size of grid in waffle fleece

I've bought the 5mm in green from Seattle fabrics. It's exactly the same as the Polartec stuff in my MEC Vega goody (same stuff as Patagonia R1). I LOVE the Vega, which uses the 5mm grid. It is ridiculously good at wicking away sweat and evaporating it. I wore it this weekend while snowshoe/packaging at Mt. Rainier. My back and the hoody was completely dry, while my windshirt was wet from my sweat.

I have a couple jackets with the 2mm variety, but they don't do as good a job. The spaces between the grids aren't very substantial compared to the 5mm.

Thanks, AndE, that's more specific an answer than I had hoped for–performance evaluation of the actual fabric I'm looking at is more than I had hoped for!

Now, for a stupid question. My Melanzana fleeces have the grid on the outside. However, when I look at pictures of the Patagonia R1 and the MEC Vega, it looks like the fleecy grid is on the *inside*. Is there a better direction for the grid to face?

The soft fuzzy grids should be on the inside, contacting your skin/base layer and the smoother, flat surface should be outside. That way, the grids/fleece can trap warm air/draw up your sweat to the smooth/flat surface.

I have a grid fleece top that was made with grid out. I got it from Sierra Trading Post and have used it a lot, in both configurations – grid out and grid in. If worn by itself, I think the grid in may be very slightly warmer, but it ain't much. with a shell over, no difference which way you wear it. Oddly enough, like a year later I got one for my son, and it came grid in. Go figure.
Worn against the skin, grid in is nicer – but over a wool baselayer, grid out is nice because it slides on and off easier.
So if I was making my own I'd go grid in, but sometimes, Id wear it inside out depending on what it's over – cuz who cares what ti looks like?

The point of the grid/soft fuzzy side inside is that it wicks away moisture and it gets transported to the more densely woven/smooth exterior via capillary action, where the moisture spreads and is quickly evaporated:
http://www.polartec.com/comfort/polartec-power-dry-HE/how-does-it-work.aspx

I don't know why they made it grid out, as that defeats the purpose the fabric was designed for… It'd be like using eVent backwards… It's waterproof either way, but designed to breathe in only one direction. But I guess they fixed it since your son got grid in?

The power dry grid stuff is really amazing. I get swamp back like nobodies business, and my Polartec grid MEC Vega kept my back dry. I was seriously surprised at how well it works. After snowshoeing a few hours and making camp, I didn't know the windshirt I had on over the fleece was soaked in the back from having a backpack on, but my back, wool baselayer, and the Polartec grid jacket were dry so I didn't notice until I took off my windshirt to throw on my down hoodie.

apparently, grid outwards has it's own advantages. Especially if worn with a windproof.

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/just-in—paramo-grid-technic/10276.html

These products have good reviews.

Yeah, it would definitely dump heat fast, but I'm not sure how much faster it would dump compared to grid in and exposed, because even the grid fleece in without a windshirt doesn't hold heat at all if its windy or you're on the go at a good pace.

It'd be cool if somebody could test the two directions with some kind of standardized method and if the heat dumping increase would offset the loss of wicking ability, since only heat from where the Windshirt zipper is undone can dump heat, but not from one's back/arms while wearing a pack.

Like the article comments, it'd be cool to see a reversible version.
Or possibly a hybrid grid out front, grid inside back. That'd be an interesting myog project to try.

Although, with the grid out, I feel like I would always have to wear a windshirt with it on the go in the cold but then my back would become a swampland without the awesome wicking ability of the Polartec power dry he. I often find just wearing my MEC Vega to be perfect until the wind picks up.

Hmmm I have to make a trip to Seattle fabrics this week anyways so might pick up some more and play around with it.