But usually its a one stop shop for me. I don't like getting cold and so far this winter I haven't. The side venting zips never worked for me, I ended up taking a separate fleece for the walk in as was always over heating. I think they are much better if they have a zip all the way down the front you can open. If you do sweat out, the pile liner dries super fast anyway, but of course it’s uncomfortable and you’re losing fluid and electrolytes too, never a good call on a hard mountain day.

Montane Extreme Jacket – Montane - UK

Please help UKClimbing continue to provide varied and free content by becoming a UKC Supporter, or UKC Supporter Plus which Discover the perfect balance of functionality, durability, and style with Montane's outdoor clothing and equipment range.I own both, and i'm selling both! For me the Buff wasn't as warm as the montane. It was also a poorer fit with it lifting when i lift my arms etc. When you compare it side by side with the Montane, the Montane stands out as a quality product.

Montane Extreme Jacket | Review - Outdoors Magic

We found the helmet-compatible, wired-peak hood generally good too. With a tall-ish helmet on, there’s still coverage for the lower face and cinching the adjusters down gives a similarly secure fit on a helmetless head and lots of insulation. The toggles are a little fiddly with big mountain gloves when it comes to releasing the cords, but you do get used to it.

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The rest of the time it’s all you need, and a few hours of ordinary rain isn’t going to bother it IMO. I also find that on windy days there is normally a lot of spin drift and constant bombarding with spindrift eventually makes the soft shell fail with me, then I end up damp and unhappy On non windy days if its dry then you really don't need a soft or hard shell and if its snowing then again I'd end up damp in a soft shell. So for me there were rarely conditions when having a soft shell was beneficial.