I'm not entirely understanding how soak is calculated for building a character.

i understand the concept but, what is the best way to decide the new human character soak value without armor or other equipment protection.

What formula between the stats do you use to decide?

It's equal to the character's Brawn. Armor adds on top of it.

@Swordbreaker

thank you. I see that on page 31 of the Core rule book but, the archetype examples do not have a Soak rating making me unsure.

thanks for the clearfication

The archetypes don't ever show that, because soak can change a great deal during character creation and play.