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supercrux
Feb 11, 2004, 8:10 PM
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I am planning on participating in a NOLS course to the Himalayas and I've been looking into soft shells for the expedition.
I've narrowed the selection down to Patagonia Mixmaster or beyond fleece cold fusion.
Can anyone help me evaluate these as far as warmth, durability etc.
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jimdavis
Feb 14, 2004, 5:55 AM
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I was just at the huge Patagonia sale today.
From what I remember, all of their "soft-shells" except for the Core-Skin are pretty much just woven, rugged, windbreakers. They were almost all really thin, with no real lining (except for the Core-Skin) and they didn't feel like they'd repel water at all.
A few of my friends picked up the Core Skin for $40, but after seeing all of their softshells...I'm glad I bought my Sharp Point.
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tim
Feb 14, 2004, 9:22 AM
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I could've sworn I posted an answer to a thread just like this one yesterday.
My suggestion was to get the Beyond Fleece cold fusion; Schoeller WB400 (the stuff they make it out of) is extremely comfortable, breathable, and (after they DWR treat it) pretty water resistant too.
It is hard to believe how much better a custom-tailored pair of pants feels until you've taken the plunge. The incredible thing is that, custom fit, full custom build, and all, the Beyond Fleece garment is actually much less expensive than the Patagonia. As far as durability etc. -- see my earlier post ;-). I do not think you will regret going with the Cold Fusions.
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mheyman
Feb 14, 2004, 7:02 PM
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was just at the huge Patagonia sale today....A few of my friends picked up the Core Skin for $40, but after seeing all of their softshells...I'm glad I bought my Sharp Point.
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If you can get a coreskin for $40 its a no brainer. I think your missing a digit!
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jimdavis
Feb 14, 2004, 10:58 PM
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No, i'm not missing a digit. He got it in a Medium, in their electric Green...for $40. If he wasn't my boss i'd ask him for the receipt and scan it.
I got my R2 jacket for $30 though. That's a receipt i could scan, if you want proof.
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mheyman
Feb 15, 2004, 2:04 PM
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In reply to: No, i'm not missing a digit. He got it in a Medium, in their electric Green...for $40. If he wasn't my boss i'd ask him for the receipt and scan it.
Hey no need for the receipt. For 40 bucks it's a no brainer - in any color.
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harrisha
Feb 15, 2004, 3:55 PM
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The Beyond Fleece sounds good. Backpacker reviewed soft shells not to long ago. Might want to check it out.
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oudinardin
Feb 15, 2004, 4:08 PM
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Patagonia rules. You may pay more but it will last longer. I have some gonia stuff that's over 10 years old. You get what you pay for, fockers.
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braaaaaaaadley
Feb 15, 2004, 6:36 PM
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Patagonia is the stuff... get it or get cold.
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tim
Feb 15, 2004, 10:40 PM
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In reply to: Patagonia rules. You may pay more but it will last longer. I have some gonia stuff that's over 10 years old. You get what you pay for, fockers.
Troll.
I had a Torre pants+jacket setup for a while. They repaired it after I destroyed it (twice) which is nice, but nothing beyondfleece won't do. Same with Mammut. Any decent manufacturer will fix their stuff, assuming you didn't set it on fire or run it through a wood chipper. I have beaten the hell out of Patagonia stuff for years, and more recently got a good deal on some Mammut garments (which they also got to repair... there's a theme here). BeyondFleece behaves the same as other reputable manufacturers in this respect, they just don't charge as much for the clothes. (mostly because they don't have the brand recognition of Patagonia et al... and thus lack slavering idiot sycophants...)
Mind you I have actually been to Patagonia, and therefore got the chance to see how various pieces of my clothing worked in truly abysmal weather. If you're really enough of a sucker to believe that you "get what you pay for", well... you get what you deserve.
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tim
Feb 15, 2004, 10:45 PM
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one other thing, I have worn out a lot of crappy-weather garments over the years (as in, "beaten them into such a bloody pulp that they were no longer repairable") and I'd strongly recommend a waterproof-breathable shell (eg. the jacket). You can get away with DWR on the pants even in eg. a sideways Patagonian rainstorm, but if you get ice water running down your armpits and your core temp starts plummeting 10 miles from camp/warmth, you're done.
I got a really good deal on a Mammut piece that stretches but is waterproof (in the aforementioned real-live-Patagonian-bad-weather situation) and breathable. It was some sort of Schoeller WB400 + ptfe membrane construction. I think that Gore finally got a clue and started offering their own stretchy lightweight WB stuff, maybe "stretch XCR" or some such. Anyways, after having a pair of regular schoeller pants soak through in the same weather, I realized that 1) that sucked, a lot and 2) it would have been much worse if my jacket hadn't been waterproof.
The thing is as stretchy as a soft shell and although it does't breathe as well, the low bulk and pit/chest zips worked well enough that I stopped wearing a softshell jacket. If more manufacturers work with stretchy, lightweight waterproof/breathable fabrics maybe people won't think in terms of "soft" or "hard" shell and will just look for the garment that fits their needs best. I got lucky in that I stumbled onto my optimal setup by chance.
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