TAD Gear Gen 2 Stealth Softshell Hoodie
Triple Aught Design’s (TAD Gear) Gen 2 Stealth Softshell Hoodie is the much anticipated evolution of their Gen 1 Softshell featured above. So much so that the ME Green in L and XL were sold out 3 hours after delivery and TAD hopes to do another run of ME Green sometime in the near future. Please read the Gen 1 review first as I’ll be referring to the Gen 1 in comparison as many of the main features are retained.
The first, and probably the most immediately noticeable difference when handling the Gen 1 and Gen 2 Softshells is the new material used, which TAD Gear calls their ‘Rhino-Hide Softshell” textile. The material is DWR (Durable Water Repellent) coated and texturized (visible in the left photo below) with a pique weave, instead of the smooth weave of the Gen 1. By virtue of this pique weave/texture, the DWR is able to ‘bite down’ and adhere into the valleys of the weave and will physically abrade off less than the peaks or high points This gives it better, longer-lasting water repellancy than the flat weave of the Schoeller and Malden materials. It’s also more abrasion resistant than the Gen 1 fabric and drapes like ‘light canvas’.