Review: The North Face Storm Peak II Boot

So I managed to snag these at Adventure Guide's winter sale for a crazy deal. I've been in the market for a solid pair of winter boots for a while now. I'm coming from years of wearing leather hikers in the winter and having uncomfortable feet...so, really, anything would be better!

OK So these boots are essentially a 3-layer laminate: a softshell outer bonded to a waterproof breathable membrane bonded to 200 delicious grams of Primaloft insulation with a microfleece lining. This makes them super weatherproof and pretty darn warm. They're also mad stylish.

Likes: Metatarsal support - the insole has an awesome little bump that you don't notice when the shoe is on but it adds some very nice support to your midfoot, seriously good stuff. Waterproofing - yay! Lightweight - the boots are definitely feathers compared to many other winter boots...that speaks to their purpose though.

These are obviously active boots. The insulation is not enough to keep your feet warm while just standing around, and the sole gets cold very easily. The lug pattern on the sole is good but definitely seem to be made more for running on groomed trails than bushwhacking on uneven terrain. One of the nice features is that the boot has a heel welt, which means it's compatible with the more secure versions of aluminum hiking crampons, a definite bonus.

All in all they would make great winter running boots or snowshoe-running boots, but if you're not going to be constantly moving, consider something with more insulation, definitely a more insulated/shielded footbed, and a sturdier lug pattern on the sole.

The North Face Storm Peak II, I give you 8 locking 'biners out of 10.

Fierce Boot Lust: KEEN Summit County

Tech: Comparing Breathable Fabrics

Anyone who has gone into a reputable outdoors shop looking to purchase a technical hardshell will encounter a mind-boggling world of waterproof ratings, breathability ratings, and too many options.

Even for someone working in the industry, where we are trained on this kind of thing, it is an intense amount of info.

Extremely Brief History (based entirely on what I have been taught):

Gore-tex has been the leader in the waterproof-breathable business since W.L. Gore produced the first membrane way back in the olden days.

...That's it. Seriously, I said it was brief. Anyway the more interesting stuff has happened more recently. (Warning: this may get a little technical...ish)

So as more membranes entered the game from more manufacturers, all claiming outstanding waterproofing and outstanding breathability, some method had to be devised to test these membranes. It was, and it was used to test some membranes. The results of these tests are available, summarized in from Natick Soldier Research (the US army has good reasons to want excellent waterproof-breathables). Yay! They are publically available over the intertubes by searching: "Breathability Comparison of Commercial Outerwear".

It's a pretty comprehensive test that rates pretty much all of the leading membranes in the industry. Some membranes show a humidity-dependent curve, the others (scoring better in general) showed a constant level of breathability across humidity differences. It rates Expanded PTFE as the most breathable, followed by eVent, Schoeller dryskin (softshell), and Entrant GII. My understanding is that Gore-Tex Pro Shell is based around expanded PTFE. The test also tested Gore's XCR and their original membrane, which fared much worse (only reaching moderate breathability levels at the highest humidity difference).

And yet, in real-world tests? The magical internets say, among other things, that eVent is more breathable than Pro-Shell.

So what's the deal? I'd argue that pretty much every membrane out there is going to work, otherwise they wouldn't make it into clothing. Pretty good, that you read this far without a definitive answer eh? Awesome.

Today I was trying to find a more recent test and I came across an OLD paper about a pretty interestingly real-world way to test these fabrics. It simulated rain falling on the fabric as the test occurred, unlike the other tests usually cited by manufacturers. The most intriguing part of the test was the effect that the rain had on the breathability: cooling the air next to the fabric, raising the humidity on the outside, and actually causing vapour to condense on the inside of the fabric! (a common complaint with most membranes).

Very interesting the difference rain makes!

Current Lusts: Patagonia R3 Jacket, Patagonia Speed Ascent Jacket, Cloudveil Koven Plus Jacket

Tech: Schoeller C-Change

The other day, I decided to check out the Schoeller Textiles website (www.schoeller-textiles.com) to learn more about their fabric tech. At MEC we sell a variety of softshell jackets and pants and many of them use Schoeller fabrics. If I want to advise any members about the stuff, I figure I better know as much as I can about it.

So, on the Schoeller site I saw a link to something called 'c-change'.

-- Let me add, quickly, that I had been describing an idea I had a day earlier to a friend of mine, about how cool it would be if there was some way to create a membrane that would have expanding pores to better channel heat and moisture away from your body when you were exerting yourself the most --

That is exactly what Schoeller claims their c-change membrane does. They stole my future idea in the past! In all seriousness, this is fiercely cool technology. A membrane that has temperature-responsive pores that get bigger when it's hot (better breathability) and smaller when it's cold (better weatherproofing)?! Outstanding. All while maintaining a waterproof barrier.

It seems too good to be true! I haven't been able to find any conclusive reviews on the products that have this tech, but I was able to find some extremely lust-worthy items:

Mammut Jannu Extreme Jacket - absolutely gorgeous, only uses c-change membrane

Canada Goose Tofino Bomber Jacket - Canadian, technical, only uses c-change membrane

Cloudveil Koven Plus Jacket - c-change is used only on parts of the jacket

So...if anyone wants to donate to the "get morgan a c-change jacket fund" please, feel free!