Lightweight Softshell Innovation

By Alex Gross August 12, 2009

I've been wearing this jacket regularly since the mid spring and so far, I love it. The sizing is typical for the backcountry.com branded apparel. Its a bit long and skinny. I'm 5' 8" and about 165 - 170 lbs and I had to get a large to properly fit around my torso with some room for a layer or two underneath (I don't like tight, form-fitting jackets). This means that its a tiny bit long on my torso and arms, but not annoyingly so.

What I'm most impressed by with this jacket is that its warm, breathable and more waterproof than I anticipated. I wore it during the downpours at the 2009 Desert Rocks Music Festival in Moab (SERIOUS Effing rain with flash floods), and it was more waterproof than my Marmot Precip. The welded seems didn't allow any water in, and the softshell held back the rain with only minimal seep-through. The fuzzy insides kept me warmer than if I was just wearing a rain shell too. I practically lived in this jacket for four days and was impressed. Over time, as with all softshells, I'm sure that the water proofness will fade a bit, but so far I'm impressed.

View Details: Backcountry.com Shift Welder Hoody - Men's

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