Buyers' Guide - Soft Shell

What is soft shell? We try valiantly to explain the most nebulous category in outdoors clothing and help you decide what to look for if you want one...

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There's no 'right answer' here. If you were going to be logical, you could say it's something you can wear instead of a fully waterproof shell for most of the time. Rather than being fully waterproof, it should be weather resistant, with the trade off being much better breathability.

Why do you need it? Because most of the time fully waterproof shells are simply not breathable enough for many users. The idea is that you're trading off some of that weatherproofing, for greater breathability.

I like to look at soft shell as a continuum - at one end you have fabrics like Schoeller or Pertex Equilibrium which are extremely breathable, but only moderately wind and water resistant, though they'll stand up to light showers and most snowfall.

At the other end of the scale are totally windproof and very water resistant, even waterproof, materials like Gore's Windstopper Softshell fabrics and the taped Conduit used by Mountain Hardwear. They're almost as protective as a full waterproof jacket, but the pay-off is much reduced breathability.

People vary massively. If you're trying to decide which fabric will suit you, think hard about how hot you run and how active you really are. If you're a sweat bucket sort of person who races around pouring out heat then you'll probably be better off with one of the more breathable, less protective soft shell materials from the likes of Schoeller.

If you run cold, then a more protective, less breathable, membrane-based soft shell fabric, like Windstopper, may make more sense. The fabric will be less breathable but significantly more protective.

Finally, bear in mind that most soft shell fabrics are simply that, shell, and offer very little insulation though there are some with a fleecy inner surface designed to be worn in cold conditions. There's no reason why you can't add an insulating layer inside for cold conditions and wear them just over a baselayer when it's milder.

Because soft shell is really just a marketing term, there are all sorts of garments out there that may or may not be soft shell depending on, well, opinion really. They include Paramo, Buffalo-style pile / Pertex garments, and all sorts of shelled microfleeces like Rab's excellent VapourRise.

Are they soft shell? Who cares. If they do what you want them to, that's fine. It's a bit like arguing over whether mass-produced lager is real beer, if you like the taste, then drink it.

Because we're talking about such a wide range of different clothing under the one 'soft shell' banner, it's again a question of deciding what you need for your activity and preferences.

For full-on technical climbing and mountaineering softshells which will be used in mountain conditions, we see no reason why you shouldn't be looking for similar features to those you'd want on a conventional mountain shell. That means a full hood with some sort of stiffened peak, cuff, hem and neck adjusters, possibly some venting, particularly if you've chosen a membrane-based fabric and so on. There aren't many garments out there meeting this spec. Haglofs produces one and TNF has one in their range for this winter, but most soft shells seem to be based on a simple fleece jacket cut.

For more general mountain walking use, we don't see why you shouldn't also need a hood. It's ideal for stops and makes the jacket more versatile generally. Many softshell tops seem to be viewed as fleece alternatives rather than as full shells, so it's hard to find much that matches up. If you don't want a hood, you'll have a much wider choice.

Other general features are the same as with other technical jackets. Think about whether pockets will clear a harness or waist belt. Do you have one that fits a map, if you carry a map in your pocket? Can you cinch down hems and cuffs? Are adjusters one-handed? Can you use them with gloves on if you need to? Fast movers might also prefer a drop-tail to protect the backside, but without hindering movement.

There are waterproof softshells out there, but we don't really see the point. They're no more breathable than normal waterproofs but the softer face fabrics use often absorb water more easily which reduces their breathability.

Most 'soft shell' fabrics will work well in light rain or snow, but if it really buckets down, you'll need a lightweight waterproof jacket which you can sling over the top for proper rain protection. Even though the membrane in, say, Windstopper, is effectively waterproof, water will still penetrate the seams making you wet.

You'll be able to wear soft shell for longer before needing a waterproof, but generally, you will still need it.

Most softshells use a water repellant treatment, which means ideally you need to wash them with some sort of pure soap-based cleaner and occasionally restore the DWR to keep them functioning well. Of course, you can use normal detergents without compromising wind resistance, but if you want to keep shedding water, then re-proofing occasionally will help. Follow the care label as well, especially if you need to heat treat a reproofing compound.

A couple of years back, US outdoor shops voted soft shell as the most confusing concept to come out of the outdoors industry. If you think of soft shells as being weather resistant to varying degrees, but not generally waterproof, you won't go far wrong. What you really need to decide is just how much weather resistance you need and remember, the more weather resistant the soft shell is, the less breathable it's likely to be.

Conversely, really protective soft shells may be little different from conventional waterproofs when it comes to handling sweat and heat. It's your choice.

Oh, one last thought - the majority of soft shells are black. No-one knows why, but it's the law ;-)

More Help and Advice

This article should have given you some basic pointers. The good news is that there's a load more advice on OUTDOORSmagic:

• Ask on the gear forum about general issues or specific items.
  
• Check the member reviews section for user experiences of kit.
  
• See OM editorial reviews on the front of the site for our impressions.
  
• Ask Richard Gear if you have a specific question you need answering.