To soft shell or not to soft shell?

[Vitals]

I recently received the kuiu chugach jacket and have the super down as well. In the past with the soft material of a C4E torrent I felt great using that rain jacket as my go to wind breaker/shell. The material of the chugach is certainly louder than the torrent but I wonder if its going to be to the point where I should get a soft shell. id love to hear your experiences. Id order the Chinook but its back ordered further than my hunt so it doesn't do me any good unfortunately.

 

[airlocksniffer]

I'm a big fan of soft shells. Pretty weatherproof, especially in snow and a bit warmer and quieter than a rain shell alone. I just got the First Lite Northbranch in ASAT and it's pretty bomber. I also own an REI softshell as a light jacket, an ArcTeryx Windstopper soft shell for snowboarding and a Cloudveil that's pretty thin but has a hood so it works well over a light fleece. I own a total of 1 rain jacket (Marmot Precip) and it basically just soaks up water now. The FL seems to have a really good DWR so that will probably become my new rain jacket as well.

 

[rm06]

I left my soft shell at base camp last year and used just my rain shell as an outer layer as needed. I did bring my First Lite vest as an extra layer that I wore in the morning if needed and late in the afternoon if necessary. I hunted 2nd season in CO and there was 1-2 feet of snow at the top and in the mid 30's most days. Though I don't pack much if setting out from base camp, I find the rain shell much easier to pack than the soft shell and is lighter to boot. I plan on using this setup moving forward, I really don't see the point in a soft shell any longer. YMMV.

 

[LJ Buck]

THe KUIU Rain Gear is to loud for archery hunting. If using a rifle it wont matter.

 

[Brendan]

Going through the same decisions now.

If the weather looks mostly clear, I will be bringing my KUIU guide jacket and leaving the Chugach set in the truck. If it looks like rain - then I'll swap. But, I had the same impression, the chugach gear would worry me slightly unless it was actually raining to mask the noise.

 

[Vitals]

A vest seems interesting. The vest with Ultra Merino layer (s) underneath would probably be the answer to quelling any morning/evening chill while moving. Once I stop to glass for a period of time I can throw the SD or Chugach on for wind breaking.

Who else runs a vest? Does it become a piece you are constantly putting on and taking off or does it regulate well wile being mobile?
I'm pretty much trying to talk myself into something that wont require me biting my nails waiting for a B/O product from Kuiu. I'm already doing that slightly...
Not sure If their vests are B/O

 

[MuleyFever]

Got a Chugach and a puffy this year and sold my softshell. No need for it. It isnt that warm, doesnt pack small, and only protects from light rain. My Chugach and puffy are smaller in my pack and offer better weather protection.

 

[Violent Hippie]

I have been wearing a softshell for most trips although plan to change it up due to the softshell taking up so much room in my pack if I elect to not wear it. Thing is huge ! Probably will go with first lite rain jacket (supposedly somewhat quite) as a back up as well as my puffy and just wear lite weight and mid weight wool with chest zips to thermo regulate which I have been doing this season with good results. Love my soft shell but just heavy and takes up ALOT of space !

 

[DaveC]

If the Torrent breathed enough for you, I'm sure the Chugach will.

I've yet to find a hardshell which breathes enough for my taste, and reserve them just for real rain. I prefer to run a light windshirt (~8 oz) and insulation underneath as needed. The 200+ g/meter soft shell fabrics aren't necesssarily any more wind resistant than lighter stuff, weigh a lot, and weigh even more when they get wet.

 

[ChadS]

I wore the Kuiu guide DCS last Mon/Tues/Wed and it rained almost non stop. Packed my rain gear and after putting it on and taking it off several times cause it was so loud, I just said screw it and wore the guide jacket and attack pants w/gaiters and stayed prettg dang dry. The clothes shed most water and what little soaked in dried really fast. I will only out on the rain gear for serious downpours from here on out.

 

[Vitals]

Well I've decided to give the guide vest a try. Ive liked wearing a vest in past physical work scenarios and think it just might be the ticket for what im looking for. It should breath well while mobile and give my core just the little extra insulation and wind break that I would ask of a soft shell. Warmth isn't a concern as I have my SD and chugach if I really needed to warm up.

I went with an XL which I'm hoping isn't too big. I wear an XL in the chugach and that fits great and an XL in all other tops for the most part. I figured even if the XL guide vest has a little extra room, I would be glad it was there if I ever wanted to wear something thicker underneath.... Any thoughts?

