The opposite of a vest?

[Chris]

I don’t understand vests (or hybrid clothing that has greater insulation and/or wind protection in the chest than the arms). I’m curious to what extent this is just my own weird issue.

I’ve seen people say that a vest will keep your core warm, and that allows warmer blood to circulate to your arms. I just don’t find that to work in real life. What happens instead is that I sweat out the core and my arms freeze.

Granted, I run very hot almost everywhere except my hands, which run cold.

To balance that out, in the winter I’m often wearing a mesh baselayer with some kind of outer full-zip layer (wind shirt or insulation as needed), with the zip nearly all the way open. So my torso is basically open to the air to try to avoid overheating, and then my arms are covered (and hands in gloves) to keep them warm.

So to me, an effective top for active use in the winter would be extremely thin (or just mesh) through the torso and in the armpit area, and then have insulation / wind blocking on the rest of the arms all the way to the wrists.

But pretty much every hybrid design I’ve come across that’s marketed for active use has the opposite approach – extra insulation and/or wind protection in the torso.

I know I’m probably at the extreme end of the spectrum in terms of running hot, but I think from a biological perspective pretty much everyone’s torso is going to be warmer than their extremities. So the default approach to hybrid active tops just doesn’t make sense to me. But do others find them useful?

[Atif Khan]

Simple solution: cycling arm warmers.

[Mole J]

I definitely don’t find insulated vests particularly useful. If I’m cold I want my shoulders and upper arms warmed before anything.

I used to have these, but because they were very well insulated, I found them too much the other way.
https://www.sportpursuit.com/mens-torres-sleeves-black

I think I would find something like this more useful in a technical fabric, also a good addition to a quilt.

[Bill Budney]

There is the LightheartGear Hoodie Pack Cover. Perhaps made in some kind of fleece (and no pack cover)?

For experimentation, a simple pattern could be cut from a fleece blanket, perhaps with KamSnaps for closure.

[Matthew / BPL]

Vests have never made sense to me in the backcountry because I feel like I am dumping heat from my armpits and shoulders. I do like the idea of Montbell’s down tee but at that point it just makes sense to me to have the full sleeves of a jacket for a very modest increase in weight.

[Terran Terran]

Usually by the time I put a light vest on, the rest of my body is fairly well insulated. I more or less add insulation evenly.  It’s usually around 10*f below freezing. Then I still use a light jacket. I vent through my underarms feeling less clammy than otherwise with a heavier jacket. I can unzip it to vent as well. My arms may still feel a bit of the cold, but warm up if I’m moving them around. I can add a beanie and gloves, but often don’t need them. My hands are often in and out of my pockets to regulate. I find the extra flexibility worth it.
Watching a recent video comparing sleeping bags to quilts with thermal imagery peaked my interest. My cell phone died and in my search for a new one, I saw several with thermal imaging. While they seemed gimmicky and I didn’t buy one, I am considering a separate purchase. Several times sitting in the cold, I’ve tried to pinpoint where I need the extra insulation or where I could use less. Doing a whole body approach compared to just buying a heavier jacket.

[Author]

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