Outdoor Research Archangel - Women's Review

The Outdoor Research Archangel is a durable hardshell made of great materials, with a few notable features that limit its versatility.

Performance Comparison

Weather Protection

The Archangel uses some of the highest quality hardshell fabric in the industry–3L Gore-Tex Pro fabric. This is a stiff and tough hardshell material that will weather many storms. The material, however, doesn't tell the whole story of how well a jacket does at keeping the weather out, and there were a few design features in the jacket that raised concern.

The main front zipper has a storm flap behind it to keep the wetness out, but the hand pockets and pit zips do not. This jacket is designed for cold and burly weather, so the interaction of this jacket with precipitation in a liquid form is perhaps less critical. However, the mountains do wild weather things, and we want to be ready for it all. In our testing, rain easily snuck through these zippers. In the pockets, there is still a waterproof layer to keep the moisture off your body (but not off the contents in the pocket), but in the pit zips, drips will leak right through.

Mobility and Fit

The Archangel is in the category of stiffer, burlier hardshell jackets. As such, it is a bit looser to allow full range of motion, but the overall cut is comfortable and reasonable for technical climbing and skiing maneuvers. The pit zips have very large teeth, making the underarms feel much stiffer. We often felt the zipper curl and flex under our arm, which was not the most comfortable feeling and could have been avoided with a smaller and more supple zipper. The large teeth also made this zipper more difficult to operate at that weird underarm angle.

Venting and Breathability

The Archangel uses top-notch waterproof/breathable Gore-Tex Pro, as burly as you can get while remaining reasonably breathable. This jacket also features pit zips to help to shed excess heat in a hurry. Typically we like this feature, but the large teeth and lack of storm flap or waterproof zippers here raised concern for the permeability of the jacket in really wet weather. Indeed, in our testing, liquid water runs right through these zippers. In frozen climates, however, where liquid precip is not a thing, this permeability may be a boon to the underarm ventilation, even when not unzipped!

Weight

The OR Archangel is one of the heavier jackets we tested and is designed to provide a bit more coverage with a longer back length and generous hood, making it feel more like an expedition hardshell model.

Features and Design

The Archangel has an excellent hood with a brim that easily accommodates a helmet. The adjustments to hem and hood are easy, though the cinches are external on the hood — not our favorite because of the potential for snow and ice buildup. There is an internal chest pocket, though it is small and just barely fits a midsized smartphone.

The jacket has big-toothed zippers throughout. For the main zipper, we like this, and it has a storm flap behind it to keep precip out. However, the hand pockets and pit zips do not have a storm flap, and these larger teeth easily let water through. This is not a great feature and knocks this jacket down significantly in this review, while there are many other things we really like about it. With a few tweaks to these problem areas, we imagine this jacket would score quite a bit higher in our review.

Should You Buy the Outdoor Research Archangel?

The Archangel is made of high-quality materials with a few details that might be important and limiting for some users. The pit zips are not waterproof, and the bigger size reduces mobility and comfort in some arm movements. For cold regions, this jacket may still be a good choice, given its burly materials, good breathability, generous coverage with back length and a big hood.

What Other Hardshell Jackets Should You Consider?

If you're looking for good storm coverage in your hardshell jacket, consider the Mammut Nordwand Pro HS for its similarly long back length and generous coverage to keep the storm out, including a powder skirt. If your activities trend to the milder or lighter end of the hardshell spectrum, the Patagonia Triolet is a burly shell in a svelte package, packing a lot of performance into a simple and sleek garment.