One of the most visible, expensive, and important pieces of gear you own is your outer shell top and bottoms.  It is also one of the most difficult decisions to make simply because the field of competition is so crowded.  In my opinion, shell gear must meet three important criteria.  First, shell gear should be just that, shell only.  I am a very big proponent of the base, insulation, shell layering system.  Unless you are running the Iditarod or going on a polar expedition then shell gear should be non-insulated.  Second, I believe that the outer shell should be waterproof, not water resistance, and breathable.  A capable shell has to deal as much with moisture on the inside as it does on the outside.  If a garment does not have the ability to let water vapor out then to me it is the equivalent of a sweat suit.  

There are a lot of waterproof breathable fabrics on the market and even more that claim to be.  I am not an engineer or a chemist but I have a lot of experience with humping heavy loads in bad weather and my favorite garments have almost all been made with the one that pretty much started it all, Gore-Tex.  Now I know that there are people out there that will argue to the death that Gore-Tex is a sham and that it doesn’t work.  Well, there are people that believe we did not actually land on the moon and there are people that believe that fire can’t melt steel, right Rosie!  To those people I say…well, I don’t know what to say to those people but I can tell you that it works well for me.  In fact I have and still occasionally use a Synergy Works parka made with Gore-Tex that my Father bought in 1975.  I have had other shells made of other waterproof breathables and some of them worked well, but Gore-Tex has never let me down.  It is a proven product and the good folks at Gore are still working hard to maintain its good name.  There are Gore-Tex tags on my shells, gloves, gaiters, and boots so, yea, I am a Gore-Tex guy.  No apologies.  

The third thing that a shell needs is good ventilation.  Good ventilation is achieved through a proper fit (which is usually larger than most people think), adjustable sleeve cuffs that can be loosened and rolled up (to achieve the bellows, chimney effect) and underarm pit-zips.  Hoofing it up a trail with a rescue load on to reach a fall victim or hustling around a point to flank a big bull before dusk means a good sweat.  Depending on the temperature, how you and your system handle the moisture next to your skin has a lot to do with your comfort and potentially your survival.  The ability to blouse everything open and air out is a big part of maintaining thermo equilibrium and peak performance.  

At this point, there are a lot of jackets/parkas that meet all three criteria but some do it better than others and there still two big choices to make, color and weight.  Color you say?!  What do you mean color?  Well, maybe camo or no camo is the more accurate question.  There is still a pretty big chasm between the mountaineering/climbing crowd and the hunting/military folks.  Historically, one has not had much to do with the other.  Although, you should see the manufacturers reps at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake stand up straight when the military guys wander into the booths.  They are no dummies, the DOD, especially the Spec Ops family are spending top dollar for good gear.  Actually, they don’t want good gear anymore, they spent their time in the barrel with M-65 field jackets, now they  want the best.  And if we are going to send them to places like the Hindu Khush in the winter, they deserve it.  The DOD has finally figured out that their deadliest weapon is also the most fragile and high maintenance piece of equipment they field, the trigger puller, the human.  The new generation of ECWCS consists of 12 components and is first rate, in fact some of it is best in class.  The basic things that distinguish hunters and the military from their unarmed outdoor brethren are concealment and noise.  They need high quality, technical outer shells that are light weight but durable in camouflage colored fabric that offers low noise and infrared signatures.  

So my picks for shell gear come in two flavors, those that want to be seen and those that don’t.  First those that want to be seen.  I will not say this very often but in this case it is true.  You can’t go wrong with pretty much anything from Arc’teryx or Marmot.  The Arc’teryx line is simply beautiful.  They have successfully synthesized style, innovation and performance creating the high art of the outdoor clothing industry.  I personally own the Alpha SV jacket but I must admit that it is not the jacket I automatically reach for unless I am headed out for a night with friends in Jackson Hole or Telluride.  It is like a fur coat or a Rolex in that they are both effective at what they do but too nice for everyday wear but you certainly could and I know people who do.  It is that nice.  Arc’teryx by the way does in fact have a law enforcement and armed forces line aka LEAF which you can find at but you cannot reach it from their main site which I find interesting.  Marmot is at the same level in terms of quality and performance and is that jacket that you tend to grab every time you head out.  The very lightweight Precip is a favorite of mine and always ends up in my fastpack but it is not a piece that will stand up to abuse or stickers.  The Marmot jacket I like best and use the most on the mountain is the Minimalist Jacket, a great all around jacket, durable enough but not the toughest and light enough but not the lightest.  All of the jackets above have matching bottoms or bibs.  

