Bushwalk Australia

https://www.macpac.com.au/clearance/men ... ns#start=7

No stock of the XL or 2XL close by so I would need to purchase on-line.
Has anybody here tried one on for size and fit?
I'm not really a "Fast&Lite" person but I thought it might be a handy layer to have in the stash for Alaska if I decide to take the Mountain Hardwear one piece union suit underlayer
Information on the breathability of the shell would be handy but so far no response from Macpac on my request for that information

What the heck I ordered the 2XL, if it is too small I will send it back. I hope when the changeover to Rays finally takes place they start using Australian sizes and not Asian factory sizes

MD I checked one of these jackets out. I think they are fairly breathable, probably rate under a coffee filter. If I didn't have a few jackets I'd grab one. Polartec Alpha seems to really work for me.

Thanx Greg, I just got an email telling me that they'd already sold out from the warehouse but they managed to find me one from a physical store.
It may take a few extra days to get here. A lot of clothing experiments are going to happen for me this next white season. One filter paper is very breathable but probably right for a base layer

Well surprise surprise
It fits reasonably well, an XL would have been too tight, this size has a good 20mm of ease all through. It also layers over the one-piece sleeveless from Mountain Hardwear just in case I decide to climb Denali
Nicest bit of kit I've seen from Macpac in years
I'm actually impressed.
Breathability seems to be midway between my Montane and the Arktis, sounds perfect.
If pants ever come in this I'll be buying

I do have a bit of a problem with Macpacs customer service
As the closest store is an hours drive away and also have very little stock I asked customer service a question.
Customer service don't seem to understand the theory of layering or it seems any technical terms relating to clothing. I asked about sizing and whether the Pulsar insulated top was sized with enough ease to efficiently layer over the top of the Pisa underwear layer. The reply said it was easy to layer as it has a slippery lining.
Duh!
Anybody here own the combination , my Nanopuff needs replacing as it is practically worn out and the insulation has degraded to 50% in only 3 seasons use

i am quite interested in this jacket but I struggle to see where it fits. It is surely too warm as a baselayer, it looks like a super duper marmot driclime to me - aka insulated windshirt as it doesn't look warm enough to be a puffy. I guess i could get the same effect with some gridfleece and a windshirt? It does look like it might be pretty good on a freezing day x-country skiing.

I take it that it's a mountaineering piece?

I would say that it was definitely a mountaineering or very cold weather piece. I'll be giving it a trial over my winter ski trips to see how it works. I did find that my Patagonia gridfleece Ninja to was too warm much of the time when used with my usual CC skiing top and too cold on its own. I'm wondering it the very breathable shell fabric combined with the Alpha fleece will be better able to get rid of the sweaty feeling I get when working hard. The stuff does feel good against bare skin and is a substitute for UL base layers and thin fleece and a windshirt, I am definitely wondering how it will perform. If nothing else it would work as a moderately warm midlayer. It definitely isn't windproof but as I have never owned any of the Patagonia Houdini or Airshed windshirts I can't give you a comparison, it is about 2 coffee filter papers on my suck test tho

It was reasonably cool in Geelong this morning so I tried out a few clothing combinations with the new top.
This Alpha is interesting stuff as a midlayer because unlike some other fleece it is relatively slippery and it will slide over a Patagonia Cap4 top and also the R1 Grid fleece Ninja top in the same sizing. Unlike all the other Macpac garments I have tried in the last few years this garment feels true to size and wide enough in the shoulders.
It also integrates well with the Patagonia NanoBivvy in XXL.
Looking forward to white season so I can give it a real testing although I am taking the grandson up the mountains after Christamas so I'll take it with me for that

If anybody is interested these just dropped in price to $91- on-line in the hoodless jacket version

Moondog55 wrote:If anybody is interested these just dropped in price to $91- on-line in the hoodless jacket version

$130 is the cheapest I can see on line .. and there is an 'Alpha' model at $135

https://www.macpac.com.au/search/go?q=A ... lang=en_AU

Moondog55 wrote:https://www.macpac.com.au/clearance/mens/pisa-polartec-jacket---mens/115340-CLEARANCE.html#q=Active%2Binsulation%2BPisa&lang=en_AU&start=1

That link gives me $130 ... not $91 .. are you 'signed in'? Possibly a macpack club price?

