Light compressible fleece?

[Dale Wambaugh]

I just got back from a long trip and found that my R1 fleece cardigan/jacket was the bulkiest item in my pack. I’m looking for a light, breathable, compressible top to layer with wind or rain shells or alone as a.sweater like little-bit-of warmth like the R1. I have a pull over light Merino wool sweater, but something with a full front zip and.fleece would be great. Any ideas?

[Geoff Caplan]

If you have the budget, I’m a big fan of the Rab Alpha range:

https://rab.equipment/uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=alpha

It uses an innovative fabric from Malden Mills, and in my experience it breathes better than conventional fleece, as well as giving better warmth for weight and drying faster.

If you’re prepared to live with a less popular colour, there are often big discounts to ease the pain – I got over 40% off.

But if budget is tight, I’d just stick with conventional fleece – it does the job well enough. The Alphas are a definite improvement, but it’s relatively marginal.

[Dena Kelley]

I wear the North Face Borah. But it’s an awful lot like an R1 Hoodie, so it might not be what you want.

[J R]

Dale, check out this thread from a year ago: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/lightest-mid-layer-fleece/

[Anonymous]

Is this primarily an active, or more static piece?  What kind of temps and conditions are we looking at?

[Dale Wambaugh]

Most helpful! Thanks to all.

[Edward John M]

Just an observation Dale

Way back when I first started bushwalking and wool and waxed cotton was all there was a lot of people wore LW woollen jumpers knitted with fine fibres on 0000 needles, basically just a lot of holes surrounded by thread and these were worn over long john tops and under our old  army shirts, wool or cotton depending on season. These new Alpha tops are a very logical progression of that old idea, to be effective they really need to be used under a wind resistant layer. Most UL walkers these days would have such a layer so the new garments make excellent sense. It remains to be seen how well they wear but if saving a little weight and quite a lot of bulk is what you need I think it makes sense, realising that they are definitely not outerwear. My own Alpha garment is shelled because my own UL windshirt needed to be replaced and what I bought was on sale and cheaper than buying separates

[Dale Wambaugh]

For urban travel I think a light Merino wool pullover sweater with three buttons is a perfectly usable layering item and is dressier than the fleece. I have a really nice Brooks Brothers Merino sweater that I got in a thrift store for $10. Put an Icebreaker label on it and it would be a miracle garment :) Something like a classic Pendleton wool shirt might work too

But I find a light fleece easier to manage, softer and quick dry. A full zip is easy on and off when switching indoor/outdoor environments all day. I’m going to try one of the Eddie Bauer Cloud Layer Pro fleece jackets that I found on sale.

[Anonymous]

Anyways, if it is more for an active piece, personally what I might do is take a hot knife and cut out parts of the back, maybe like thin strips. It would reduce weight and increase packabilitiy some. I find that with wearing most packs that I have tried, I don’t need near as much insulation on my back, and my back is always sweating too much with whatever I wear.

One of the reasons why I came up with the front only insulated, super breathable Apex vests, for hiking in conditions around 15*F and colder.  The lightest one I designed, only weighs around 2.8 oz, and is very packable.

[Geoff Caplan]

Edward

I use my Alpha as the top layer unless there’s a strong, cold wind when I cap it with a windshirt. I find it works pretty well that way. Because it breathes so well, I can leave it on when I’d be overheating in a conventional fleece.

The fabric was developed for the US Special Forces, who were looking for something adaptable that would minimise the need for changing layers, which would obviously be highly undesirable in combat.

I think they nailed it – it works very well.

[Edward John M]

What you say is true Geoff but I already had a P*** Cap 4 top so for my winter uses the cheap shelled version made economic sense. I ski at Falls Creek in our Victorian High Country, a little colder and a bit windier than Dartmoor in Winter [ more like the Cairngorms] but very similar type of country. In other seasons I wear lighter gear but winter is when I spend most of my time outdoors.

 

[Author]

Posts