Mountain Hardwear Manticore Jacket

I must admit that I have not worn it that much since I purchased it. However, during the times that I have worn it I have had much comfort from being protected from harsh London winds and prolonged rainfall.

It takes some time to get used to wearing a shell which is neither a full hard shell nor a a complete softshell, but in a funny way it works. When wearing it, you get the sense that you are wearing a hard shell as the whole of the front panel is hard shell material.

The garment is quite stretchy under the arms and allows you to stretch out without restricting your arm movement. The hood once adjusted stays in place and does not fall within your field of vision. The only reservation I have about the jacket is if you have a thicker fleece like a Mountan Hardwear Monkey jacket as an underlayer, then the Manticore will feel a little tighter around the arms as the majority of the material around the arms is hard shell, and is not as stretchy as the softshell material which is at the back of the arm.

Sum up: a decent soft shell which resembles and feels more like a hard shell than a soft shell. Great as top layer, but not ideal as a mid layer due to the hard shell conduit material and the sensation as if you are wearing two hard shells one on top of the other.