Will I be too warm in a Western Mountaineering Flash Jacket?

Walking on flat ground, in town for instance, I'm comfortable in mine down to freezing with nothing more than a tee-shirt under. I find it perfect in ~40-50 degree temps while sitting around camp. Love my Flash!

FWIW, I have the pants too. They're just as nice….except I wish they had pockets.

BTW: Do you wear a shell over the jacket and pants to protect the relatively delicate fabric?

I agree with Rusty–the Flash is great between 30*F and 50*F. And I always protect my jacket and pants with shells, either with wind layers or WPB ones. The fabric is too delicate to take chances with. I absolutely love my Flash jacket and pants, but they must be properly cared for.

Sitting still in camp is different than hiking uphill with a loaded pack. Getting up at sunrise at higher altitudes to cook breakfast and pack up is where I look for warm clothing. You get out of a nice cozy sleeping bag and into the cold cruel world :(

I do prefer to have several layers to use, but that is at a weight penalty. A vest plus a long sleeve mid layer like a Patagonia R1 or Power Stretch fleece is my favorite combination and works well with a wind shirt and/or rain shell. I can dial in the layers I need and I can wear them for extending my sleep system. Also, I don't have all my eggs in one basket that way: if you have one layer and get it wet, you're literally hosed :)

A warm hat and gloves add a lot of comfort in camp. I find that I think I'm cold when my hands are chilled. Silkweight long johns are another item that adds to camp/sleep comfort. I wear them under my rain gear rather than pants when hiking all day in cold drizzle.

Hi Gary,

Do you think that something as simple as a Rainshield O2 would serve as adequate protection?

Thanks,

rhz

I expect so. I think any layer that could take a thorn or a brushing against a big rock would work fine. I usually wear a pair of Reed pants and maybe a Mica jacket, for example. I often have a campfire, and it's the sparks that I'm trying to protect against. I usually don't wear these warm layers while hiking, but if I do, I always wear shells over them. I want to protect the fabric from pack shoulder straps and a log that I might sit on during a break.

I learned about protecting the WM shell fabrics the hard way. One night a few years ago, my naive cat was on patrol in the big back yard, and I saw a fox heading sneakily toward him. I threw on my Flight jacket and dashed outside to run the fox off. In my haste, I snagged a jacket sleeve on a rose bush, and it tore a 1" slice in the fabric. Since then, I nearly always wear a shell over these delicate pieces.

While on backpacking trips, I some times wear a shell over the pants so I don't have to worry so much where I sit. Otherwise, and when I'm on self-supported whitewater kayak trips where I don't take other shells, I'm just very careful….or I sit/lay on my poncho.

I have never used anything over the jacket. I absolutely steer clear of campfires while wearing this stuff too. I don't hike in this attire either. I use it for adding warmth to my bags and lounging around camp on cool evenings and early mornings…and the jacket around town on occasion…just cause it's so dang comfy.

Erring on the side of too warm for a very little weight penalty over something like a Montbell down inner is probably ok. With a proper layering system you shouldn't ever be roasting in camp. I intend to use a LS microweight merino wool shirt, Patagonia Houdini wind shirt and the Flash to cover most if not all three season temps. Combinations of those three pieces will keep me comfortable from near freezing up into the 50's. WM products are so nice, it's hard to resist! I say go for it