Is the Arc'teryx Sabre SV Built to Last?

I’m out walking a ton these days, keeping a steady pace for about 2.5 to 4.5 hours daily. I hit the woods for some mountain hiking—no skiing for me, though. You know how it goes: different vibes, different gear. I’m really into chatting about these walks.

I live and exercise out on the beach. In winter, there’s this thick, humid ocean air, plus wind and rain. It’s not too chilly, though—usually hangs in the 40s. Sometimes it dips to the high 30s or climbs to the high 50s. That ocean air slices through your clothes and freezes your butt off, though.

By 2010, The North Face quality tanked, so I switched to Arc’teryx as my go-to brand. I tried other brands too, but stuck with Arc’teryx, or "Arc" for short. I’ve got a bunch of their Sabre Gore-Tex, Rush, Alpha SV, and Beta AR jackets. I really dig the Rush. Still, I lean toward the regular Gore-Tex in the Sabre—it’s warmer, holds up longer, feels softer, and just fits me better. Anyhow, the Rush is my top pick—it fits my frame great, covers me well, and I can roll with the Pro fabric. The Pro might breathe a bit better, or maybe not. The difference is tiny, though.

I’ve noticed Arc’teryx stuff wears out fast for me. A bunch of my Rush jackets start leaking before winter’s even done. And the zippers they sew in can split or bust. I’ve even spotted new Arc’teryx jackets at REI peeling apart—talk about a red flag. None of the Arc’teryx jackets can hold a candle to those old-school 1980s and ‘90s North Face mountain jackets. Seriously, the North Face ones shed water way better, never leak, actually block the wind instead of just swirling it around your body like Arc’teryx does, and they’re practically bulletproof. Yeah, they don’t make ‘em anymore, and I’ll cop to them not being super breathable. I’ve only got three left.

This season, I jumped into The North Face Futurelight shells—the top-of-the-line ones. I’m trying to stop blowing cash on Arc’teryx and their hit-or-miss quality. So far, these Futurelight jackets are way better than Arc’teryx. They’re lighter, way comfier, almost silky smooth, breathe better, shed water like champs, and so far, no issues.

But I’m real nervous about The North Face’s long-term quality. To me, everything but that super-hard-to-get Summit Expedition line is trash—and some of it costs more than Arc’teryx. If anyone’s rocked The North Face Futurelight stuff for a while, I’d love to hear about it.

My game plan for this season and next is to rock both The North Face Futurelight and the Arc’teryx Sabre SV, then see what’s up. But before I snag the Sabre SV, I wanna dig into it more—it looks dope as hell