Gear

In terms of staying warm standing still then avoiding drenching with sweat - fundamentally nothing will do that You simply need an awful lot more insulation to stay warm when stationary than when moving.

The differences? Neo is a membrane shell, albiet a rather breathable one. Probably an upgrade of sorts over proshell, although as ever best not to expect miracles.

P****o is a hugely breathable thing which unfortunately has about a microfleeces worth of warmth associated by design. That added warmth very likely makes it unusable for the warmer months.

Although even the Neo shell might be questionable for summer use - its awfully heavy for something you'll be carrying a lot of the time.

Would one keep you warm at a stand still and avoid evaporative cooling once you stop after a hard hike? or would you have to put a insulation layer over the top? could you do this with both jackets?

Paramo is warmer than any membrane waterproof because the liner is about equivalent to a microfleece.  But as you'll know from standing on belay ledges for an hour waiting for your partner a microfleece is rerally not enough to keep you warm in the sweat buckets/freeze cycle of winter climbing.  So you'll want something extra in either case.

and also for the warmer months as well.

But there, of course, a microfleece can be rather overbearing inside a windproof top...

Which one is the more breathable of the two?

Paramo.

The Rab jacket doesn't offer any venting options where as the paramo offers side venting? are there any advantages to either of these?

Venting is Good because it allows you to regulate temperature a bit.  Venting is Bad because it adds extra weight and bulk and cost and it's progressivley less useful the more you need it becuase if you open up big holes in your waterproof coat it ceases to be a waterproof coat.  It's also the case that, despite marketing departments' suggestion that opening up a vent magically sucks out any warm & moist air inside your coat, vents are not nearly as effective in practice as you wish they would be, and it's quite possible to have things too cold at the vent and too warm well away from it.  But, if you're happy with the extra weight and bulk and cost they are nice to have.

Which one would be more versatile but also allow me to be more efficient with my layer/ not changing every 2 mins take fleeces and tops off?

More versatile would be the Rab, because it doesn't have a built in layer of insulation.  That doesn't really affect the degree to which you need to change layers though.

I am currently using Gore Tex Pro Shell which i find very clammy and i get hot in very quickly even with just a base layer under in heavy rain. I am hoping one of these is the solution for the clammy and wet problems.

You'll still get very hot in a Paramo is my experience, and the greater breathability is a bit moot if you sweat more in the first place because it's hotter.  Both should be more breathable than Pro Shell, but not to the point where your problems will vanish.  I suspect the problems will go from being a pain to being a little bit less of a pain, but still a pain.  People have been searching for the Magic Bullet for years and while matters are improving there's only so much you can do here.  Walking up a big hill generates a lot of heat and that means sweat, and nothing is going to suck it out of your clothes.  Pro-Shell might not be the most breathable thing there is, but it's not that far behind the leading edge.  Paramo is significanly more breathable than any membrane waterproof but it needs it's liner, and if you want to stay cool it doesn't help.

Pete.

Tom Howitt wrote (see)

I am looking for a new shell for winter climbing and walking and also for the warmer months as well.

If you only want one shell to do everything, you may as well go for a hard shell, because you won't want any extra insulation in warm weather. But like any other garment or piece of equipment that needs to do everything, it will be a compromise.

Save up, get two jackets, far fewer compromises. And you'll have a spare in the event of loss or damage.

On a par with Powershiled Pro, which is less breathable than Powershield ("Amateur"? (not susrprising, 'cause it's basically waterproof)).

Pete.

cf warmth, think you're on the right track with 'under' dressing a little bit to start with and having something to throw over when you stop, get caught out by a sudden temperature drop etc.

(all the synthetic stuff is good for this, and sales about right now so a good time.).

Vents sort of OK but more micro adjustments as with hats/hoods, gloves etc than anything drastic.

Oh if going for a (very sane) windproof + shell thing, I'd certainly think about stuff like RABs/Montanes lighter Event shells rather than the neo shell, active shell stuff etc. They're quite a bit lighter than Neoshell for when you're carrying them and not obviously worse cf sweat and stuff.

That's my approach with it too. If it's really wild while on the move then I might put a light windproof over it for added protection - it adds a surprising amount of warmth for the weight, and breaks the force of really hard driven rain.

It also means I have a windproof if it gets so warm that I need to remove the VAL and stow it in my pack (doesn't happen often!)

The cooling through the vents is even more effective if you run your pack hipbelt inside the VAL through the same side zips.

At the moment i am leaning more towards the neo shell as it will work better as a summer and winter jacket but then it doesn't have any venting options?

But it does.  The big zip down the front is a remarkably effective vent...  Yes, it lets a bit of rain in, but to a lesser extent so do any other vents.  Pit zips are hindered in their ability to vent by their location, but the flipside is they let in less rain.  The better a vent is at venting out warm moist air, the better it is at letting in cold, wet water.

You choose, you lose!

Pete.

Does anyone else use neoshell?

I can't get on with the rab hood - had the latok and the belay jacket and sold them both on because there is no room for your chin when zipped right up - I'm not massively chinned like Jimmy Hill, I think i'm pretty average but i do have a large head.

I don't have this trouble with haglofs nor patagonia - both of those I can do the zip right up (with the hood down) and use it as a windprotector for my neck and lower face, or have the hood up and not feel that the chin guard is pressing my jaw back into my head.

Of course this means that I have to pay patagonia / haglofs prices (or buy second hand... which I mostly do).

Anyone else have this trouble with the Rab hood... or is it just me

On my Rab stretch neo, I can zip it fully up to cover half of my face. So no problem there. 

On the breathability, having used it a few times now on whole day walks and a weekend hike with full pack, all I can say is that it's amazing ! Have used in an all day downpour of sleet / rain, and this weekend past in showers of sleet/rain. Totally dry inside compared to my friend with pro shell who was totally wet inside.