# Arc'teryx Macai vs Fissile



## Blaze182 (Sep 7, 2009)

How on earth does one pick between these two? Extremely similar, bar the hood design from what I can see - am I missing something?

Fissile: http://www.arcteryx.com/product.aspx?country=us&language=en&gender=Mens&model=Fissile-Jacket
Macai: http://www.arcteryx.com/product.aspx?country=us&language=en&gender=Mens&model=Macai-Jacket


----------



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

macai has a removable pow skirt, better hand pockets, hood in the collar...

but imo, you'd be better off getting a shell and then a separate down puffy for better layering options, better drying (down is a bitch to get dry...and then you'd be drying both the shell and down liner), better storage/packability and better able to adapt to a broader range of conditions.

integrated is not necessarily a better design....my preference is modular

2 cents


----------



## Blaze182 (Sep 7, 2009)

I bought the Macai - cause I got it half price.  

Do you have any suggestions for my layering system? Down or synthetic puffy? I have a good shell already, and snowboarding only, I don't do too much of anything else.


----------



## BuckarooBanzai (Feb 2, 2017)

Aloha.

So there are a few differences. Some minor, some significant. I bought a Fissile this year.

The Fissile is a much larger cut (relaxed fit) than the Macai. A small Fissile is awfully darn close to a Medium Macai in terms of how it feels on your frame (I'd guess it rests in-between a S and M Macai). It's also longer than the Macai. Technically this means it's warner than the Macai, but that's tech-sheet niggling. I liked the extra butt coverage, but I could see how a skier might find it annoying. It's pretty clear that the Fissile was designed with boarders in mind.

As you noted, another major difference is the hood. The Fissile has that traditional hood hanging off the back, where the Macai has it independent of the neck. It is not removable on either jacket. The hood on my Fissile is GIGANTOR... I can't remember how it was when I tried on the Macai. It's so huge it's almost awkward to use it unless you have a helmet on.

Both jackets are seriously warm. Obnoxious levels of warm. On 20-degree F days with wind I'm still only wearing a North Face light base layer under it - and have the pit zips open. This is a jacket for people like me that run cold and/or have another jacket for temps above mid-30's. I love it because I can rock just a base layer under it for most temps and handles the nasty cold stuff like a champ.

I can't remember the differences on the outer pockets between the 2, but I don't use them for hands anyways. The Fissile has one zippered internal pocket that's just too short to fit an iPhone into and two really sweet mesh pockets for snacks, beanies, etc.

Another smaller difference is the colors. The Fissile seems to rock brighter colors where the Macai is more muted tones.

The quality of the jackets are insane. I guess that goes for most dead-bird stuff though.

If you time it right, you can get either of them close to 40% off in the off-season... but you gotta act fast and it's usually on the colors that are being phased out for next season's trend.


----------



## BuckarooBanzai (Feb 2, 2017)

Bah - just saw you got a Macai. Nice choice. What you wear under it depend on how hot/cool you run and the temps you're riding in. I've been wearing North Face's light base layer and a Under Armour tech tee-shirt under mine and have been toasty in the 20's... with pit zips open. I figure I'll have to be in the teens before I add a fleece layer like a TKA100 pullover.


----------



## Blaze182 (Sep 7, 2009)

BuckarooBanzai said:


> Bah - just saw you got a Macai. Nice choice. What you wear under it depend on how hot/cool you run and the temps you're riding in. I've been wearing North Face's light base layer and a Under Armour tech tee-shirt under mine and have been toasty in the 20's... with pit zips open. I figure I'll have to be in the teens before I add a fleece layer like a TKA100 pullover.


Still a helpful post! I prefer the Fissile design, although I thought the hood favoured a skier more so than the Macai's, which is pretty much how I made the decision between the two haha. 

We have identical layering - perhaps it is my outter that's been letting me down - I'll see this season, bought all new gear, last season was particularly cold, I just got wet and froze in the wind, despite a goretex shell, puffer, mid and base layer, and enough wool on my head to make Shrek the Sheep look sheared.


----------



## BuckarooBanzai (Feb 2, 2017)

Ha. Yeah. I'm all about layering for most activities I do, but in this case I really prefer the Arc as a "super jacket" and minimal pieces underneath. I feel less restricted and comfortable overall. Only downside like I mentioned earlier is that you really need to have another solution once temps hit much above freezing... it's too warm even with pit-zips open. It's amazeballs on those crispy, windy days or those New England days where it alternates between wet snow/sleet/etc. Warm and dry FTW.


----------

