wool vest

No help to offer, but I, too have hot pits/cold hands.

Can't wait to hear others' opinions!

Thanks, Todd

For different circumstances (rest stops on cross-country ski trips when it's not desperately cold) I often wear a down vest over my mid layer; it blocks the wind and keeps my core warm. I'm really posting this to suggest you try a loden vest from Ibex and report on your findings. Though not the lightest weight available loden is amazingly warm and totally windproof. I have two Ibex loden sweaters that are perfect mid layers in fall and winter. I think the current loden vest is the Arlborg but Ibex's marketers have a bad habit of re-naming products every season.

With my metabolism I think loden fabric would be too hot while moving. My wife dearly loves her Icebreaker 320 hoodie, but it would have to be ridiculously cold for me to hike in something that warm.

I use a Possumdown wool vest. 6.2 ounces for a medium and it has the same loft as 100 wt fleece, it might even be a bit warmer. Possumdown is a bit pricey (I think I paid about $150 for this piece), but do a Google for "merino possum" clothing and you'll find a couple other brands that offer comparable items. When I was shopping last year, I saw a vest by another brand that cost about $90 and weighed about 8 ounces. Not that that's a bad thing, it just wasn't what I had in mind to use.

As for the vest, I find that it's a great piece, but it has its niche, or at least that is to say that I always have to go over a list of its pros and cons before packing it. Compared to some other alternatives, the Western Mountaineering Flight vest (down) and the Montbell Thermawrap vest (high loft synthetic) are also about 6 ounces each. The Possumdown vest is not as warm or as windproof as either, but works better for layering. Down vests don't really work as either active insulation or as wet weather insulation, so the Possumdown has an advantage there. A high loft synthetic vest like the MB Thermawrap isn't a whole lot warmer, even with its loft, but it is windproof, and the Possumdown vest is not.

What I currently use as a midlayer for high activity is an old fleece cardigan with pitzips. This actually works well. Ventilation is excellent. But it takes up half my pack and is slow to dry. I was thinking to upgrade with something in merino wool when I came up the vest idea. Actually, a merino cardigan with pitzips might be better than a wool vest.

I ended up going with the loden vest. Below freezing it works well. Today it was 15F outside with the wind at 20 mph (gusting much stronger). I was comfortably warm for several hours with only the Ibex Outback, Ibex bicycling sleeves, Ibex Vertigo vest, and MB Mistral windparka on my torso. I did not overheat; my pits were barely damp. For me, the combination of wool bicycling sleeves and loden vest regulates perspiration better than a fleece jacket. The loden vest doesn't save any weight over a fleece jacket, but it takes up one third the space in my pack. Anything much about freezing I overheat and the loden vest has to go in my pack.

Paul, That's good news for you and bad news for me, as I now may have to buy a loden vest.