Breathability
All of the shells I’ve worn in the past have been freeride oriented, with thicker, heavier face fabrics. At 395 grams, Sharp End is the lightest and most breathable shell I’ve worn, with a fairly soft and smooth-feeling shell fabric. This isn’t too surprising, given that the Sharp End is meant to be used for high output activities like ski mountaineering, touring, and ice climbing.
I wore the jacket on some warm, sunny 40ºF days for skiing, and found it to be a great jacket for warmer spring temperatures. With just a medium weight merino top beneath it, it never felt too hot, and I could always cool down between runs.
Although the days were often warm enough that any shell would have been too hot to hike in, I was able to wear the Sharp End for about ten minutes longer than I could The North Face Free Thinker. The Free Thinker is also made with Gore Pro, but it employs a thicker and heavier shell fabric, which may impede its breathability a bit.
Gore-Tex isn’t known for being the most breathable waterproof / breathable membrane out there these days, though it’s more breathable than any other jacket I’ve worn. Reviewers Paul Forward and Sam Shaheen have spent time comparing the performance of Gore Pro and Polartec Neoshell and both of them found the Neoshell to be a little more breathable.
If breathability is your primary concern, then it might be worth taking a look at Neoshell or other air permeable membranes that have a slight edge over Gore Pro in terms of breathability. However, if durability and staying dry in extremely harsh and wet conditions is your number one priority, then Gore Pro is your the best option.
Packability
The Sharp End packs down really well and it has become my go-to jacket for day hikes. In my small, 14-liter pack, I have just enough room for the Sharp End, an extra long-sleeve layer, a bladder of water and some bars, whereas the Free Thinker doesn’t leave me with any extra room.
Bottom Line (For Now)
The Black Diamond Sharp End is a versatile, minimalist alpine shell that’s light on features but offers a lot in the way of weather protection, durability and packability.
Thanks for the review, one of the first for their new shells and glad to read through it. A minor correction on fabric: listed here as 80d but 40d on the BD website.
Hi Jason,
Thanks for reading! You caught on to something interesting there – it seems like BD may have changed some of the specs on their site. Last week, when working on this review, I was in touch with our outerwear expert, Sam Shaheen, to discuss some of the differences between the weaves in the Sharp End (80D), and the North Face Free Thinker jacket I am also testing, which has a stated 70D weave. I am positive the site said 80D for the Sharp End, but now their site says 70D. As for the 40D you saw, Black Diamond has that stated for their men’s Sharp End, not the women’s. My hunch is that this is a mistake on the BD website, but it would be interesting if there is a difference in fabrics between the men’s and women’s versions. We’ll check in with Black Diamond to see what’s going on. I’ll be sure to keep you posted!
Julia
You are correct! Received this message from BD. You would think with the same name that they would be made of the same material and features. Just a different cut for the genders.
“The website tech specs are correct as well as the review. It’s a little confusing but the W’s Sharp End is the 80d GoreTex Pro that the men have in the Front Point Shell. The M’s Sharp End is 40d Gore Pro.”