Very soft! Good enough backbone for me (and I like backbone and scrub making me hard to please in the backbone and scrub departments). Every bit as good as I'd expected, but not a Zenith Manchurian. It's softer than my Manchurians but with less scrub; I like the Zenith Manchurians better but this is a super nice silvertip. Did I mention soft?
I'm glad I bought it. I'm going to enjoy it a lot. I love love love the handle; already knew it was my favorite handle as I have the Zenith horse in the same handle shape and size (not color).