In reply to chrismcd23:
Yeah, I'm with highclimber. I love the stuff, others can't abide it.
The main downsides:
- Not fully waterproof, if you sit in a puddle you'll get wet. If it rains very hard all day, it might wet through. Though by that point, my friends wearing gore were also wet through.
- Heavier than gore, and warmer, so less flexible if you want to stay dry and cool in summer.
The main upsides
- Breathes much, much better, so:
-- If you get soaked you will dry out again
-- You don't need to keep adding/removing layers to avoid starting to sweat.
- Very long lasting, doesn't wear out and delaminate, and if you tear it on a rock it's easy to repair.
Mind you, I've had my paramo for years, so I'm comparing it to gore from 2007 or so. Maybe it's better now. Softshells have certainly come on a long way.
Edit to add:
IMO it's great for walking in Scottish winter, where you spend a bit of time in the rain and the rest of the time in the wind and snow/spindrift. It's a bit too warm for summer in Scotland though, and I'm in two minds about it for winter climbing. It's great if it's subzero, but if there is water running around you'll get wet. I don't do much winter climbing anyway so ask others about that.
Post edited at 11:03