Subscribe

The Hardshell Jacket: Time to Scale Down

By

Jason Albert

There's no gram-counting in this story. But this Norrøna Lyngen Gore-Tex Jacket (Active Gore-Tex—less weatherproof, more breathable), moves towards a lighter overall package. Excellent Napoleon pockets—ample room for doo-dads, liner gloves, skins. No hand pockets, but way too long pit zips.

There's no gram-counting in this story. But this Norrøna Lyngen Gore-Tex Jacket (Active Gore-Tex—less weatherproof, more breathable), moves towards a lighter overall package. Excellent Napoleon pockets—ample room for doo-dads, liner gloves, skins. No hand pockets, but way too long pit zips.

  Gather round the fire. Get comfortable. There was a time not so long ago (ask your parents, 20-somethings) when Gore-Tex meant weatherproof. It also meant bulky. It meant a sartorial gateway to looking like you might attempt Everest or buy bulk Tamari almonds at a dank food co-op. It meant approximately $79.95 for a…

Responses

  1. Will Parrett

    Couldn’t agree more with simplifying the shell (though a lot of days here in the Wasatch a shell isn’t needed at all)! I don’t like keeping much in my shell pockets because of the off and on transitions during a tour. Wondering if anyone has any experience with the Strafe Pertex Shield 2.5L Scout Jacket? Looks like a minimal option, but I’m wondering if it can hold up to the wear and tear of carrying a pack?

    1. Gavin Hess

      Hey Will,

      I’ve got one of the Strafe Scout jackets- its pretty minimal! From a pack carrying perspective, it probably depends a lot on how much you wear it and what the body contact zones on your pack look like. I prefer packs with smoother contact points, rather than mesh that is abrasive on clothes and holds onto snow. Honestly, I’ve spent much more time carrying the Scout spring skiing and summer biking/running/climbing than I have wearing it. I have no doubt it would tear easily if you took it tree skiing or chimneying while rock climbing, but for occasional/gentle use, it seems great.

  2. Riley Willetts

    There has been a trend in the past few years on lightweight 3l anoraks too. It looks like for $20 more at Patagonia you can get the m10 anorak. Which has fewer pockets and zippers… not sure how that pricing works out but still neat. The older Alpha Anorak from Arc’teryx is the best shell I have ever owned.

    1. Jason Albert

      Good point Riley. Even more minimalist are the anoraks. The M10 Anorak looks sweet. Size accordingly, the M10 Storm fits great in a medium for me (5’10 160), the anorak (which I’ve tried in a medium, ran small). It looks like a great option.

    2. Gavin Hess

      Style aside (they are stylish for sure), I can’t get on board with the anorak trend.. the added 12-14″ of zipper weighs 20g or so and adds so much function/ease of use. Often when I wear a hardshell, it is on and off enough throughout the day that the over the head, knock off your hat and sunglasses(or whatever headwear) thing gets old pretty quick.

      I do love my Arc Alpha SL anorak, but I would probably love it even more with a full zip (which they now make with the alpha lightweight)

  3. Ethan Ayer

    OR Helium Ascentshell is a great touring jacket, if its still being offered this season. Its Pertex shield, minimal with no pitzips and two large pockets to stuff skins in. Its only 326g! No issues with waterproofing. The only time I’ve soaked through a goretex jacket is sweating through the inside.

    1. Jason Albert

      Second this. My pal Brian (you out there….??) has beaten this OR jacket up, and it has served him well as a go-to for big traverses and stormy Wyoming skiing.

  4. Slim

    I have to give a hard pushback on the pitzips. If we are talking about a super minimalist shell that you don’t plan to use, you just packed it for emergencies, or a windswept ridge, the I agree: no pockets, no pitzips.
    But for something when the weather is less certain , and you actually plan on wearing it, pitzips are a godsend. In concert with the front zip and cuffs that can be opened, they allow adjustable venting. Of the 3 pitzips offer both the most venting, and the best protection from precip. Venting will always beat breathability of the fabric, so if possible, it’s a great way to dump heat and moisture while staying dry from snow or rain.