 

[ChadS]

Im pretty much a large in everthing in life except Kuiu, thats all XL.

Honestly the chugach and guide coat both feel like screen doors to me in the wind. Tried the chugach last year in the treestand on a real windy wet day and froze. I was dry but cold. The other side to that is that both breath real well and are the best ive hiked in. I traded out to my old crappy goretex paclite rain gear (does not breath good) to stop the wind and it works great for that.

 

[justin davis]

I'm a puffy jacket and hard shell combo kind of guy.

 

[TD1]

I don't carry soft shell anymore and mostly spot and stalk bowhunt.

If I'm wearing the Yukon it's either raining, windy or both. Noise isn't much of an issue in those conditions, taken several animals wearing the Yukon. If it's not raining or strong cold wind and I'm moving I will have on some combination of layers.... merino base, a mid-layer (several options from a mid-weight merino to one of my favorite microtex heavy shirts) a bit colder a FL merino vest. If not moving and it's cold a FL puffy over everything. If just flat out nasty freezing cold all of the above. So far haven't had to go above "puffy" level.

Don't care much for rain pants, but will use gaiters. If I was planning an AK hunt or a hunt were it's likely to rain for days on end I will pick up rain pants. But I don't see any situation on my horizon where I would add a soft shell back in. My latest hunt is pretty much late Sept, early Oct., the tail end of the archery seasons. No minus numbers please, but have done and am prepared for teens.

 

[Matt W.]

I really like soft shells, but am fairly particular about tailoring the right soft shell to right task. If you like the light weight style of the Chinook you should take a look at the new Sitka Gear 90% jacket. I'd love to be able to compare a Chinook to the one I've been running, but that 90% is a keeper!

 

[doverpack12]

I can't bring myself to rely on animals not hearing the hardshell so I use a softshell. I recently picked up the Sitka 90% 2014 version and think its probably the best I have ever used. I also have the Kuiu Guide currently but its just too much jacket without some sub freezing temps to me. The new 90% is very very quiet which is the one big advantage over the chinook I have been able to find. Several reports of the chinook being slightly louder than the Guide. The guide is pretty quiet but there is a little noise. Noise is a pretty important factor for me though.

 

[Matt W.]

I can't bring myself to rely on animals not hearing the hardshell so I use a softshell. I recently picked up the Sitka 90% 2014 version and think its probably the best I have ever used. I also have the Kuiu Guide currently but its just too much jacket without some sub freezing temps to me. The new 90% is very very quiet which is the one big advantage over the chinook I have been able to find. Several reports of the chinook being slightly louder than the Guide. The guide is pretty quiet but there is a little noise. Noise is a pretty important factor for me though.

Good to hear. I really dig my 90% but not having touched the Chinook I couldn't say it was better or worse. Appreciate the background info. The two jackets line up well next to each other spec wise. Bummer the Chinook is that much louder...

 

[MTbowhunter36]

I love soft shell jackets, but not for hunting. Basically depending on the weather I'll wear a merino top, Sitka vest, MH puffy and top it off with a C4E rain jacket. Last week the weather got down to 15 degrees here in MT and this setup worked really well. It was spitting snow and then warmed up and was snow/rain mix. A soft shell would have been heavy and wouldn't have been conducive to layering, IMO. Had the Kuiu soft shell but sold it as I didn't use it as much as I thought I would.

As far as the vest question, I've worn a vest almost everyday in the morning for the past two weeks here while archery elk hunting. It's been chilly enough that I like it to take the edge off (between 30s - 40s each morning). Used to have a merino vest, but it didn't cut the wind so now a Sitka vest is in my kit and I it works very well.

 

[Whisky]

I think there are a few factors that come into play here, but most importantly is terrain and weapon of choice.

Last year where I elk hunted I questioned whether a softshell would be nice or not. But I spent so much time in rain gear it didn't really matter. This year I confirmed, for bow hunting elk where i do, a softshell is needed. Good luck sneaking around over/under deadfall and through the jungle quietly with a puffy and rain gear on. Just doesn't work.

I'll eat the weight and room penalty if it means I can hunt quiet and comfortably.

 

[Jtelarkin08]

So for the guys who use a soft shell. Do you carry a puffy, soft shell and rain jacket? I am trying to figure out my gear list for my hunt next year as well and I cannot decide what I need to do about soft shell rain gear and puffy