Schoeller cloth garments

[una_dogger]

I just did the carter range in the MH Synchro pants. I found them great, my legs were very comfortable the whole trip, the full zips made a difference. They seemed to block the wind quite well and no damage despite falling numerous times on Saturday.

I wish I had purchased a pair last week as they were having a great sale at backcountry.com.

 

[Mongoose]

Interesting thread. I have a schoeller jacket from Cloudveil. I believe it's a Cloudveil Icefloe and has Schoeller Dynamic fabric. I bought it 4 years ago and used to use it a lot during the winter. Eventually I found the jacket wasn't wind resistant enough above treeline. Below treeline it was good but with no wind my fleece kept me warm enough. Now I only carry a gore-tex shell. It's fully wind proof above treeline and I use it below treeline if it's really cold and I'm not sweating much.

I'm trying to sell the schoeller jacket now. Any takers?

 

[CharlieF]

I have had my pair for 3 years. I only have the one pair so they get washed and used as often as I need them. The only caveant is the last few winters haven't been real bad so it isn't like I wear them constantly. I would reccommend the hip zips they are great for ventilation and for putting them on over your boots. I have had no problems with wear. I am short (5'10") with very short legs ,since they are custom made they fit perfectly. My priorities when I bought them were: (1)breathability (2) wind resistence (3) some warmth. The dry skin fabric was perfect. The dry skin also sheds a good amount of water. Most snow just slides right off it.
I better stop talking Iam beginning to sound like a salesman.
Charlie

 

[dave.m]

I think the least discussed benefit of Gore Tex is its superior windproofness. In the same way, I think the big thing about modern soft shells is their stretch. I don't think modern softshells are unique in their combination of wind resistance and breathability. I find wooven wool or nylon shells over polyester to be similar in this regard. However, none of these options offer the freedom of movement of a modern soft shell.

In my experience, this is much more noticable in pants. At this point, I really can't imagine cross-country skiing in any other kind of pant. Interestingly, I don't find stretch to be anywhere as important for tops, even when I'm skiing. However, I could imagine this to be a benefit for climbers.

One place I do prefer a modern soft shell for a top layer is when cycling. The heavier weave of a soft shell means that I get no audible wind flap while riding. I get pretty annoyed with flapping jackets while riding. This said, the lack of windflap doesn't argue for using modern soft shells as an outer layer for lift served skiing or above treeline in my mind. In both cases, I prefer the superior wind proofness of Gore Tex, which tends not to have the wind flap problem due to its stiffer hand.

Hunting and puckerbush style backcountry skiing are similar in that you end up spending lots of time in tight woods and brush. I really don't like lightweight nylons like rip-stop or taffeta nor lightweight polyesters like Pertex for this since they are so prone to getting caught by thorns. While no fabric is entirely immune to thorns, my preferance is for standard Supplex as being the right balance of toughness and light weight. But it has 2 draw backs. It doesn't stretch so it makes lousy pants and it's very noisy in the brush which makes it bad for hunting.

So for me, the choice for cold weather pants in the woods comes down to wooven wool (like those from Johnson Woolen Mills or Woolrich) or soft shell pants over a stretch underlayer. I now use the latter exclusively. I find wool to provide better protection from thorns and I think it stands up better. My soft shell pants are getting close to 10 years old and have plenty of snags in them. But, soft shell pants are far better in terms of stretch and they shed snow much better than wool.

In terms of layer and actuall usage, I find layering with modern softshells to be pain in that it's really hard to put things under the soft shell. They are easier to layer on top of though. For this reason, I think of them more as inner layers that I can wear without another shell if I want. Putting it another way, they go on at the beginning of the day and stay on all day.

For me, this means that I end up using my softshell jacket and pants for different seasons. I don't like my softshell pants in warmer weather when there is any chance I will be in shorts during the day. Side zip soft shell pants don't exist that I have seen, so I prefer to carry my lined side-zip warm up pants from the spring till the fall. The time the soft shell pants start to get used is late fall when I know I'll be in pants the whole day. I'll layer them according to the warmest I'll expect to be during the day and then layer OVER them as needed with other layer top pants -- generally one of several side zip pants that I have.

It's just the reverse for tops. I use my soft shell jacket as my primary cycling jacket in the warm months. I'll use it as a mid layer for cold weather cycling too. But, it doesn't get carried or worn in the woods in the winter. I still prefer some form of polyester under a nylon shell. In particular, I have a Pertex windshirt that remains my most versatile piece as I can wear it over many different thicknesses of polyester and it layers really well.