NW Alpine Gear Review: Black Spider Hoody & Big 4 Jacket

I've always been a fan of US-designed, US-made climbing gear.  NW Alpine is the newest company to come to my attention and they have done a great job of blending style and functionality into light weight pieces.  I met Bill Amos the owner in the Smith Rock Crimpfest and its obviously nice to have a personal connection to your manufacturer.  The Black Spider hoody is a light weight base/midlayer hoody with thumbloops (like an R1) and the Big4 is a lightweight softshell that competes with softshells that weigh much more.

I've had an R1 hoody of some sort for the past 5 years, and I practically live out of them.  The thumbloops and deep chest zip of the design make it highly functional for climbing, you can vent and unvent very rapidly.  Combined with a baselayer and a windshell I think you can tackle 90% of alpine conditions out here in the NW.  The minus of the Patagonia design is that it is a little too warm for pure baselayer use (more of a mid layer) and the hood is a little intense in that ninja style kind of way, which is great when your chin is cold but if I'm wearing outside of climbing its a little much.  The NWA hoody does an excellent job with these two drawbacks.  The fabric is basically the same R.5 material of the thumbloops and hem of the R1 hoody making for a much lighter feel over and its very comfortable next to skin.  The NWA hoody is also a much better fit for the under the helmet style, it doesn't impede on the chin and it is more streamlined overall.

The Big 4 Jacket is just over a pound and a relative bargain in the softshell catagory.  The hood is non adjustable but fits well with and without a helmet, while the one chest pocket and two inner glove pockets are ideal for what you really want in a climbing shell, all the pockets can be used with a harness.  I like the orange color, its bright but not overly obnoxious and the fit is excellent for me.  I don't use it as much for rock climbing as I do for alpine stuff, which is where it really shines.  It stuffs into its hood exceptionally well and so it is barely noticeable in the pack, which is important when carrying 2 or more pieces in the pack during the approach and fast moving parts of a climb.  Like any softshell, it has to lay somewhere on the breathability to weather protection spectrum, the NWA Schoeller style is certainly geared slightly towards stretch and breathability.  It has no membrane and therefore will let in some wind.  My previous soft shell was a Patagonia Ascentionist which was unfortunately lost/stolen which in comparision was thinner, less stretchy, and perhaps more weather resistant.

I'm looking into getting a membrane style soft shell, but if your carrying a hard shell anyway your looking for maximum breathability in the soft shell and thats what you get with the Big 4.

Over the next few months I plan on using these as my primary "action suit" pieces in my alpine and SAR work, and I'll really get to test the versatility of these pieces from NW Alpine

Black NWA Hoody, Grey/Blue R1 Hoody, pretty much the same fabric (Patagonia lists as 5.4oz Polartec Powerdry

June 2013 update

I'm surprised people actually read this!

If I were to describe the Big4 in one sentence it would be 'a softshell that will work in 75-80% of conditions you'd use a hardshell for, with great pockets for stowing gloves.

And the Spider Hoody: a lighter alternative to the R1, its a little too warm for a base layer and I wish it wasn't black so I could wear it i the sun.