There is one big, no giant problem that plagues the be seen group.  They are largely run by in some way or another the fashion industry and so the jackets I just mentioned, based on past behavior, will not be available in their present form next year.  What you loved this year will be changed in some minor or major way or scraped all together because that is the way of the fashion industry and it drives me crazy.  There are a few exceptions to this rule, a few old school hold outs like Western Mountaineering who just happen to make the finest goose down jackets and sleeping bags in the business but I digress.
 
Now for those who don’t want to be seen.  Since my retirement from the search and rescue business this is the group with which I have been spending most of my time.  This is a particularly interesting group to me primarily because they lagged behind the mountaineers and the climbers in this respect for so long.  Since I have been one of the rare or odd people who could claim membership in both groups, I could never figure out why the manufactures of technical outer wear didn’t address this seemingly untapped market.  I think it was because they don’t like guns or those that use them but that is just my theory.  I know why the hunters didn’t buy technical grade outer garments, it’s because their outfitters, Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, and LL Bean didn’t carry them and they didn’t carry them because they didn’t exist.  Well that is changing, slowly but surely.  There are now a growing number of companies that are putting out some pretty good stuff in low vis or camo colors and patterns.  The best, interestingly enough, comes from the military supply establishment, namely Propper International who has the contract for the new All Purpose Environmental Clothing System (APECS) being used by the Marine Corps.  The jacket and trousers come in MARPAT (Marine Pattern) desert and woodland.  Both in my opinion are outstanding patterns.  Check out the boys at Military Morons for the true story on MARPAT and camo pattern comparison tests.  I am the proud owner of a full set of APECS in both of these patterns and I have to say that this gear is among my most prized.  With the Pentagon buying everything Propper can pump out, this stuff is very difficult to come by, especially the woodland.  In terms of fit and finish it is pretty good.  In terms of style, its style is no style, it is strictly utilitarian.  But in terms of durability, functionality and performance this stuff is great.  It is technically correct, Gore-Tex lined, pit zips, sized right and tough as nails. The trousers, I believe are from the previous ECWCS Gen II design and I had a pair of these made by Adventure Tech in black and I used them for SAR work for five years.  I beat the tar out of these shell pants and could not hurt them.  They are amazingly durable, I mean drag you behind the Ranger tough, and functional, I love the belt loops (so you can wear an instructor belt) and the thigh BDU style cargo pockets.  APECS uses the same style and fabric for their trousers.  I can’t say enough about the APECS shell sets.  But and this is a big but, they are hard to get.  The desert pattern APECS are available at US Calvary but I don’t know where to get the woodlands.  Great gear, I love ‘em.  

If you can’t get the APECS then in my opinion the next best thing is the MT050 Quiet Pack jacket/pants/bibs in Outfitter Camo from Cabela’s.  They have several other popular camo patterns but I really like the Outfitter Camo which is proprietary to Cabela’s and new to the MT050 line.  The MT050 stuff is a little lighter than the APECS and quieter but it has a hanging mesh liner, no cargo pockets on the thighs and no pit zips.  If the good people at Cabela’s, and I mean that sincerely, would add BDU style cargo pockets to the pants and bibs and put in pit zips it would be very hard to beat.  If they went with a multiple layer Gore-Tex and got rid of the hanging mesh liner, it would take the crown as the best shell set for those who don’t want to be seen.  They are easy to get, Cabela’s customer service is outstanding and these things wear like iron.  I have been wearing the same set for almost six years now and they still perform like new.  This is a really nice product that could be pushed to greatness with just a little design tune up.  

There is one more piece that I would like to mention from TAD Gear.  I don’t know the whole story here but TAD is a small outfit out of San Fran and they make small runs of some pretty nice jackets.  They have some cool pieces from what I can see on their website and a lot of it is aimed at the Spec Ops community and the ultra chic urban coffee commando.  The one piece I have from them is the Predator Hardshell which comes in Multi Environment Green.  This is a beautiful jacket with an unknown waterproof breathable that has an attention to detail and quality that is right up there with Arc’teryx.  Really.  I have not put it through the complete torture test but so far it has done very well and I expect it to pass with flying colors.  I mention these guys because I want companies like this to prosper, they bring creativity and a much needed commitment, passion and an anal retentive obsessive compulsive drive to the market that pushes everybody.  I wish them luck.  

So what is on the horizon, I am still looking for a technically correct, waterproof breathable soft shell that qualifies as lightweight.  We are getting close.  My bet is that it is going to be made out of some type of Schoeller cloth.  The people at Rivers West might be there with their new H2P L.A.W. product but I don't have one yet.  If it is as good as the original stuff but lighter with pit zips they will have something.  Stay tuned. 

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

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