OK, I'm stretching it a little. The headline suggests the "Soft Shell Revolution" has already happened - and it
has in highly aerobic sports like skiing and mountaineering - but it's less clear we'll see the same in fly fishing.
Why? What's a soft shell jacket? And why would you consider wearing one? You ask, the Underground answers...
What Are Soft Shells?In simplest terms, soft shell jackets occupy a useful middle ground in the outdoor world. Typically, they're a highly water resistant knit shell bonded to a light interior layer of fine fleece. They're not insulated or "puffy" like a down jacket, yet they're warmer than hard shells (most high-end wading jackets are essentially waterproof, windproof hard shells).
Yet it's not their construction that makes soft shells so attractive - it's their in-the-wild performance.
They're not wholly waterproof or wholly windproof like a hard shell - nor is a soft shell as warm as a down jacket - but they can handle everything short of a really pouring rain, insulate nicely across a wide range of temperatures, and absolutely shine when the wearer is generating heat (and potentially sweat).
That's critical to skier or mountaineers; working up a good sweat in a cold alpine environment is a one-way ticket to hypothermia - the wilderness athlete's biggest enemy. That's why - questions in hand - I found my way to one of the best backcountry skiers on Mount Shasta (and owner of the leading local
mountain guide service).
His take? He wears soft shells pretty much all the time, saying his hard shells simply gather dust in the closet.
An unabashed Patagonia partisan, he wears soft shells climbing and skiing the mountain - often in rainy and snowy conditions - though he carries along a lightweight-but-warm Patagonia "Micro-Puff" jacket (a kind of synthetic down jacket that still insulates when wet and packs down to almost nothing) to keep him warm during those periods when he stands around in sub-freezing temperatures (pretty much always the case up there).
It's the kind of practical insight from a working pro that makes a strong impression on me, and I admit to wondering about the application of soft shells to fly fishing.
It's hard to overlook the utility of a jacket featuring the best working qualities of a four-wheel drive pickup truck, but fly fishermen aren't as active on a river as skiers or climbers. Are soft shells really needed?
The Test (Or the Beginnings of One)Because I'm willing to make even the
big sacrifices for the Undergrounders, I
forced myself to go fly fishing on the Upper Sacramento wearing Patagonia's fly fishing soft shell (the Insulator).
Soft shell exteriors often feature a tight-knit, almost rubbery look, while the interior is a very fine fleece.I'm only three trips into the test, but results have been good. The most "extreme" trip was my photograph-heavy
snowy day on the river with Wayne Eng, where in upper-20s temperatures, I fished through the snow and wind wearing only a lightweight wicking t-shirt, a thin long-sleeve base layer, and the Patagonia soft shell (plus fleece hat, fingerless gloves, and fleece pants under the waders).
While I was always covered with snow, I remained dry inside the jacket. I was never too warm (the walk to the water was short), and I was also never too cold. In short, I was pretty damned happy with the results, though this hardly represents an all-encompassing trial.
The Good, The Bad, and the WafflingPluses? The lack of bulk was freeing; casting, retrieving gear, tying knots - all the basics - were easier to accomplish than if I was wearing the usual winter gear, which includes a bulletproof wading jacket over fleece. Patagonia's Insulator soft shell is nicely streamlined, and includes covered anchor points for zingers, something I doubt I'll use, though it's a nice detail to see.
The experience was one of working closer to my skin than with bulkier clothing, a sensation I heartily endorse.
Minuses? None yet, though I don't how I would have fared if the snow had turned to a pouring rain. Some go so far as to use soft shells as rain jackets, and my own experience (years ago) wearing a soft shell while skate skiing on a drizzly day suggests they're far more water resistant than I'm giving them credit for. (The second I tell my readers to "heck, wear 'em in the rain" I'll be sued by an Undergrounder for emotional (rain-soaked) distress.)
In addition, soft shells typically don't include a hood, and the Patagonia soft shell's cuffs didn't include a provision for cinching them tightly against water infiltration, so in a truly wet, hostile environment, a hooded hard shell might still offer the best protection.
Clearly, more rainy day testing is called for, so I'll be back on the river soon (at the Underground, the giving simply never stops).
Last year, I skied/snowshoed to the river on several occasions, and expect the soft shell to shine in those high-output environments. I also want to put it through the winter wringer on a couple hikes to remote sections - the hikes that always left me annoyingly sweaty and fogged in my hard shell past.
The Limits of My Testing
The mountains of Northern California aren't what you'd call a truly arctic environment; temperatures here don't often fall into the single digits, and those in sub-zero environments might find a soft shell in inadequate to the task - or at best, only one part of the solution. Then again, the realities of icy guides and a frozen fly line means hardly anyone actually fly fishes in single-digit temperatures.
Those who consistently fish in very cold conditions (those zany steelheaders) might want to look at a warmer jacket - something like the above-mentioned Patagonia Micro-Puff, which though it sells in the bazillions to backpackers, climbers and skiers, was invented on a steelhead river by folks who liked fleece's warmth and wet-insulating capabilities, but couldn't abide by its bulk.
Caveats
If you're interested in trying a soft shell jacket, don't order the first one you see. Soft shells are manufactured in a fairly wide array of sizes and weights, and the thinnish soft shell jacket designed for a monster cross-country skier might not be ideal for fly fisherman who stand in the water.
In addition - and I'll attempt to put this delicately - the soft shells designed for extreme mountain types often reflect their whippet-esque physiques - not exactly the perfect fit for the slightly more (ahem) pear-shaped fly fishing constituency. For example, Patagonia's mountain-oriented "Guide" jacket didn't fit me very well, and while the fishermen-oriented "Insulator" was too big in the middle, it made more sense.
Thus, if you're not a member of the 5% body fat club, consider buying a soft shell from a fly fishing company. This is hardly an exhaustive survey of jackets, but I know that fishing-oriented soft shells are currently available from Patagonia, Orvis, Simms and Cloudveil, and I'm not about to start recommending one over the other absent testing all of them.
As you can see, there's more to come on this subject. And yes, I'm starting the conversation here instead of later simply preaching at you guys about what to buy (it's Power to the People Friday here at TU).
Any thoughts from the Undergrounders about soft shells? Recommendations? Failures? Whines?
See you on the (cold, cold) river, Tom Chandler