CAN TAKE A BEATING
This past fall, we sent three Boulder-based climbers to Moab’s Castleton Tower with half a dozen soft shells to test. And after a week of shimmying up tight sandstone chimneys and off-widths, the stretchy Current emerged as the sturdiest and most waterproof of the bunch. The reinforced, abrasion-resistant shoulders, which might look like overkill at first glance, are actually great in the field: They keep your pack straps from migrating and will probably last longer than Dick Clark. And the rest of the Current’s fabric—dubbed XO technology—is so highly water-resistant that testers wished it had a hood. 1.3 lbs; hellyhansen.com