Yet another informal ramble through the weird world of gear
testing brought to you courtesy of post-holidayinertia.com and some
rather kicky fair trade coffee from Peru...
Anyway,
this is kind of a story of two soft shells, for which I
apologise, but then soft shell is possibly the most confusing concept
in outdoors clothing ecompassing everything from very breathable, not
very windproof things to much less breathable, but totally windproof
and, in some cases, pretty much waterproof things...
Because the level of protection and breathability is so varied,
it's a bit of a nonsense to try and test one against the other. As
far as I can see, it's more about matching your personal needs to the
fabric of the garment, then taking into account how cold and / or wet
it is and what you're going to be doing, yada, yada, yada...
Great In Drizzle...
Anyway, one of the latest arrivals in OM land is TNF's new
Prolix Delta jacket - that's it, oop there. We have no idea
what the name means, but it sounds molecular. More importantly, it's
a curious thing which uses a very thin four-way stretch Apex fabric
that offers very little wind resistance by soft shell standards -
yes, I know - and minimal thermal insulation with it.
So what's it for? Well, on those cold spring evenings when you're
off on a run and it's just slightly too chilly for a baselayer top,
but you know you'll boil alive in a full windproof, the Prolix
Delta's massive breathability and minimal protection somehow seems
just right.
Slightly pointless, but comfortable even if you run on the warm
side. Then we ran some water over the fabric and it became clear. The
polyester/elastane fabric has a really effective DWR - durable water
repellant treatment - which makes it spot on for high intensity
activities like running and biking in drizzle and light rain - it
also has a high UV protection factor, so should be ideal for running
in drizzle at altitude...
I
even like the thumb loops on the cuffs... So if you sweat a lot and
run in the wet, have a look.
And one from Haglofs
The TNF cut, even with the stretch, is still a tad loose for me,
but no such problems with Haglofs Demon jacket, which reminded
me of just how nice the cut on the Swedish company's clothing can
be.
The Demon is a neatly-cut technical top using a woven,
Schoeller-type fabric with a four-way stretch and high wind
resistance. It has a water-repellant outer and a brushed inner that's
claimed to wick. Looks like a good compromise between protection and
breathability and wicking, but watch this space.
Meanwhile, Rab's Vapour Rise smock has really impressed us.
Unlike most garments of its type with an outer shell and
microlightweight fleece innner, the outer is wind resistant rather
than totally windproof, so the pay-off is much improved
breathability.
Is it a soft shell? I really wouldn't know, guv...
