Gore-Tex or Soft Shell

[mzvarner]

My goals as a climber are to do light and fast ascents in all aspects of climbing. This includes Mountaineering, alpine climbs, and summer rock.

 

One thing i have been pondering for a while is which is best, gore-tex or softshell fabrics. I own a set of both, but have yet to really use the goretex.

 

Any ideas, and im considering new softshell pants, so any ideas on those too would be good.

[robpatterson5]

paclite or precip and softshell or windshirt have served me well, you will trash the gore-tex (and the softshell) though.

 

I like my Gamma AR pants (would advise against black), but use my full-zip paclite pants rarly - but have been glad the few times I needed them though.

Edited October 24, 2009 by robpatterson5

[selkirk]

I suppose on what the level of weather risk tolerance is and the length of your planned trips.

 

For me, if it's a 1 day thing where I can bail if need be then I always go softshell with the thought that if the weathers that bad I'm not going to be climbing anyway.

But if i'm looking at higher commitment or multi-day sorts of things then I start thinking waterproof/breathable. Though I typically take about a 6oz Go-lite shell instead of the full gore-tex.

 

and of course winter in the northwest is a different beast entirely.

[Le Piston]

I'm a big fan of softshell pants for most climbing endeavors, but if you need to pass through wet brush or hard rain, the gore-tex really comes in handy. The softshell sheds snow and light precip just fine, but I like having a backup of another layer that is warmer, waterproof, and windproof...especially on longer trips farther from the car. The extra weight seems worth it to me.

[Dane]

Soft shells..top and bottom. Add a belay sweater or jacket and a lwt shell to keep the wind or snow out as required. Best system for total freedom of movement I have found.

 

Although I own a bunch of it, haven't used a goretex garment in years, winter or summer in the Cascades or the Rockies. I have however used a lwt uncoated nylon shell top several times winter and summer. I don't climb in the rain.

 

Nov '08..soft shell pants and a uncoated Patagonia shell over a R1 Hoody.

[111]

look at ultralight shells as a backup to be carried but not used. Get something light enough you will actually bring along, but plan on wearing a softshell on 95% of adventures. Being active in the mountains means lots of sweat and goretex doesn't breathe like a softshell..

[Bug]

For multi-day trips in the cascades I have the lightest gortex I can find. Many of my trips would have ended without it due to heavy rain that subsided or bushwhacking through soaked brush for miles.

The water you would end up carrying in your soaked clothes is heavier than light weight gortex.

[Julian]

I have a North Face Ama Dablam Gore-tex Paclite jacket from sometime in the late 90s (back when North Face made high quality technical jackets that were not overloaded with unnecessary bells and whistles and Paclite was still made with little grey disks) that frequently goes into the bottom of my pack (taking up little space and weight) and only comes out in really bad Cascades weather (I was glad to have it for an unplanned open bivouac on Mt. Baker). When I'm climbing it's either in a few layers of polypro (believe it or not I really like the base layers from Land's End, they are light and comfortable for a cheap price), a Beyond Fleece action shirt (light and thin softshell), or if something warmer is needed a Mountain Equipment Co-op Slipstream 2 jacket, which is my favorite piece of outdoor clothing ever (Polartec Windpro with hardface - it sheds snow like a softshell, takes forever to wet out, breaths well and dries quickly). Pants are almost always softshells (REI Mistrals for spring/fall temperatures, Beyond Fleece Cold Fusions for winter), although I have some Paclite bib pants for really bad conditions (another North Face product from their better days).

[JBo6]

Here is a pretty decent deal on a light Gore-Tex jacket if you are XL.

http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorgear/Backcountry-Siphon-Street-Full-Zip-Hooded-Sweatshirt-Men%92s/BCC0127M.html

 

Edit: Just read you have some already, if anyone is looking.

Edited December 1, 2009 by JBo6