Soft Shell Pants

[Paul Ettestad]

I’m looking for some soft shell pants to wear while backpacking high in the Rockies in fall weather. I’ve read the soft shell review here at BPL, but a lot of styles have changed or been updated. REI has the ArcTerryx Gamma LT on sale and it only weighs 10 oz now, while Cloudveil has the Peak (their replacement for the Rodeo) which has a more reasonable cost. Anyone have experience with these new styles?

[David Targan]

Yes, I have both. The Arc’teryx pant is very slightly thicker, and appears to be “tougher” for bush-wacking than the Cloudveil. I think they would be comparable in terms of warmth. The Arcteryx pant seems to shed water slightly better, though I’ve never done a side-by-side. The Cloudveil pants I think would both “wet-out” and dry out more quickly. These are just impressions from the field, not “scientific.” I have a hard time believing the Arcteryx pants are really 10 oz- when I get them to a scale I’ll check that out. The Cloudveils definitely seem lighter. It’s a close call.

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