Cheap rain jackets leak and tear. Arc'teryx weatherproofs you for twenty years of actual hiking.
Why Not Just Buy the Cheap One?
Arc'teryx Beta Shell uses Gore-Tex Pro with a three-layer construction that doesn't delaminate like budget rain jackets from Columbia or REI house brands—those jackets start peeling apart after two seasons in actual weather. The seams are sealed with reinforced tape, not the glued-on nonsense that gets sweat-soaked and fails on day one of a real backpack trip.
The Buy-Once Math
Cheap rain jackets cost $60–100 and last maybe two years before leaking or tearing. That's $300–500 over a decade of replacing dead jackets. Arc'teryx costs $550 and survives twenty years of alpine rain, snow, and constant compression—your cost per year is $27.50 versus $40+ for disposables. Better yet: resell it in ten years for $150 and actually profit from ownership.