u/16Off

I’m trying to shave down my gear as much as possible for an upcoming Denali expedition and am curious what people’s thoughts are on hard shell vs soft shell. I was firmly on team hard shell, because it will protect from rougher winds and precipitation, but a friend mentioned that anytime it’s really that cold and/or windy, you’d have your parka as your outer layer anyway which would negate the use of a hard shell or render it only useful on the lower mountain if it’s raining and not snowing. I always looked at a soft shell as more of a comfort item and a hard shell as a safety item, but that take on shells was interesting to me. Would love to hear thoughts from this community!

I’ve gone through 2 pairs in about a year, they both tore between the thumb and index finger, probably from a combination of rope work, using poles, and using ice tools. Curious how long most people are getting out of a pair