Fit
The Alpha Pro fits quite slim. At 5’10” 135lbs, I am not a big guy, and the medium is very snug on me. The body leaves little room for layering, and the sleeves leave even less.
The sleeves are just about skin tight over my forearms but have more room in the biceps and shoulders. Consequently, I can only comfortably wear short-sleeve base layers under this jacket. This hasn’t been too big of deal for me personally because I prefer short sleeved base layers, but it might be an issue for some, especially if you have bigger forearms.
The fit is also fairly long—with a zipper length of 28”, it is one of the longest insulators I have.
It is also the first insulator I have ever been happy to have a two-way main zipper; because it is both long and slim, pulling the bottom zipper head up an inch or two can give some added range of motion.
One of my only complaints about the jacket comes from the fit. Because of the way the shoulder/body seam is cut, lifting up your arms causes the jacket to ride up badly. If I lift my arm over my head, the hem of the jacket comes up about 7”. This is very annoying when wearing a harness because it will absolutely not stay tucked in while climbing. And it is also annoying when layering because it causes a perfect example of a “layer incompatibility”.
A layer incompatibility happens when, for whatever reason, two or more layers just don’t jive well together. Often it has to do with the layers being grabby and sticking to one another. In this case though, every time you lift up your arms, you have to resituate everything due to the Alpha Pro riding up. This usually involves grabbing the hem of the affected layers and giving a good sharp downward tug. I found that I can avoid this issue if I layer the Alpha Pro underneath my bibs while skiing – it does make it difficult to take the jacket off if you get hot, but it fixes the aforementioned issue.
Features
Besides the number of fabrics and fabric technology used throughout the piece, there are a handful of other notable features. The two-way main zipper, zippered hand warmer pockets, zip chest pocket, draw cord hem and a draw cord collar.
The draw cord collar is a new feature to me, and I have yet to be in a situation that warrants its use. If using the Alpha Pro as an outer layer in spindrift conditions though, I would definitely crank that thing down! However, if using the Alpha Pro as an inner layer, it doesn’t serve much purpose.
The two-way main zipper is difficult to get started. It is hard enough to line up the tiny zipper head of a standard zip. Add in another zipper head, and things just get more difficult. As a general rule, I don’t buy jackets with two way main zips; I just don’t like them. I won’t complain in this case though, because like I said earlier, the feature is actually useful on this jacket. /end rant on two way zips
The pockets, both hand warmer and chest, are small. Just big enough for my iPhone or a few snacks, but not much else.
Bottom Line
Polartec Alpha is unquestionably awesome. And the Marmot Alpha Pro jacket is awesome, too, though it has a very specific fit that might not work for everyone (I’d call it a “tall and slim” fit).
The Marmot Alpha Pro is a puffy insulator that breathes more like a fleece. It is lightweight and packs down decently. It is slim fitting and technology rich. It’s warm, but not warmer than most thin puffy jackets.
When I first started wearing it, I had some doubts whether it would make it into my regular rotation. But the combination of breathability and the fact that it provides the perfect amount of warmth for Colorado ski touring has made reaching for the Alpha Pro an easy choice in the morning.
Hi,
Good review.
I’m 5’10” also but 180lbs by comparison and also wear a medium. My findings largely match up with
the review in terms of breathability but differ in terms of fit and mobility.
The forearms are tight on me but the bicep area is ridiculously loose and the sleeves are also
far too long. The fact that the forearms are tight means that I can disguise the superfluous
length by bunching the material up in that area.
I find the jacket doesn’t ride up at all when reaching over head, and I’ve used it exclusively
for Scottish winter climbing. I also have room to wear a long sleeve base layer and R1 style hoody (NW Alpine Black Spider Light Hoody in this case) under the Alpha Pro. I will note that due to the tight forearms and material choice it’s a bit of a struggle to get the Marmot piece on, but there is definitely room under it.
Bearing in mind that I’m almost 50lbs heavier than the reviewer but am wearing the same size,
perhaps the US cut is different to the European? I know this is the case in a few product lines
but usually the US cut is more, rather than less generous. We also can’t rule out copy to copy
variation: I may have got a medium that was over sized for instance.
All in all the jury is still out for me on this item, I think the main question I have is why use
breathable insulation and then over layer it in a fairly clammy material like Pertex? You
instantly lose the advantage that Alpha brings to the mix.
Rab seems to have got the point of using this new material by using a less windproof but more
breathable outer layer.
Hey Ronin,
Thanks for your comments!
One thing that I didn’t mention in the review is that the piece that I reviewed was a sample piece. It is quite possible that the cut got changed slightly before production, especially in the arm seams to improve range of motion.
And I certainly agree with your point on using Pertex as a shell layer on a supposedly super breathable insulation. However, I found that I really didn’t notice the Pertex hampering the breathability that much. My theory is that in periods of high activity, your sweat is building up within the insulation and on the outer Pertex layer, slowly breathing but not as fast as you sweat. During periods of low activity, the Pertex gets a chance to essentially catch up and get the rest of the moisture out of the jacket. As long as you don’t wet the majority of the the Alpha out, I’m not sure you’d notice outer Pertex as a vapor barrier.
This would be a great theory to test out using some other pieces, including the Rab line.
One important point is that I think we’ll see pieces using Alpha evolve significantly as manufactures figure out how they want to use the insulation.
Thanks again for your comments!
Sam
This review doesn’t feel complete to me. Is not Pertex Quantum a type of soft shell fabric that is supposed to have high weather resistance? You didn’t really talk about it’s water resistance in different weather conditions such as light rain, heavy mist, snow, and wind. I would assume that is the reason they used this fabric, instead of just ripstop nylon or something else…
Hey Alvin, thanks for your questions.
Pretax Quantum is a high density light weight weave that is designed to allow insulated garments to fully loft while keeping insulation in and rain/snow out. It is made with very low denier fibers that are woven very tightly. This is a very similar fabric to what is used in most high end “puffy” jackets.
For water and weather resistance, The Quantum on the Alpha Pro performs very similar to other DWR treated nylon insulators. Light snow dusts off just fine, especially in cold weather. Much more than a light flurry though, and I typically throw on a shell. To use this as an outer layer requires clear skies for the most part.
I wear this as an outer layer on pretty much all of my winter touring days on the way up unless it snows hard. Although the Quantum is essentially windproof, because the sleeves are not, I sometimes will put on a shell if winds get too high. On the way down, I always put a shell on.
I hope that clears everything up,
Sam
Ah..so it is no better than DWR treatment? In my experience, that is nearly worthless. I had read some stuff about Pertex that made it sound like so much more than that. I’m glad I got your response before spending any money on anything made of it.
I guess I can wait another couple of years until the next big thing comes out. Having already a closet full of insulating pieces, this climber surely doesn’t need to spend a couple of Benjamins on one weighing a pound and a half with cool-sounding technologies that don’t add anything.
Hey Alvin,
Pertex does have some cool technologies with variable denier weaves to promote breathability through capillary action, however, the shell fabric in this piece is pretty much just a DWR treated lightweight nylon face fabric. The cool thing about this piece is the Polartec Alpha insulation.