Arc shells: .85, microlight, quantum

[Jason Shaffer]

Well, with a season of warmer trips on the far horizon, I’ve finally decided to get an Arc bag of some kind. Some questions:

Is Nunatak’s .85 shell fabric more breathable than pertex microlight? Is it more or less breathable than pertex quantum? In the earliest articles (before BzMtWorks’ Arc X), Ryan seems to say that he chose microlight over .85 for utmost breathability. Is that accurate, that the heavier of the two is more breathable? If there’s any other performance characteristics between the three that I should know about, besides weight, I’d welcome the input.
Cheers everyone!

[Colin Thomas]

I think Quantum has a slight edge over .85 in breathability and water repellency. Just so you know you can now get Quantum on any of the Nunatak gear products. Here is a link to the news update.

http://www.nunatakusa.com/nunatak_gear_etc.html

[Jason Shaffer]

Thanks Colin! I didn’t know they were offering quantum now, but thats definitely good news.

Others?

Also, the differential cut footbox option–any opinions on how much of an advantage this is on a bag w/ 2-2.5″ of loft?

[Inaki Diaz de Etura]

Jason,

I’m in the same situation, I’ve just placed an order for an Arc bag.

You may already know Nunatak now offers not only quantum in all their line but also BMW’s Arc X as a standard model. I was about to order it custom made (and in .85 nylon) when I knew the news. They call it Arc Special. You can find it in the “gear, etc” news page.

I talked to Tom Halpin on the phone and he told me the differential cut on the footbox is most probably going to be a standard feature. I think I read somewhere (actually I think it was some article from Ryan Jordan but I’m not sure) the differential cut is not supposed to be necessary when loft is below 3″. I couldn’t tell, I just state what I’ve been told/read by the ones in the know.

The Arc Special will still take a little while as they were still, if I remember correctly, waiting for the quantum to arrive but it’ll be ready for the warm season. I’m eager to try it.

As for the microlight vs. .85 nylon breathability issue it’s my guess Ryan didn’t mean microlight is more breathable in his comment when reviewing the Arc Alpinist. I’d say he was comparing microlight to the other heavier materials. But it’s just a guess

[Meir Gottlieb]

Anyone know if the pricing will be compared to the Arc X? Will it be as available as any other Nunatak products? Does anyone know if this was done in cooperation with BMW or in competition to them?

[Jason Shaffer]

Hi Inaki,
I did see the info on the Arc Special, but I wasn’t aware that a differential cut footbox might be a standard feature. That’s interesting. I do remember a post by Ryan some time ago, but that was regarding the cut of the shell overall–I wasn’t clear if a diff cut footbox specifically was that beneficial. Splitting hairs maybe? Anyway thanks for the info, its good to hear they don’t expect delays on the fabric.

Meir – Nunatak’s Arc Special is listed as $339 for size medium on their website (see Colin’s link above). The page also states they’ll be offering Quantum shells on all their products.

Cheers all.

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