UKH

Existing on the hazy boundary between fully waterproof and merely very water-resistant, and blurring the windproof/softshell/hard shell divide, the Skaftafell baffles binary thinking, says Toby Archer. It's unsettling. But in the real, wet and windy world, does it matter? 

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I would imagine that it performs in a very similar way to Rab's Proflex fabric. It does look, from your pictures, that it wets out quite badly, but I found my early Proflex did the same until I washed it in Graingers. I also wonder how much the price reflects import costs as it is an Icelandic company?

In p*ssing down rain I don't think it wets out any more than a new decent hardshell. Plenty of beading up happens - see pic. Funnily enough, I wore this jacket https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/clothing/softshell/marmot_nabu_neoshell_jac... in pouring rain yesterday for the first time in ages and it worked fine for a limited time at least - maybe INFINIUM is the new Neoshell - neo-NeoShell?! - (which might mean not waterproof enough for Brits/Irish hill goers who like their waterproofs as waterproof as possible!).