Soft shells without a membrane?

[Robert Devereux]

What options are there for a soft shell jacket without a windstopper membrane, and without a "waterproof breathable" fabric like Gore-Tex or eVent? If I get a new jacket, I'd like something that will actually be breathable.

I see that the Patagonia Winter Guide Jacket is wind resistant due to a tight weave rather than a membrane. Is there anything else available like it?

[Ryan Hutchins]

Almost any of the schoeller fabrics w/ a few exceptions meet that criteria. Also four out of six of the softshells on the Patagonia site are woven, not membrane type (the wind track and cold tack have membranes.) I thought they had an even broader selection of softshells, but they change the line up so often these days it is hard to keep up. I have used a Patagonia Dimension jacket for years and love it. The winter guide is similar.

[Rob Blazoff]

Sporthill 3SP is windproof (35mph) due to a tight weave. The Malden Mills Powershield and Wind Pro are not lams either.

[Jon Rhoderick]

People here love the Marmot driclime stuff, as well as the Rab vapour rise stuff from England if you can afford it. The cloudveil inertia peak with a hood seems pretty sweet also if thats what your looking for. A couple eclectic people will tell you that they will wear buffalo and paramo gear from England till hell freezes over

[Kyle Rosenberger]

Cloudveil makes a great softshell. The inertia peak is a little lighter weight and probably the most versatile. They seem to be phasing out the scholler fabrics on some of their jackets. I really like the rayzar.

ORs Logic jacket is a good buy too. 100 bucks for a very nice softshell. I bet you can find one on sale pretty easy too.

These jackets do not have membranes. In cloudveils softshell line only the headwall has a membrane

[Michael Febbo]

There's a ton of non-laminates, though Mountain Hardwear and Arcteryx don't seem to like them. What exactly do you want?

As has been said, schoeller's dynamic and extreme are not laminates and breathe nicely. Mountain Hardwear's Velocity Guide seems very nice, and take a look at their Offwidth. I have been using pants made of the fabric in that jacket and have been impressed with mobility, durability and weather resistance.

Much of what Patagonia makes is non-laminated, my favorite being the Ready Mix which is windproof and dries fast as it is made of polyester. You can get these for under $140 in a few places right now.

Cloudveil's Inertia line is very stretchy and seems like it would be very breathable. If I did not have a Cloudveil Blakc Ice and the Ready Mix, I'd get one. If you want a non-hooded Inertia, Mountain Gear has large and small for 90 bucks.
Cloudveil's Serendipity is Schoeller non-laminated.

I believe Powershield is a laminate, as mine has de-laminated! The use of my Powershield Gamma-MX is the major reason I got the Ready Mix and Black Ice… needed something more breathable.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Any one shell out the $175 for the new Mountain Hardware Stimulus?
Fully waterproff and welded with a 4 way stretch for under 6 ounces.

[Michael Febbo]

The stimulus looks impressive, but is Conduit laminate, so won't be anywhere near as breathable as many of the options discussed here. The Tanglewood is more in line with a breathable, non-laminate softshell. What would the Stimulus be for- biking?

[Robert Devereux]

Thanks. It sounds like the Ready Mix will work for me. I'm looking for something with a hood that I can wear for hiking in winter in Western PA (daily range of about 20-45 F, and often damp, but not really needing a hard shell).

The Buffalo or Paramo stuff sounds intriguing, but it's hard to justify ordering from the UK without seeing one in person first.

[Michael Davis]

Lately, I've seen more references to Paramo clothing. I could see this stuff really working out in the shoulder seasons in New England when its cold but not consitently freezing but damp, drissly, messy, you know what I mean. Probably in the PNW also.

We have to convince these guys to open up shop on this side of the lake. Maybe someone like Prolite Gear can take on the challenge!

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