Hmmm Yes I was signed in, it would be worth getting a free membership to save $39- tho.
I can't report yet on the performance; it is still too warm to wear it. I have been rereading Andy Kirkpatricks blog post on cold weather softshells and this garment seems to tick all of the boxes.
A shame that the other good garment on clearance at the "Club" price isn't cut to layer over this one but talking to the sales people at Macpac in the Werribee store they are the same cut and sizing and the hooded Pulsar doesn't come in an XXXL

Hi moondog,
How 'grabby' would you say the insulation is on a poly or merimo baselayer?
I am intwrested on rhis jacket but am wary about layering a long sleeve under it.
In my experience the macpac mountaineering stuff is cut for muppet arms and can be difficult to layer.

slparker wrote:Hi moondog,
How 'grabby' would you say the insulation is on a poly or merimo baselayer?
I am intwrested on rhis jacket but am wary about layering a long sleeve under it.
In my experience the macpac mountaineering stuff is cut for muppet arms and can be difficult to layer.

I found it layered very well over my Patagonia "Everyday" and reasonably but with a touch of grab over my old Cap 4. I haven't yet tried the Ninja top on and done any moving about although I started to and got distracted by the heat, it did seem to be OK as far as layering goes because one of the reasons I like it so much is that it has room in the sleeves. It is a base layer but cut more like a midlayer if that makes sense. I did speak to somebody at Macpac Werribee who said it would layer OVER a Pulsar top but we all know that the Pulsar is ridiculously skinny.
I find Merino garments less slinky that polyester, it might grab on woollen base layers
I have tried the Patagonia Ninja gridfleece over my Powerstretch and that really grabbed and was not a usable combination, this was a little more slippery over the P* gridfleece.
I've not tried this top over my Powerstretch top yet.
Rereading Andy Kirkpatrick on this style of garment I think that the the base layer needs to be the lightest that will work in the temperatures you expect
You can always return it if it doesn't fit, costs postage tho, but postage is about $9-
Second thoughts Re the fit, I will need to return the Patagonia XXL Torrentshell I just bought, this garment is cut bigger in the sleeve and arms than a Torrentshell in XXL

I just tried one on and I like it but not really different enough from a marmot driclime that I already have.

If my driclime dies i would get the pisa though, its quite air permeable.

How does the fit compare? I've not seen or tried on the Marmot and you can't trust web photos

Second thoughts Re the fit; I had no problem returning the Patagonia Torrentshell but now I will need a LW top in a much bigger cut and again this winters shells seem to be cut skinny as

I would say that the pisa has a slightly less athletic fit than the marmot ether. Very similar tops though. The pisa has fleece inside the hood, which is nice. The fleece on the pisa is thicker and is probably warmer with more loft... not necessarily a bonus for me.

Thanx
Seems like I got the right top for me then, now to integrate it into some sort of usable system

Macpac still have some of these but the club price has increased to $108-AUD but free postage
I'm thinking of ordering a second one while they still have my size in stock

I ended up getting one. It’s really a steal compared to equivalent Rab and Outdoor Design garments.

Yes I used the money I just saved repairing my own boots to order another in the Pearl Grey. I am hoping Easter up the High Plains will be cool enough to give it a real trial.

Moondog55 wrote:Yes I used the money I just saved repairing my own boots...

I see that you are not a financial advisor, MD?

Well I already had plans to buy a spare, because I have seen no feedback on the longevity of the ALPHA Direct fabric.
With the cooler weather arriving I hope that Easter up at Pretty Valley will be cold enough to give that garment a real trial.
I've been searching but so far I've not found anybody making a side by side comparison between a Buffalo Sports shirt and any of the ALPHA Direct tops and I would have liked to read some

The buffalo shirt wouldn’t have the same vapour permeabilit, I imagine, as the shell is is 'pertex classic' an$ would be 0 or low air permeability. The Pisa has a high cfm permeability so vapour and body heat transfers very quickly.
I am not sure what 'pile' actually is but is likely to be thicker and warmer than polartec alpha.
The buffalo mountain shirt would be too hot except for slow or intermittent walking, or mountaineering, in very wet and cold conditions, I reckon.
The Pisa would excel in constant high output walking, skiing or cycling in cold and drizzly conditions, I think. The Pisa should also dry very quickly, preventing the chilling when stopped during high intensity activities.
I could be wrong here but I think that the buffalo shirt is a complete shell system in one whereas the Pisa needs a waterproof membrane when the wearer has stopped activity (and there is less heat forcing water vapour through the layers) or rain is intense; whereas the buffalo is still designed to be thick enough as a waterproofish jacket without a wp membrane, relying on DWR, even in heavy rain.

Reading the Buffalo Systems page it is definitely more resistant to wind, the Classic Pertex shell is windproof to 50mph
The difference between fleece and pile is interesting, fleece is denser and pile is more open with more hole than fibre and really has to be worn with a shell to be effective.
Polartec ThermalPro performs more like a pile than a fleece I guess.
I'm still searching for the perfect system

I wore a polartec thermal pro high loft jacket this morning out in the hills walking the dog. It is pretty amazing stuff, light and open weave, when working hard you get a 'frost' of sweat on the outside where sweat is pumped to the outside by your body heat.