Looking for In Bounds Softshell Jacket

[PupManS]

Hi All-

I spend a lot of time in soft-shell here in Tahoe given our typically warm weather. I have an ancient Patagonia White Smoke jacket which was kind of an all around ski jacket made of Regulator Shell. After 12 years it's on last legs. To replace it, I tried another Patagucci jacket a season old which I think was an ice climbing jacket - very harness friendly setup and burly fabric, but the fit is super "alpine" and lacks pockets- so not that fun and frankly doesn't fit my mid forties dad bod.

So I'm looking for a soft-shell coat that is more resort/inbounds oriented - looser fit, pockets, more burly fabric that you can take in the trees, etc. Most everything I have found on the market is touring oriented - light, fragile, etc, or climbing oriented, IE very slim and low on pockets.

Does anyone know of any real skiing oriented soft-shell jackets? I have a couple nice hard-shells (Truew for snow, and an old Cloudveil RPK with super thick fabric that will never die) but above 30 degrees or so in bluebird weather I don't find them very comfortable- you can open all the zips and drop layers, but you can solve the problem in better ways IMHO if you know it's going to be a sunny day.

 

[noobski]

My wife has a Stio and loves it as a cross over. Otherwise, the Arc or Outdoor Research line is what I would probably use.

 

[davjr96]

I have a Dynafit infinium free hybrid jacket for this purpose I love

Free INFINIUM™ Hybrid Jacket Men

The Free INFINIUM™ Hybrid Jacket for men will impress performance-oriented Free tourers with its weather protection and great breathability. The hybrid jacket with a relaxed fit features a combination of GORE-TEX INFINIUM™ and...

www.dynafit.com

There is also the Arc'teryx procline which I have no experience with but looks good on paper.

For the past few years I have been using an Arc'teryx Acto FL as an inboundns softshell but it is likely trimmer than you would like and lacks pockets.

 

[jt10000]

Hi All-

I spend a lot of time in soft-shell here in Tahoe given our typically warm weather. I have an ancient Patagonia White Smoke jacket which was kind of an all around ski jacket made of Regulator Shell. After 12 years it's on last legs. To replace it, I tried another Patagucci jacket a season old which I think was an ice climbing jacket - very harness friendly setup and burly fabric, but the fit is super "alpine" and lacks pockets- so not that fun and frankly doesn't fit my mid forties dad bod.

So I'm looking for a soft-shell coat that is more resort/inbounds oriented - looser fit, pockets, more burly fabric that you can take in the trees, etc. Most everything I have found on the market is touring oriented - light, fragile, etc, or climbing oriented, IE very slim and low on pockets.

Does anyone know of any real skiing oriented soft-shell jackets? I have a couple nice hard-shells (Truew for snow, and an old Cloudveil RPK with super thick fabric that will never die) but above 30 degrees or so in bluebird weather I don't find them very comfortable- you can open all the zips and drop layers, but you can solve the problem in better ways IMHO if you know it's going to be a sunny day.

I skied this weekend in a non-technical Columbia soffshell jacket - the Ascender. It's great in mild weather. NOT skiing oriented - only three pockets and hood is not really helmet compatible (there is also non-hooded version) - but so cheap maybe you should try it? You should be able to find it for $60 with hood. Maybe less without the hood.

 

[ktish]

I have also been thinking about this for my resort skiing. Have my eyes on the Helly Hanson Odin Mountain Softshell jacket. Colors are low right now. Gamma MX from Arc'teryx seems like a possible viable option. Lots of reports of the OR Ferrosi jacket working well for resort skiing as well. Would love to hear personal experiences from everyone here.

 

[noobski]

Agree. Dynafits are awesome, but my experience with them is they are very trim fit and so I struggled a bit with my layering approach. Not a big deal but worth studying the sizing.

The other good thing about them is they are often on sale at Steep and Cheap and other outlet-type sites.

 

[EricG]

Everyone’s definition varies slightly. But I just ordered a Stio windy (GTX Infinium) as my inbounds warmer weather jacket. Wind resistant, water resistant , breathable, blah, blah, blah.. Im starting to shift to Stio from Patagonia as a wear stuff or sell stuff.

Stio Outdoor Apparel for Men, Women & Kids

Stio offers beautiful, functional products for both the epic and quiet moments of outdoor life.

www.stio.com

 

[Uncle-A]

You should try the Eddie Bauer website and do a search for soft shell jacket. They are good quality, fair price and maybe you can get some end of season sale.

 

[Crank]

Costco.

 

[Bluenose]

Have you looked at Black Diamond jackets?
I have a few of them, no current models though, and they fit my 6'1" 210# frame remarkably well. Quality and durability are excellent.
Here is one to consider:

Dawn Patrol Hybrid Shell - Men's | Black Diamond

Our backcountry shell engineered to provide protection from the storm while remaining breathable on the uphill skin, the Dawn Patrol Hybrid Shell features a breathable softshell fabric in key placements for thermal regulation, while the chest, shoulders and hood remain impenetrable thanks to our...

www.blackdiamondequipment.com

 

[noobski]

Just checked Steep and Cheap...they are having a sale on ski gear including a lot of jackets (OR, Dynafit, Haglof, Black Diamond softshells)

Check out the Infinium material - supposed to be breathable. It's what's in the Dynafit and Stios mentioned above, but other companies use it.

 

[Ken_R]

This looks like the best I have seen: https://arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/mens/procline-jacket

Expensive but worth it. My Arcteryx jackets are going on 6-8 years of service and still look great.

That said, look on sierra.com and other outlets for deals on other brand shells. The newer 3L shell goretex jackets are all pretty darn solid. Not softshell but very versatile and durable.

 

[Ryan Perham]

I would second the Black Diamond Dawn Patrol That's a good fabric.

