This jacket is designed to be the absolute last word in backcountry performance with no corners cut or seams left untapped.
Arc'teryx have employed the best in fabric technology to achieve this in the form of Gore Tex Pro which provides extreme protection to the extent that you can weather a hefty rain storm and stay dry underneath, so rolling around in the snow causes the Rush LT no problems at all. Being a shell and being Gore-Tex you've got a damn good chance of it being breathable too, and in this regard it's among the best performers we've used. In Addition to Gore-Tex Pro, patches of catchily named and highly durable N80p-x Gore-Tex adorn the shoulder, upper arm and bum areas, i.e. where you're likely to be abrading the jacket with backpack shoulder straps and whatever you sit on.
Despite the LT moniker most things you would expect to see on a ski jacket are there including all the usual adjusters and pockets as well as pit zips for extra ventilation. One massive omission though is a powder skirt - eek, kind of feels like going out without your trousers on, but this jacket is designed to be clipped to matching, high-waisted Arc'teryx bib pants to keep the snow out. This works for us but if you're put off by the lack of skirt check out the standard Rush jacket.
Fit is sublime giving you the feeling that you're totally covered from head to bum without being overly encumbered by a heavy, chunky jacket. The LT in the name stands for 'light' so although fully featured and durable, you can tell that everything has been trimmed and slimmed to achieve the light but not ground-breaking weight of 445g.
A Gore micro grid backer lines the inside, greatly reducing the clammy shell jacket feeling, improving internal abrasion resistance and allowing the jacket to easily slide over mid and base layers.
Overall this is a backcountry stormer of a jacket and one we wouldn't hesitate to stuff into our ski touring pack before heading out for a day on the skin track.
