Anybody want to wager a comparison between Polartec Powershield pro and neoshell? I'm considering something in each.

For daily use and skiing, I went with a powershield pro jacket because: -Neoshell is nice, however it still has a hardshell feel to it -Powershield pro stretches better -I am rarely in the rain -breathability is more important for me while skiing -my Powershield pro jacket has a lofty backing for good insulation (I couldn't find a Neoshell jacket like this) Honestly though, if I was in more wet conditions (like in the north east coast) with cold rain, I'd probably go with a Neoshell jacket. The Zion would be it.

Seriously, that kishtwar jacket is really junk. They say it breathes well, and I agree!!! There is nothing to that jacket except a sub par VERY thin shell so of course it will breathe. In colder weather, you will freeze to death with it. Now the other thing, it LEAKS water through all the zippers and seams making it extremely pointless to wear. The Zion is awesome. Its warm, and totally windproof and waterproof. I put my whole entire sleeve in a sink full of water for 45 seconds and it did not leak through. Thats waterproof for you. Also, you do not sweat in it even though it has a fleace lining. The neoshell technology really works man!!!

I just got the zion jacket in the mail today. It has a soft fleece lining which is great for cold temps. The powershield pro jacket I was thinking about buying was the Kishtwar by north face-the Kishtwar feels very much like a shell-actually kind of scratchy on the inside IMO. This feels alot better with the fleece-but that extra warmth delegates the jacket to cold weather use. I decided against the kishtwar because it felt so much like a hardshell, and I have a gamma mx and gamma lt- So i asked myself: why get a more breathable shell that feels like a hardshell? neoshell has a waterproof rating of 10,000 while powershield pro is rated at 3,000.

Powershield pro has a hydrostatic head of 3m, whereas neoshell has one of 10m. Both are waterproof according to american and european standards, however, neoshell is on par with eVent and other hardshell materials, while pro will let in water in a downpour, or areas like your pack straps. Pro will give you about 50% more breathability, and neoshell gives you complete waterproofness (Actual, not just in a lab). Basically, Neoshell is a hardshell waterproof fabric, whereas powershield pro blurs the lines between softshell and hardshell. I use Powershield Pro for my mountaineering shell because waterproofness against rain is unnecessary, but if I was to buy a rain jacket, I would get neoshell.