Polartec Alpha?

[Edward Barton]

My M/L is 5.3oz….not sure re XL. Fit of mine is a touch bigger than a large OR echo hoody, nice longer sleeves. Also think he may have refined the pattern since my version though not sure. FYI he has a 60g hoody and a hybrid 90/60 as well – weight of the 60 is a bit over 3oz for a m/l if I remember. The 60g alpha was not designed for shell-less use but so far I’ve read it’s holding up well for people.

[Stumphges]

Just saw Timmermade is making bespoke ones.

[Brett Peugh]

Thank you Link and Edward.  Decisions, decisions.

[Stumphges]

Does anyone have a strong opinion on whether Alpha has the ability to wick? Based on what I know of the knit structure (it does not have dense and less dense faces) it probably does not, but curious what others think.

For me, medium-weight Powerdry is fine with a windshirt down to 20 deg while hiking, so maybe having a wicking function is not important for something I’d only wear in temps likely to be pretty dry.

[Michael E]

I have few Alpha Direct jackets as well as a 100% Alpha (Macpac Nitro) hoodie. Alpha is hydrophobic and extremely breathable. I don’t think it wicks liquid moisture via bicomponent capillary action like Power Dry. It works by allowing easy escape of moisture vapor through the airy knit. Polartec does not list wicking as one of the features of Alpha. Below is a side by side comparison of same amount of water applied to interior of the MacPac Nitro and my Gen III ECWCS Silkweight Power Dry.

90g Alpha Direct vs. Silkweight Power Dry

I’ve worn the silkweight under the alpha. The way this works is Alpha not only let’s moisture vapor escape, but also cool air can pass through to quickly dry any liquid moisture drawn to the outer surface of the Power Dry. This works well as long as the face fabric of the Alpha Direct jacket or the wind/softshell used over the Macpac is relatively high CFM.

[Stumphges]

Thank you for that superb reply, Michael!

[Michael E]

Welcome!

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