Customer Reviews Arc'teryx Macai Jacket

I bought this jacket expecting a warm everyday jacket for Canadian winters but I found myself cold standing still, walking or sitting from -10C to -30C when humidity finally drops. If you are slightly more active it will work just fine (walking fast, ice skating) Though, beware that it's too warm for active sports (hockey, snowboarding, skiing, snowshoeing...). An important fact, looking at Arc'teryx size chart I fall in-between small and medium (5'11" for 165lbs). The athletic fit led me to buy a medium, but this was a mistake since it's too big for me if I don't put a sweater. A small would have kept me warmer when standing still and it would still have enough space for under layering. I recommend going one size smaller if you fall between two sizes. Down distribution is mostly around your upper body. In the lower portion of the jacket, you will find very few to about no down as you go to the lower edge/limit of the jacket. As a result, your back feels cold when you are not active. The jacket doesn't have a waist adjustment cord. I'm a slim man and having a waist draw cord would have made a great difference. The hood is made to wear a helmet. Beware that it will be way too big for your head if you don't wear one. As a result, it's very loose (it flys off easily). Furthermore, when you adjust it so it doesn't fly off all the extra material gathers in the back and it looks very bad. Plus, when you make it tighter, it falls right before your eyes and this jacket doesn't have a feature to adjust that. Basically, when it's adjusted to your head (no helmet) you can't look forward since it blocks your view. In short, I am very disappointed by this jacket since it doesn't work for me as advertised; since I bought it to keep me warm and I find it way too cold when standing, walking or sitting (which is most of the time) , since it has certain design flaws like the missing waist draw cord or the useless chest pocket (too small), since the hood is way too big when not wearing an helmet; since the hood blocks your view when fitted to your head (the hood helps a lot to keep you warm so you want it on); since its ideal usage is limited to light sports (which most of the time doesn't required an helmet...); since it's way too warm for skiing (even at -30C) and since the size chart is miss leading and not specific to the Macai.

I bought this jacket for resort skiing, with minimal layering. It is very warm and waterproof. But the negatives are far too many to justify the cost. The zipper pulls are too small to operate with gloves on. The front zipper does not have a two-way pull. A resort specific ski jacket should have a two-way zipper. The pockets run small-ish, and the chest pocket is useless for anything other than tissues or lip balm. The neck opening is too small to comfortably accommodate wearing a face mask on cold days. The shell material is fragile. I ripped mine on my first tree run meaning I could not risk any more tree skiing for the remainder of my trip. The specs indicate N40p Gore. For the cost, it should be heavier material like the Sabre jacket, (N80p) or more. I will be having this jacket repaired and selling it. Between outerwear and clothing I own over 25 other Arc'teryx items, all of which would receive 4.5-5 star reviews. The Macai does not. It could be a great jacket if overhauled.

After one season of resort skiing the jacket tore on a simple fall. For the price this coat should last more than a year. Definitely avoid this coat. Was going to buy the Macai pants this season but given the poor quality of this coat I won't be buy any Arc'teryx products.

Very disappointed this jacket doesn't come in size xs!? Small is too big for my son...

First, like most Arc'teryx products, this jacket is really great looking, very warm, and fits incredibly well for my body (I am 5'6", 145 pounds). HOWEVER, I bought this jacket for resort skiing, so wasn't expecting crazy backcountry kind of durability, but on my first day wearing it I took what I would call a "normal" fall (no rocks, sticks, sharp ice, etc) and the jacket ripped. Similar to what some other reviews here have stated, would expect this to at least be able to withstand a typical fall. I threw some repair tape over it so can continue to use it, but very disappointed overall and cannot recommend given durability issues.