The Arcteryx Gamma LT is another good one.

The OR Ferrosi requires dry snow and not too much wind (unless you're someone that runs really warm). It's a great option for a spring day.

 

[noobski]

The OR Ferrosi requires dry snow and not too much wind (unless you're someone that runs really warm). It's a great option for a spring day.

I have the Ferrosi and would not use it for skiing unless it was bluebird 40 degrees+. It also lacks front side features one might want at a resort. It can't handle water above sprinkling so if you get deep or even fall into the snow, I would think it would soak it. I use that jacket for dry cold MTB and hiking.

There are just too many other options that are more versatile, including your recommended Arc piece

 

[mikel]

Checkout https://www.freeridesystems.com/

I also have a HH softshell that is not bad.

 

[coldski]

This looks like the best I have seen: https://arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/mens/procline-jacket

Expensive but worth it. My Arcteryx jackets are going on 6-8 years of service and still look great.

That said, look on sierra.com and other outlets for deals on other brand shells. The newer 3L shell goretex jackets are all pretty darn solid. Not softshell but very versatile and durable.

I have been using this jacket all season. Bought it for uphilling and touring. A little bulky and heavy (compared to a Gore Tex shell) and the powder skirt doesn’t seem to make much sense when wearing a pack - not what I wanted.

It is however an excellent resort soft shell. Stretchy supple and quiet fabric which seems totally windproof More comfortable than regular Gore Tex. Trim but easily fits over a thick base layer and puffy. Size Medium 5 ft 8 in 145 lb. It replaces another Arcteryx shell I have been wearing since 2004. Nice jacket

 

[Rdputnam515]

How are the zippers on Black Diamond jackets?

I like my mountain hardware but the zippers are trash. My old Northface and Mt Harware stuff has excellent zippers as does all Patagonia products.

to me that is super important, I hate tough zippers.

somfar I am looking at Patagonia, Flylow and depending on zippers BD. the dead bird stuff is awesome but obscenely priced and to Gucci for me

 

[martyg]

Costco.

Having done extensive design and manufacturing work with Costco I can virtually guaremtee that their iteration will be a three layer garment, not a true soft shell as Sully originally designed / intended.

 

[PupManS]

So I've managed to source quite a few of these and try them, here are some impressions for the benefit of the hive mind. Note I did not order the Dynafit as their stuff has always been waaaaay too trim for resort stuff for me, or anything. Of note, I'm pretty much a mesomorph- now a dad boded mesomorph, so take that into consideration from a fit POV

Stio Windy Mile: I liked it - had the Stio fit which works for me (not too long in the body, a little boxy, big hood). I would call it a casual coat as much as a ski jacket- definitely not the alpine / mountaineering / touring sort of thing but not a resort jacket either. Very nice but I felt the fabric (Gore Infinium) was a little lightweight for resort stuff. It would work certainly but I didn't get the sense it would fare that well with tree limbs and the like. Also, didn't strike me as being as breathable as the stuff I have now (Patagonia regulator) or have had in the past (various Schoeller dryskin pieces) as it was more "Gore-like" with a definite membrane.

Black Diamond Dawn Patrol Hybrid - a lot to recommend here - resort-ish but not too heavy, solid feeling fabric that I'm sure will breath well, waterproof shoulders (I have a Patagonia piece like this, softshell with membrane shoulders and hood and it works). Sadly, fit was way off for me...big in the chest and small in the hips, and a bit long. Had to go XL to fine one I could get on and then the top was just all baggy. If BD house fit works for you though, this one is worth considering. A shame as I have a set of Mission hardshell pants I love. Good zippers per a question above. The waterproof kind with small teeth, but well executed.

Helly Odin Softshell- despite the horrible color ways IMHO this is the one I am keeping. Very much like my ancient Patagonia white smoke in almost every respect. Tough feeling fabric, nice ultralight fleece type backer that experience tells me will out-wick a membrane, nice big hood, plenty of pockets, good resort type fit. The most "Softshell Resort Jacket" thing I found and fits me the best. Nice stretch too. I bought yellow, because the strange gray green made me nauseous and I know from experience black jackets and warm days don't mix.

OR Ferrosi - Good fit, but seemed light and absolutely no wind blocking whatsoever. Seemed like more of a hoodie (like for your 50 degree type days where I wear an Underarmour hoodie). Not too durable, but at the price, who cares? Just seemed to me like a very spring sort of piece where I'm looking for something that works on bluebird days even at 20 degrees just by adding a layer (usually Patagonia Nano Air).

OR hemisphere- tried at the rec of a friend- this is a Goretex jacket but has a lot of stretch panels and the like. Nicely made, fit was ok, but in the end, I already have perfectly good hard-shells so this didn't feel like it would sit in the quiver as well as a true softshell. however, if I wanted to be a "one jacket for everything" type of person this would be very very high on the list.

Patagonia Techface R1 Hoodie - I liked this a lot; good fit for me, super comfy, decent pockets, amazing mobility. However, it felt like it wouldn't hold up as well. If it were on sale I think worth a look but at the 189 MSRP, not worth it to me (put another way, I thought it was a better version of the OR Ferrosi for more money). Bit better wind resistance than the OR piece too, which I think is useful in this context. At $120-140 might have been a buy, but I'd rather go 2x on the Helly jacket which is what I did.

I excluded FlyLow as their stuff is almost always too long for me.

Hopefully this is helpful to the hive mind! Let me know of any other questions.

 

[dx111]

I just spent a week in the Tyrolean Alps skiing most days in an Arc'teryx Gamma LT softshell with just a polyester or merino base layer below which worked extremely well for the unusually warm weather. Some of those days without significant wind, a grid fleece over a base layer was really all that's required.