Hardshell freezing/frost on inside

[Dogwood]

Lots of variations on layering choices and how one is mountaineering. Very cold "dry" western snow in winter w/ mixed ice climbing,  verse wetter spring snow or eastern snow verse mixed conditions where more climbing is involved verse done in a day trekking verse longer outdoor winter stays into remote areas at a very much reduced pace verse higher paced activities.... Now, throw in wt saving winter, late fall strategies, etc....

I've seen some mountaineers, snowshoers, resort snowboarders/skiers,   jacket options easily number six or more that are used for various conditions and combinations of layering approaches. For longer times outdoors(not done in a day) in winter/fall/early spring  at regular moderate to high activity output I kinda like the idea of VBLs layered into the mix.  

I'm just mouthing off. Even though I do all those things it's been in limited degrees. So, take what I said with a grain of salt. 

[fredygump]

Yeah, conditions are everything.  Today it was 20F, 90% humidity, with 5-10mph winds.  It's always really humid here in southern Minnesota. 

Come to think of it, the high humidity I deal with might explain why my experience with the soft shell differs from that of others.  We have all the humidity a guy could want!  I haven't seen the humidity below 80% so far this winter.

 

Today I hiked/snowshoed 10 miles, breaking trail basically the whole time, if you don't count the deer that use the public trail more than people do...and btw, someone should tell those deer that it is bad form to post hole everywhere! 

Half the trip I wore the hard shell, and the other half I wore an extra fleece instead of the shell.   I gotta admit that it didn't make much of a difference until I was exposed to the wind.  The wind forced me to switch back to the hard shell.

I felt a little more "free" with the fleece instead of the shell, but after awhile I noticed frost on the fleece.  Moisture was wicking through the fleece, and it ended up as little droplets on the outermost fibers of the fleece.  These droplets weren't evaporating, so naturally some of it froze. 

So comparing the fleece to the shell, the fleece wicked moisture away from me, but that moisture didn't have anywhere to go once it got to the edge of the fleece. But the hard shell was able to get rid of that extra moisture, despite the high humidity. 

 

I'm hoping to avoid having a separate jacket for every condition...that sounds expensive!  I bought the hard shell because I wanted something more versatile.  But based on my experiences, I will probably buy a dedicated winter shell for next year.   It will have a more protective hood, and it will have a thin layer of insulation laminated to the shell.  That'll fix the problem of frost on the inside of the hard shell....