Artilect Darkstart Fusion Jacket
Price
£270
Gender
Mens
Brand // Manufacturers
Artilect
What we liked …
Liked torso cut, style and mid-warmth for Spring mornings.
What we didn’t …
Long arms while rock climbing and weight 540g
The Verdict
Our Rating
4.5 out of 5
the Short Read…
It’s hard to usurp your favourite jacket, but I think I may just be starting out on a new long-term relationship with the Artilect Darkstart Fusion Jacket, but it’s not taken over every day of the week, well not just yet.
The Long read …
My go to mid layer jacket for the last few seasons has been the Salewa Ortles Hybrid Jacket (360g), Italian design from the Dolomites. I love that coat, so the Artilect Darkstart Fusion Jacket had a lot to prove to get me reaching for it on the way out the door.
I’m not totally smitten but I have been sporting the Darkstart a lot, especially in the far north of Scotland this Summer, where I was living out of my van and mostly climbing, short-roping and hiking.
The Artilect Darkstart Fusion Jacket comes in at 540g, but it does have a good layer of insulation, 60gsm Lavalan Sport European Wool insulation on main body & outer sleeves, which kept me snug on a very blustery day hiking towards Cape Wrath (the Salewa doesn’t have sleeve or under arm insulation).
Its main body fabric is 40D 2L 4-Way stretch nylon with 5CFM air permeability (huh?), which in English is a thin fabric that has a slight stretch and a showerproof quality. I wore the jacket while climbing over sharp rocks, often using a bit of belly fiction when topping out, and the jacket was unmarked.
The side panels, which stretch all the way down the inner arm to the cuff are made from 75D 100% Recycled Polyester 4-Way stretch double-weave with a brushed grid backing, which again in English is a tough yet stretchy material with the brushed back giving it a nice warm quality. I’m not sure if it’s just me but the arm length was a little long, great for pulling over gloves, I guess, but not so good for doing the washing up or reaching for a quickdraw.
The hood and skirt have great adjustability, with the hood pulling really snug to your head when needed.
There’s also a YKK® Touchlink centre front zip, which if you like your fridge to tell Amazon you’ve run out of milk could be something right down your street, personally I just want it to do up my coat, which it does just fine, and I know when I’m running out of milk.
There’s 3 good sized pockets, all with a good length of opening, the chest pocket easily eating up my iPhone 11.
All in all, I love the Darkstart Fusion, but here’s where my love affair is a little hit and miss, as I’m not sure that it’s a true mid-layer coat, nor is it a deep winter outer, it’s sort of in between both. Perfect for some scenarios, but not up to or even a little too much for others.
If you’re dark-starting and you know the weather is going to be good once the sun’s up (spring touring on a fine day for example), it makes a perfect outer for first thing and is also great to keep the chill out once transitioning at the summit and riding down. It also makes for a great all season resort jacket, keeping wind and snow out, yet not boiling you while you wait for your takeout pizza, or drive the car from cold once the AC kicks in. It will also make a great mid-layer in deep winter, especially when riding in resort.
But, if you’re touring and unsure of the weather, or you want a true waterproof shell with you then the Darkstart Fusion possibly isn’t the best jacket out there, as it won’t keep you dry in rain, so it isn’t an outer for that occasion, and if you’re carrying a waterproof shell you’ll probably want a thinner and, more importantly, lighter midlayer, which will stuff down small and weigh less in your bag.
Conclusion
The Artilect Darkstart Fusion Jacket is a well fabricated, very cool looking, bad-arse black jacket (also comes in Clay and Dark Slate), that won’t let you down, and is a perfect bedfellow for many an adventure. If only they could make it just the same, but just 150g lighter, if Articelt could do that then I’d be filing for divorce and getting married all over again.