as though they are built for Jean-Claude Van Damme, and are much too wide for the average individual with a sporty build like myself. The body could also be a bit more fitted. If I could give one tip to Arc'teryx it would be to create a new version of the Solano jacket with a fit closer to that of the Nodin jacket.

I bought this jacket with high hopes of replacing my veilance nemis jacket, with an everyday throw on casual jacket. I wanted to love this jacket so badly but alas, this piece misses the mark by a long shot for me. For something meant for urban wear, I wished that the insulating material inside was a little stiffer, giving this jacket a little better form. I also wished the inside material was more like the ATOM, smooth and doesn't rub onto any material on the inside causing friction. The windstopper material in this is great though. Can't complain about that. The arms sleeve are cavernous, I feel like I'm supposed to have large biceps and triceps and long arms to wear this jacket. I'm 5'10", medium built and I wear a medium. The arm sleeves on this jacket makes me look like I'm wearing a flying squirrel suit. I wished the hem was a little longer, so that it would look more like an urban jacket and not just a athletic track jacket, so that you could also wear this into a business meeting. Almost there Arc'teryx. Almost there.

I bought this jacket with high hopes of replacing my veilance nemis jacket, with an everyday throw on casual jacket. I wanted to love this jacket so badly but alas, this piece misses the mark by a long shot for me. For something meant for urban wear, I wished that the insulating material inside was a little stiffer, giving this jacket a little better form. I also wished the inside material was more like the ATOM, smooth and doesn't rub onto any material on the inside causing friction. The windstopper material in this is great though. Can't complain about that. The arms sleeve are cavernous, I feel like I'm supposed to have large biceps and triceps and long arms to wear this jacket. I'm 5'10", medium built and I wear a medium. The arm sleeves on this jacket makes me look like I'm wearing a flying squirrel suit. I wished the hem was a little longer, so that it would look more like an urban jacket and not just a athletic track jacket, so that you could also wear this into a business meeting. Almost there Arc'teryx. Almost there.

I am very disappointed in this jacket. The material is listed as a "softshell" but outer material is more like a nylon windbreaker. It's has a warm fleece inner lining and a thicker nylon lining in the arms that feels like putting your arms into plastic bags. The nylon in the arms are very noisy. This jacket is super hot for how light it is. It 55 degrees F today and this jacket is too hot to wear, especially the arms. I have no idea what they were thinking putting this lining in the arms. First piece of Arc'teryx clothing that I absolutely hate.