Mountain Hardwear Annamite Softshell Jacket - Women's - 2009 BCS

I have the torch jacket - apparently what is now the annamite. It is made of the same windtopper torch soft shell fabric, which is the best part of the jacket. Soft, supple, non-crinkly, durable, with the windstopper and fuzzy lining. Perfect balance of protection and breathability for people on the move who aren't constantly getting rained on. Like most shells/softshells, it's not insulated, so wear your layers...

I wear this day in day out in the winter for backcountry skiing, and the rest of the year for spring skiing, mountaineering aqnd general hiking. Mine has been abused and has held up well. The only time I wouldn't bring this jacket is if I know it is likely to rain a lot. The jacket repels snow fine and light/moderate rain, but it's not a full on rain jacket. My recollection from years ago working in the outdoor retail industry is that windstopper is basically goretex that is stretched thinner, creating more breathability but less water-repellancy... I have always enjoyed the most-of-the-time waterproofness of windstopper. I would never be able to skin up a slope wearing goretex in anything but ultralight layers and frigid weather!

The lining is peachy, so I don't stick to it if I'm just wearing a t shirt. But it's not so fuzzy it sticks your layers when you take it off.. The pit zips are huge, yet really low-profile. For the very windy area where I ski, I really need the windstopper, and, as breathable as this membrane is, I would still overheat sometimes on the uptrack without the pit zips. The monkey mitts just rock for snowsports, and can easily be left unused, if you'd rather. It's amazing how much warmer your hands can be with a little wrist gasket!!

I can't speak for the annamite, but the torch has a pretty slim, trim fit, with arms plenty long for my ape arms. A little narrow in the shoulder for those of built more like swimmers...The whole jacket is very low-profile and takes up very little space in my pack- due to the fabric and bulkless construction. Similar to my lightweight goretex jacket, and way bigger than mr arc-teryx gamma mx hoody, in terms of how it packs down. It's also quite light, for the protection it offers. The pockets are a little high and close to the center-- a little awkward. It looks like the've fixed this on the annamite. The onky drawback for me it that the hood does not fit over a ski helmet, or my climbing helmet. The hood is well featured for the helmetless, and the fuzzy chinguard is huge. I also like the stiff visor brimim on the hood, at least.

I love this jacket - the torch at least - and would recommend it.