    And yes, I do use the same shell for ski touring, backpacking, canoeing, biking and sometimes even lift served skiing, but I don’t sweat more than average, and tend to under, not over-dress as far as insulation while active is concerned.

    Besides managing sweat, the other big pro for pitzips is simple thermo regulation: if you are wearing the jacket, and for some reason you start to get a bit hot: open pit and front zips, and cuffs, and you will cool down. Then, when the wind picks up again, and the sun goes away, you can close them again. This is far faster and easier to do while skinning or skiing, that stopping to add or remove clothing layers, which means removing your backpack.
    For this reason I have even added pitzips to my (very breathable) windshells.

    Along those lines, how can pit zips be “too long”? Unless they extend underneath the pack waistbelt/harness. But that doesn’t seem to be the case in the pictured one. Other than that, the longer the better. The pitzips I added to my Paramo jacket run from just above the waistbel all the way to my elbows, and allow for tremendous cooling. If precip gets in, I can zip them (partially) closed.

    1. Jason Albert

      Slim, good points that add to the conversation.

  5. Patrick Fink

    I’ve had nothing but frustration trying to find a hardshell for touring. In Utah, it just wasn’t necessary, as any lightweight hardface softshell fabric holds up when the precip is very cold and dry. In the Cascades, the problem is when it’s snowing pretty hard, but temps are just below freezing, so the precip sticks to you and then melts. Having put in my time in the Talkeetna and Wrangell ranges in alaska, I don’t have a lot of faith in 2-layer shells or Patagonia’s H2NO (which I call H2YES). For sustained operations in bad weather, expedition use, etc. I’m committed to GoreTex Proshell and nothing else.

    However, for ski touring, unless you are a cold-blooded lizard, Proshell is pretty heavy and needs a lot of venting. Is there not an alternative?? Enter my second complaint: fit. All-around shells as you get from Mountain Hardware or OR are often too short, sending that precip down my pants when I buckle my boot. Ski-focused shells on the other hand, as from Strafe or Mammut, all have an incredibly annoying “freeride” style fit–overly long tops, and too-baggy pants. Tour in those and you sound like a crinkly garbage bag.

    Last season I tried the Black Diamond Recon LT stretch, which has a less-freeride fit. It uses the in-house B.DRY which I haven’t given the full abuse yet. For a 3-layer shell, it is incredibly light, supple, and quiet. Unfortunately, the jacket is plagued by an annoying zipper flap near the face. The pants suffer what have become classic BD issues: a) the size is weird and too large in the waist despite being reportedly exactly the same as their softshells that fit me perfectly. B) they have done away with belt loops for a fancy built in fastener that doesn’t work. Still, they have enough going for them I may just have to get them modified to fit me and cut out the face guard.

  6. Cody Townsend

    I’ll be excited to get the Salomon Scrambler kit to you guys when they’re in. Fits a lot of what you’re looking for…which means I agree with almost all of your points.

  7. Central Park Ski Club

    The first iteration of the Black Crows Ventus jacket is a gem (if you can find them). Think it was in the first line of outerwear that they made around 2018-ish. I believe it was discontinued after a season or two and a few iterations later which I can’t speak to. Super simple jacket. Only two outer chest pockets (one small and one big), 3L Gore-Tex shell, double zippers, huge pit zips, and massive internal skin pockets. The fit is very slim, but in a Large I still have plenty of room for laying. Don’t LOVE the elastic cuffs which promotes you putting your gloves over the jacket (maybe I’m wrong?), but that’s my only knock on it. Have found myself grabbing for it more and more in recent seasons.

    Been searching over the past few years for an XL on ebay. Sadly, no luck.

  8. Jason Kwiatkowski

    Love the history lesson on why I still hold on to my old hard shell that refuses to die – PFAS. And fully agree that purchasing it felt like a right-of -passage.

Leave a Reply

Latest Features