The Not-So-Super Hero

By Jon Woodhouse Ranked #134 - Men's Softshell Jackets November 13, 2009

I've had my Marmot Super Hero for about a year now, and my relationship with it has been off-and-on ever since I got it. I really love the jacket, but there have always been a few things about it that have made me wish I had never gotten into such a relationship. First of all, the jacket is pretty burly in terms of its construction. With the Windstopper, it's completely windproof (duh), and the fabric itself (especially the shoulders/arms) is very durable. I've never so much as snagged the jacket, even while scrubbing it along entire offwidth chimney pitches. The jacket also looks pretty cool. I have no problem with the collar being too "big", although the jacket is a bit short around the waist, like all Marmot jackets seem to be on me.
That's where the good stuff ends though. The hood on this jacket is absolutely, entirely, and utterly useless to me unless I'm wearing it over a helmet while ice climbing/mountaineering. The single cinch cord around the brim of the HUGE hood is totally insufficient for adjusting the hood to different sizes. What were you thinking Marmot? One more cinch cord around the back of the hood for volume adjustment would change the way I look at, and use, this jacket. The M2 sofshell material, while nice to the touch, is HORRIBLE at doing what a softshell fabric is supposed to do: resist moisture. From the day I got the jacket, I noticed that water very easily penetrated the outer layers of the fabric (the windstopper membrane assists with blocking water from entirely penetrating the jacket though). Water doesn't even bead up on the jacket after stuffing it in a pack even once or twice. I have meticulously washed (Nikwax Techwash) and re-applied DWR to try to improve this, but to no avail. It wouldn't be that big of a deal for the fabric to suck up water like it does... if it would DRY FAST. However, it falls short there too. This material is hands down the slowest drying synthetic garment material I have ever dealt with. After being out in a light drizzle for maybe 15 minutes, the entire jacket will be darkened with moisture, and I have placed the jacket on a coat rack inside, next to a fan, and witnessed it taking FIVE HOURS to become reasonably dry.
Factors like that just make me question what the hell Marmot was thinking. They have to know how poorly this material performs. I am very surprised that no one else has mentioned it. I own two other softshells, both made with Polartec Powershield, and both of them resist water 100X better than this thing, and they literally dry out 12X faster. I can get one of those softshells drenched and it will dry in 30 minutes if not exposed to any further water.
Despite my rambling rant about the Super Hero's downfalls, I still like the jacket when I can where it in the right context. I've enjoyed using it to ice climb in particular, on crisp winter days with powdery snowfall and harsh wind. If those powdery snowflakes turn slush, though, I'm f**ked, and I'll reach straight for my Polartec softies. (BACKCOUNTRY SHIFT and SHIFT WELDER by the way!)

View Details: Marmot Super Hero Softshell Jacket - Men's

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