xtekian

I've been looking for a lightweight softshell that doesn't break the bank for spring/early summer treks, and potentially for hiking across South America this summer. I wound up trying both the MH Offwidth Jacket and Patagonia Simple Guide. I'm fairly small (5'7, 34" chest) and ended up getting the MH in Small and Patagonia in XS.

Fit: Both jackets are sized nearly identically - same hem width, back length, armpit-to-armpit width (20" armpit-to armpit, 19" hem width). The Simple Guide has 1" longer sleeves and a slightly tighter bicep area. When worn, both expectedly fit the same, with a fairly athletic cut and room for a fleece layer but not much more.

Features: Once again, nearly the same features: 3 pockets, hem drawcord, velcro cuffs. The Offwidth has a neck drawcord. The Offwidth has a slightly heavier soft shell material and as a result weighs about 4oz more than the Simple Guide.

Material: The jackets differ mostly here, with the Offwidth having a slightly thicker, more windproof softshell than the Simple Guide. The texture of the Offwidth is thicker as well. Both have tons of stretch and do not have a fleece backing or membrane. The fabric of the Simple Guide is much more breathable -- probably the most breathable soft shell I've owned -- and is less crinkly and falls more naturally when wearing (think silk scarf).

Styling: I love MH but one thing they need to work on is the styling. I would not wear the Offwidth around town -- it has loud, white Mountain Hardwear logos on the chest, sleeve, and even on the velcro cuffs. Even worse, the zippers stick out at a weird angle to the front AND to the side of the jacket due to the construction of the zippers -- WHY MH WHY?? In contrast, the Simple Guide just oozes with style with an understated logo on the chest and tasteful zipper drawers. There is no comparison here really, the Simple Guide wins hands down.

In the end, I found that both jackets had a nearly identical feature set, and both clock in at $120 retail. I sided with the Simple Guide primarily because the soft shell material was lighter and more breathable, which is what I'm looking for during spring and summer. Also the styling may be a deal breaker for some, for me I spend 95% of my time NOT hiking so this was a factor as well.

This is my favorite light fleece jacket! Light, warm, and and slim fitting; I'm 5'7 135 and the Small fits well with enough space to layer a light sweater. The microgrid fleece pattern reminds me of the Arcteryx Delta LT, which MH trumps easily with an extra chest pocket, drawcord hem, and Powerstretch Hardface sides and sleeves (and it's $10 cheaper retail to boot). The Powerstretch Hardface really is the dealmaker here as it gives this jacket an excellent fit and a feeling of luxury as only more expensive jackets tend to have this material (Arcteryx Atom, MH Desna). Only thing I think it missing would be a two way zipper since the jacket is fairly long, and it bunches up a lot when I'm sitting.

I loved my Gamma SV so much that I wanted to try out another Arc'Teryx softshell. After some shopping I ended up with this jacket in Tarragon as it seemed to provide a different set of technical qualities than the Gamma (windproof, warmer weather). Basically, after wearing both these jackets for the fall and parts of the winter, here are my conclusions: The Venta jacket is usable in a more diverse set of conditions. Tarragon is a beautiful dark greenish color, I absolutely love it (my Gamma was in drab black). The cut of the Venta SV is slightly roomier than the Gamma (but still athletic) and slightly longer, allowing for better layering. Taped Seams makes the Venta much more comfortable to wear over just a baselayer.

Now here is the one thing I do not like about the Venta -- the Windstopper fabric has almost no stretch. This is usually ok since the cut is roomier -- however the jacket is stifling at the wrists! There is almost no way I can check the time on my watch when wearing this jacket. The wrists are so tight that I cannot layer anything more than a long sleeve shirt and maybe a thin fleece, and putting on gloves under the wrists is really a pain (especially with a watch). This problem is made worse since whenever I put on my Gamma I realize how stretch yet durable the Powershield material is. Perhaps it would have been wise for Arc to provide gussetted wrists on this one.

So yes, almost perfect, and should be fully deserving of five stars... but the lack of 4way stretch takes this jacket one notch down. I would still buy this jacket in a heartbeat!

Great, soft, silky shirt, although a bit staticky. Nice and fitted. Only thing is that the logo is in the center instead on one side like the picture suggests, but that's not a big deal.

I have a rather small chest - 34" - so I was glad to try on the XS, which fit well. Nice and form fitting but two things give it 4 stars instead of 5 -- 1) material is so thin, it should not be this expensive! and 2) it's as soft as some of my soft cotton.... actually that's probably a good thing, but it makes me wonder why I just didn't spend $10 on a gap cotton shirt.