I did think it was odd that they tested soft shell pants as rain gear, but understand the desire to go with a "set."
In my mind a REAL rain gear test is a 10 day hunt in conditions that actually call for rain gear, and then repeated a few more times just for good measure. This is darn near impossible to do with as much rain gear as I ended up with for this test in anywhere near a reasonable time frame. In reality my test is a combination of things, and I had to utilize help to get through this much gear in the short time I have had it.
Each jacket was tested in a variety of ways, one being actual field use, but unfortunately limited to weekend trips of 2-3 days, some where I had good weather and so not fully utilized for rain protection (breathability could still be tested). We also tried to re-create field use during the week running, biking, hiking, shower tests, controlled environment test, etc. as best we could.
It was a lot of rain gear to go through and I learned a ton. Based on what I learned it is my opinion that rain gear should be tailored to your given activity and not necessarily is going to be a do it all piece of kit. I'll probably end up with four sets when I am done with this project, each tailored to a specific activity objective, and some with the ability to do a little cross over.
1) Helly Hansen / full on rubber rain gear (weight does not matter, breathability does not matter, all that matters is staying dry)
2) sheep (backpack) hunting set (Weight, Durability, and breathability ALL matter)
3) Sheep hunting plus set (I give a little on weight to focus on "comfortable functionality", but still focus just as hard on durability and breathability)
4) Base Camp hunting / Rafting / ATVing / fishing set - Something like the Kryptek Koldo (which I am also testing, but outside of this test)
Items 2 & 3 are hard to pick, and are the essence of what this review is about. I have all the gear in hand and am beating it up and running it and still struggle as there is no run away winner in the top half of the rankings. It really boils down to what specific features you are looking for (color/pattern, fit, weight, features, etc.). That is good news for us hunters. Most people will probably merge my items 2-3 and possibly 2-4. Hopefully this write up will give you the tools to do so. We have some quality gear out there to choose from and these companies are all pushing each other to make it even better. Win win for the consumer.
Having both a 2 & a 3 also allows me to do some long term testing and follow back up sometime next year. Helps me weed out the fold and be able to provide some value in a follow up long term review.