wind shirt utility?

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mountainsandsound

 
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wind shirt utility?

by mountainsandsound » Fri Dec 13, 2013 1:25 am

I have been hearing about how versatile a wind shirt (such as the Marmot driclime) is for climbing and now I'm curious. My question is, if I already have a fairly light hard shell with long pit zips, will a wind specific shell do much for me? Is it much more breathable and comfortable than a well-vented hard shell? I do most of my climbing in the N. Cascades, and I tend to bring a hard shell anyway for most trips longer than a summer day with a good forecast. I sweat quite a bit when I'm on the move; many times the pre-dawn start for a glacier climb is cold enough for me to wear a baselayer and a hard shell without generating too much moisture- but not always.

I'm a big fan of versatility with gear, but if my hard shell is doing almost as good of a job as a wind shirt can do, I don't necessarily want to buy another piece of gear and make my pack heavier.

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ExcitableBoy

 
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Re: wind shirt utility?

by ExcitableBoy » Fri Dec 13, 2013 3:30 am

I am on my third Marmot DriClime wind shirt. It is warmer, more breathable, and more comfortable than a hard shell. I rarely wear a hard shell, only when it is coming down pretty hard. The wind shirt sheds light precip very well. Also, when wearing it as a mid layer over a base layer, the nylon shell makes a nice slippery surface that other layers like fleeces can slide over so your range of motion is not impaired. I take the wind shirt on every trip and it has replaced a fleece for all but very cold trips (i.e. Rainier in winter, Alaska Range.

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Tonka

 
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Re: wind shirt utility?

by Tonka » Fri Dec 13, 2013 6:59 am

EB is right on. I had a version of the DriClime years ago that had hand warming pockets and a zip in the collar hood, the perfect coat. I left it in a bar I think. There are many more options in this catagory now.

Edit: I do currently own a Driclime Windshirt and still love it.

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mountainsandsound

 
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Re: wind shirt utility?

by mountainsandsound » Fri Dec 13, 2013 11:42 am

Curse it, sierra trading post has the driclime in stock. I'm a slave to that site.


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