Bushwalk Australia

Hi all,

I recently purchased a 350 gram Mountain Hard Wear soft shell which is a perfect garment for me for 3 seasons a year, although a bit light for winter. I want to find a ultra thin micro fleece which I can pack in a small space and of course very light. I have 3 or 4 fleeces already but even the light weight North Face half zip pull over is a thicker fabric than what I have in mind.

So these are the constraints;

- Ultra thin fleecy type material
- Jacket - must have full zip front
- No Hood - I will be wearing under another jacket so hood no good
- under 300 grams

So this will feel like a shirt but fleecy and in a jacket cut.

I have walked down Kent Street Sydney from shop to shop and couldn't see anything as light as I'm looking for, but I am sure this lightness in made, can anyone help?

To get one in a 100 weight fleece (generally the thinnest fleece) with a full zip might be a bit hard under 300 grams. If your into ultra light fleece then loose the zip and save yourself 100+ grams. All the normal brand have 100 weight fleeces under 300 grams with no zip, macpac, MD's etc. see here http://www.macpac.com.au/mens/jackets/f ... r-men.html

I would reconsider a soft shell jacket if you are keen on going ultra light. You will be carrying your rain outer layer so use that for cutting the wind and then use layering of fleece/thermals underneath to get the insulating level right. This will save you the weight of the soft shell you don't need when already have a wind breaking rain jacket.
A 200 weight fleece with a long sleeve thermal top under and a rain jacket over is a great 3 season set up. If you want to go a bit warmer either wear 2 thermal tops under or consider a down jacket which is weight for warmth the best material but has limitations if it gets wet.

Kathmandu used to have some 100 weight grid fleeces(Altica fabric) with 1/2 zip (250 grams for medium) which I find work well.

Agree with Scotty on this.

Have a look for some light grid fleece. I have a Melanzana micro grid fleece hoodie, no zip 290g - also available without hood, and they also have a hard faced version (Hard faced hoodie) which looks useful but I haven't tried it.

I haven't looked recently, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of micro grid fleece in Australia but if you're looking for lightweight fleece, this is the stuff to get IMO, maybe that Kathmandu item Mark F suggests is worth a look.

The lightest fleece top I have is an Ex Officio "shirt" that weighs about 240 g and it is slightly lighter and very similar to an older North Face half zip pull over top. You can buy proper fleece shirts - that open fully with buttons - but the extra stitching and the buttons put the weight up (e.g. my Kathmandu fleece short weighs about 360 g). I think the main advantage of a fleece top with a full zip is that they often also have pockets that you can keep your hands warm in.

Light fleece tops are good for wearing while walking on cold days. A soft-shell may be better for windy days or days with mild rain, but I think the combination light fleece with a hard shell is better in a wider range of conditions - where you only wear what you need, and if it is really cold and wet you wear both. When you get in your tent or hut - then you can put on a down or synthetic puffy jacket.

Dave

http://marmot.com/products/details/driclime-windshirt
249.5g

This might fit the bill fllece lining+ windresistant outer layer, layers well under a shell

Sounds like the microfleece sold by Aldi is what you want, but that is only available with a half zip, it is underwear weight

I've got a Montane Polartec fleece that weighs 250 gram, I suspect it's from there summer range which is not showing at present.

I was in Costco tonight and they have some fantastic clothing, I'm going to take my scales in there to see how much some of that stuff weighs, I picked up a long sleeved Merino top, which felt really light and only cost $30, they had some lightweight puffy's as well for $50.

I often sniff out the bargains at Anaconda, I've bought some great Columbia fleece over the years without spending a fortune, I've got one on now.

Picked up a lightweight; 223 grams for a large size long sleeve Heattech fleece T shirt with neck zip from Uniqlo in Melbourne today - $19.90 - their products seem to very well made and ridiculously cheap. They also have very good value thermals and as I mentioned in another thread very light but warm down jackets and vests. Now I have to stop myself from going in...

What's the difference b/n name brands and those Kmart and similar mass market fleeces? Apart from cut, design, add-ons and styling, are there significant enough difference in terms of thermal qualities?

I have been using fleece for a long time, probably over twenty or thirty years .

I will no longer take a chance on a generic or no name fleece. The issues for me have been mainly holding moisture and not draining/drying, and also noticeably less effective insulation wise.

I have always found genuine Polartec, even after their production problems and changes, to be superior. Years ago, each successive generation appeared to me to be an improvement, particularly as regards wear. Earlier fleeces that I used did not last anywhere near as long as wool. I didn't persist with any of the no name stuff long enough to form an opinion on its wear qualities. or lack thereof.

There may well be generics/no names of equivalent quality available that I am unaware of, but I won't be experimenting again.

Thanks Stry and I agree, many yesteryear no name brand fleeces were pretty lousy. But these days, some of the KMart/Target or similar branded fleeces felt quite decent, hence the curiosity.

generic fleece is pretty good these days, but tends to lack the DWR that the known brands use. The lightest fleece I have seen recently is at Aldi in the current range of ski gear but I don't think it would work all that well as a midlayer, it is only about 1.5 mm thick with very little nap on the fleece side.
Something that comes very close to the OPs requirements might be the Patagonia Capilene 4 half zipped hoodie

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/men ... ?p=43666-0

I'm really happy with my crew neck version and these do layer over light or medium weight underwear

dancier wrote:I was in Costco tonight and they have some fantastic clothing, I'm going to take my scales in there to see how much some of that stuff weighs...

This will make quite a scene! LOL

GPSGuided wrote:What's the difference b/n name brands and those Kmart and similar mass market fleeces? Apart from cut, design, add-ons and styling, are there significant enough difference in terms of thermal qualities?

I've read that cheaper fleece quite often is a cotton blend, thus compromising the performance in wet weather. Check the label. Of course you're probably also getting lower quality zippers, stitching, fit, colour fastness etc, but that's often a personal compromise.

Skibug

Cotton blend in fleece? I thought all fleece are 100% synthetic. Will double check the labels next time.

Towards the end of summer I bought a Columbia Klamath lightweight fleece for all of $40 - absolutely love it! The fleece itself is really thin, but still warm 'enough'. It's a half zip design, weighs about 130g.

Even on sub-10°C days hiking up the Western Lakes I tend to overheat easily while walking if I wear too many layers... this and a merino short sleeve tshirt work really well. Being light and thin it works well under a rain shell too. Certainly can't complain for the price.

Cheers, Ben.

GPSGuided wrote:Cotton blend in fleece? I thought all fleece are 100% synthetic. Will double check the labels next time.

I believe it's common, especially at low end shops (eg. ?-mart).

See, for example. http://www.shirtcompany.com/products.ph ... t_id=88790

Skibug

I think you may find that if it's labelled "FLEECY" it will more than likely be brushed poly-cotton and depending a lot on the country it's being advertised in
Here I think most retailers advertise 100% synthetics as " Polarfleece" with or without the capital
So> Yes it pays to double check the labels