Ditching the softshell for hardshell this year. What do you think?

[russ_outdoors]

I've been trying to leave my softshell behind for years. However it always ends up being my most used item. I hunt a lot off trail and can't imagine subjecting a rain coat to the thorns, brush and abrasion I regularly push thru. If I did I wouldn't have a water proof rain jacket for long. However I can definitely see areas or other types of hunts where this wouldn't be a problem.

 

[rm06]

After reading this thread, I went hardshell only with excellent results. Granted, it was not bitterly cold this year and I may hesitate if faced with having to wear it all day versus the softshell but I was impressed with the performance. Temps ranged from 10* to 45* which is around average for when and where we hunt and I was quite comfortable with my packable puffy jacket under the hardshell and even the hardshell over the base layers.

As much as I love the softshell it doesn't pack worth a squat and is heavy to boot.

 

[russ_outdoors]

rm06

What hard shell are you using?

 

[rm06]

rm06

What hard shell are you using?

Kuiu Chugach

 

[russ_outdoors]

Thanks. Kuiu makes good stuff. I have an eVent shell from ID that I've been very happy with. I hike, backpack and camp year-round and my softshell gets almost all of its use during hunting season, mainly due to the areas and way that I hunt. My outer layer really takes a beating during my hunts. The rest of the year it's my hard shell or wind shirt. I really wish someone (Kuiu Sitka Firstlite etc) would come up with a decent wind shirt for hunting. Something similar to the Patagonia Houdini only quieter.

 

[Browtine]

I really wish someone (Kuiu Sitka Firstlite etc) would come up with a decent wind shirt for hunting. Something similar to the Patagonia Houdini only quieter.

+1 !

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

I wore my puffy and kuiu chugach top a bunch this year and left the soft shell home, even on archery hunts. Great for the chilly mornings and nights , it's lightweight and provides more warmth. When hiking or during the day it's in the pack.

 

[tttoadman]

I find this really interesting. My early Elk hunt this year found me wearing my merino base layer top and my old Frog Tog jacket. I plan to just run this jacket until it dies, and then likely get a C4 Torrent or something else that has the pit zips and a little quieter material. I was amazed how easy it was to control my comfort in temps just above freezing by just zipping and unzipping the jacket. I realize this old jacket is not much more than a paper sack with a zipper, but it was great on a rifle hunt with intermittent showers of rain and rain/snow.

Last weekend I ended up strapping my softshell jacket on my bag because it wouldn't fit inside very easy. I can see why we would want to ditch these if possible.