UKC

What's the difference between wearing a wind shirt, such as the Arcteryx Squarmish, versus a soft-shell such as their Psiphon jacket or ME's Squall? Okay, the wind shirt is thinner, but soft-shell material these days isn't far off it? Is a wind shirt plus a layer underneath of appropriate thickness essentially not the equivalent of a soft-shell?

Well, at a pinch, you can call a wind shirt a very simple soft shell; it's a shell, and it has no membrane.

It may lack one of the other 'defining features' of the 'soft shell paradigm'; stretch, in particular.

Fancy soft shell may well be more expensive.

Though it would vary depending on the item involved, I'd expect a windshirt to offer little resistance to any rain; a brief light shower possibly, but not much else.

A softshell wouldn't fare much better in a longer spell of wetness but should be better than a windshirt on a showery day.

T.

They do seem to fulfil a similar role though, which makes you wonder whether you 'need' both.

Hi, I have a Squall.  It's a softshell tho it acts like a windshirt too.

I have a couple of windshirts too.  The squall outperforms them everywhere except for lightness.  It's still light tho.  Cuts wind well, ridiculously robust.  Can take light rain tho will wet out quickly tho i run in the rain in mine and it still keeps a bit of heat in when wet...only a bit tho.

it's like a tough windshirt...one i cant recommend enough.

Thin softshells are generally more breathable too. I can easily get condensation in a pertex windshirt if I'm going hard uphill.

One's a nylon  pac a mac and the other is a fleece.

The one that’s having the most fun.