Hood
The Axiom’s hood is about the only thing I wasn’t completely happy with. I found it to be a little on the voluminous side when I wasn’t wearing a helmet. Outdoor Research states it’s helmet compatible, which it certainly is, but they also say it’s fully-adjustable, and I didn’t find the Axiom’s hood adjustable enough when I wasn’t wearing a helmet beneath it. The hood has one elastic cinch cord, and tightening the cord down does scrunch the hood’s fabric some, helping it fit closer to your head and not flop around so much, but I still felt like I couldn’t reign in enough of the excess material. Hoods with two drawstrings usually cinch down better, but adding a second drawstring to the Axiom’s hood would add weight to the jacket and affect its packability. Still, I wonder if Outdoor Research could cut away some of the fabric on the Axiom’s hood, improving the sans-helmet fit, and further shed weight.
Waterproofing
The Axiom is constructed with a lightweight, four-way stretch 20-denier nylon face fabric bonded to the Gore-Tex Active waterproof / breathable membrane. I’ll direct you to Paul Forward’s discussion of Gore-Tex Active in his Mountain Equipment Firefox review if you want to read more about how Gore Active differs from Gore Pro. And for a more technical look into how waterproof / breathable membranes work in general, check out Sam Shaheen’s Outerwear 101.
I tested the Axiom for the last six months in all kinds of wet conditions, from backcountry trail maintenance in a deluge, to ski touring in a blizzard. Like Paul’s experience with the Firefox, the Gore Active used in the Axiom kept me totally dry, as dry as any other hard shell I’ve used, even those with Gore Pro.
Most recently, I took the Axiom to New Zealand for a month of backpacking and fly fishing, and the jacket weathered the humidity and rain on the West Coast without a problem.
Breathability
OR says that the Axiom’s “incredible breathability negates the need for pit zips, allowing us to further save weight.” The jacket’s pockets double as vents, but they’re not as large as a dedicated pair of pit zips (like those on the Mountain Equipment Firefox) and I was curious to see if the Axiom’s performance held up to OR’s claims about it’s breathability.
For the most part, those claims are accurate.
This is the first time I’ve worn a Gore Active jacket and also the first time I’ve used a jacket in the rain without pit zips, and I’ve been quite impressed by how well the Axiom breathes, even during strenuous activity.
The only instance when I overheated in the jacket was while backpacking in a downpour with 60+ lbs. on my back, hiking up a sustained grade for over an hour. I had both 9” pockets wide open to help dump heat, but I needed to unzip the Axiom’s front zipper halfway to hasten the venting process. Even so, I never felt like I needed to take the jacket off completely, and that’s an impressive feat for a hard shell. So whether it’s ski touring or climbing in the summer, if you’re going to wear the Axiom during high-output activities, I think you’ll be quite happy with how it performs.
Durability
I tend to buy one piece of outerwear every decade, then beat the piss out of it doing trail work. So far, after six months, the Axiom has held up remarkably well, having been stuffed into packs repeatedly and treated without much care, and I have no concerns about its durability. I haven’t needed to re-treat the jacket’s DWR yet, but I have washed it a couple times to keep the fabric clean.
However, while the Axiom’s thin, light, 20-denier face fabric has proved durable enough for my needs, I would be a little hesitant to recommend it (or any Active Shell jacket, for that matter), to someone who does a lot of snow mobiling, cat skiing, heli skiing, or any potentially rough and abrasive activity. For that, a jacket with Gore Pro—a thicker, more durable fabric—might be a good idea, especially if you’re looking to use the jacket on most outings over a number of years.
Bottom Line
I’ve been really impressed with the Outdoor Research Axiom’s simplicity and functionality. It has proved to be a great, breathable ski touring shell, has held up well to the rigors of Ranger work, and has kept me dry in of all the adverse conditions I’ve encountered.
There are burlier, more fully-featured jackets out there, and there are jackets with looser, more relaxed fits that can accommodate more layers. But if you’re after a simple, lightweight, packable, do-it-all shell, I highly recommend the Axiom.