Review – Propper Woodland Camo Soft Shell

While many of those who are serious about such matters prefer MultiCam as a camouflage, more than one of our contributors still have (and will likely always have) a soft spot for woodland camo. I am one of the latter.

In the past few years it has had a small resurgence, which as we reckon things is pretty cool.  PROPPER decided to offer their popular BA Softshell in Woodland late last year and we snapped one up.

This has kept me comfortable in both the cold and the warmer spring temperatures.

Review – Propper Woodland Camo Soft Shell

Other then the plethora of pockets for me to stuff things in the first thing I noticed about their softshell was it didn't sound like an army of Russians in Adidas track suits swish-marching down the road.  Often times with affordable softshells, the fabric makes a boat load of annoying noise.  Not so with this one. The fabric feels fairly smooth and has happily shed the water that has hit it so far over the past 3-4 months that I've been wearing it.  Obviously the water repellency is accomplished through a DWR finish and you will eventually have to reapply it.

Many people don't realize this and complain when their jacket no longer keeps them dry. Don't be one of these people.

DWR finishes exist so that you aren't wearing a plastic garbage bag getting soaked from sweat instead of the rain. While it hasn't been overly warm here in the Canadian wilderness (at least while I've had the BA Softshell) I haven't cooked in it, which is nice.  The pit zips and butt flap pockets were there to add a bit of extra air circulation when I required it. You don't have to stew in your own Canadian juices (or whatever nationality your juices happen to be).

The rear pocket is easily accessible when kneeling if rubber gloves are needed to pick up something at a crime scene.

Speaking of pockets. this jacket has many.  The chest of the jacket has a magnetic closure Napoleon style pocket on it.  I would have preferred a magnet up top and bottom dividing the opening into thirds, but so far it has has worked well.  I would have also preferred an inner pocket to hold a pen, knife or small flashlight as this is a quick access pocket.  This would keep things from just floating around inside, but again, not a deal-breaker.

The other pocket is much smaller and holds a flap inside with a strip of Velcro on it.  This can be used to hold a name tag or identification.  I want to make a small clear plastic card holder with Velcro backing to use in this pocket.  Would be great for ranges that require visible id or for the officer who needs to show identification.  Both wrists and each bicep also have pockets on them.  I tend to use the wrist pockets to hold loose change.  Inside the jacket there is an internal pocket to keep important ID or papers from sticky fingers like a passport or your wallet.  The coat also features zippered hand warmer pockets.  On the inside of the jacket those same pockets make an area you can drop larger items in.  I say larger as one of the corners isn't sewn shut and your smaller stuff can fall out, so beware of that.

The last pocket is the butt flap pocket.  It's a large pass through that I usually store my gloves in for easy stowage and access.

These are just a few of the many pockets.

The inner surface of the jacket is lined in a fuzzy material that feels good against exposed skin (don't loan it to your grunt friends). It also helps keep in the warmth.  The wrists have elastic closure on them and can be adjusted with Velcro pull tabs.  Speaking of Velcro, the right arm pocket has a spot for all your patch holding needs.  If your looking at the pictures you might notice the coat is a tad baggy on me.  This is due to requiring a XXL Jacket to get the length as I am a giant.  The jacket does feature a slightly boxier cut though which makes it perfect for layering.  The bottom of the jacket can also be adjusted in to keep the breeze out.  All of the zippers on the jacket are YKK and the center jacket zipper is a two way zipper which makes access to your belt easy or sitting in a car more comfortable.

The wrist pocket makes a great spot to store change or an ID if you need it close at hand.

The PROPPER BA Softshell Jacket retails for $110 USD and at that price I think it's a steal. I haven't worn any of my other softshell jackets so far this year because of how impressed I've been with the design. You can pick one up here along with look at all the other goodies PROPPER makes here, or keep in touch with their Instagram and Facebook.

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