Thread: Mountain Hardwear Synchro?

Hey, i am looking into getting a softshell and came upon the mountain hardwear synchro shell. it is the one with the conduit layer in it. If you read their description of it, they think it is the best thing since canned beer.

has anyone tried the shell, does putting a WR layer inthe middle kill the breathablility of the thing thereby eliminating the point of the softshell or is this thing really the future?

the real breakthrough on the Synchro is not the Conduit layer; rather the full seam taping, making it 100% waterproof, unlike most soft shells. It's not as breathable as a softshell w/o the Conduit, but far more breathable than a true 'hard shell' jacket.

I've got the Alchemy jacket (Conduit, WindStopper, no seam taping), and couldn't be happier.

only trying it on in the store, i'd watch out for the fit on this one. i found it a bit boxy and short-cut (you'd need bibs w/ it), unlike other MHW items.

Originally posted by Particle
I've got the Alchemy jacket (Conduit, WindStopper, no seam taping), and couldn't be happier.

What are you using it for? I'm looking for a good soft shell for PNW backcountry skiing. Waterproofness is a good thing here, and so is windproofness.

Do you feel like the breathability of your jacket is great? No getting damp when breaking a sweat skinning / climbing? Gore claims Windstopper is virtually as breathable as fleece but "virtually" isn't very quantified. And I have no idea about Conduit but it may block plenty.

I have a Marmot Photon that lets wind go through so badly I need to layer with some Windpro fleece underneath. I'm looking for something that'd work better, but great breathability is my #1 criterium. I'm also looking at the Marmot Superhero which has panels of different fabrics and apparently nothing worse than Windstopper as a membrane.

drC