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I'm slowly acquiring the gear for mountaineering and Alpine climbing. I found good deals on the following jackets and pants.

Mountain Hardwear Typhoon hardshell $130
Mountain Hardwear Alchemy softshell(2007) $130
Marmot scree softshell pant $60

Anyway These look really good to me and I might try to get them all or at least one of the jackets. Just wanted to know if there are any opinions on these.

Thanks

No point in having a Windstopper softshell and a Paclite rain shell, pick one or the other. If you want a softshell go light such as Patagonia Ascenionist or TNF Cipher. The pants should be fine. You'll want a nice pair of OR gaiters to go with them.

Where'd you find the Scree pants for $60?

have to say, MH's softshells are just about the only thing they've ever produced that i would never buy again from an otherwise superb company - they're uncomfy (IMO) and not particularly durable (not nearly as uncomfy as arcterix' shells, tho...) FWIW, try a shell by Mammut before you jump. my 2 pence

I love their softshells - I haven't used the windstopper, but the transition and conduit shells are some of my most-used tops.

Any "softshell" with windstopper will not breathe well enough to warrant it. An eVent hard shell would breathe better. Windstopper is basically a non-breathable PU laminate sandwich with holes poked in it. Pac-lite won't touch eVent either, but if it's a good enough deal and you won't be using it a lot it might be a good option. Scree's look like a pretty decent all around pant.

sharperblue wrote:have to say, MH's softshells are just about the only thing they've ever produced that i would never buy again from an otherwise superb company - they're uncomfy (IMO) and not particularly durable (not nearly as uncomfy as arcterix' shells, tho...) FWIW, try a shell by Mammut before you jump. my 2 pence

I have had an Alchemy that I have been abusing for five years and it has held up admirably. And Torch's trim fit is one f few jackets that have reasonable sizing for me. Soooo, personal preference, YMMV.

I think the MH Alchemy is a great product. It has held up to hard climbing and hiking use for 3-4 years. Just make sure it fits comfortably for you.

The scree pants are at mountaingear.com. the regulars are $58 and the long vesion is $100
Looks like I'll have to go try some on and see what feels the best