Active Insulation

[dtrkyman]

Oh my a crew cut, I always say someone needs to make more crews, I mean how many 1/4 zip and hoods can you wear? lol And I have a skinny neck!

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

Oh my a crew cut, I always say someone needs to make more crews, I mean how many 1/4 zip and hoods can you wear? lol And I have a skinny neck!

I totally agree, sometimes I feel like I’m one of the only ones that can’t stand hoods on my mid layers… the last thing I want is a stack of hoods to deal with…

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Oh my a crew cut, I always say someone needs to make more crews, I mean how many 1/4 zip and hoods can you wear? lol And I have a skinny neck!

I must be weird but I like a hood on all my layers, have since I was backpacking very young.

 

[mtwarden]

I must be weird but I like a hood on all my layers, have since I was backpacking very young.

Ditto. Opens up the options for adding/subtracting heat.

 

[dtrkyman]

Oh I like a hood, just not a hood and three other layers with a collar!

Quarter zip base, hooded mid and a high collar outer layer and I am getting choked out!

 

[fngTony]

Oh I like a hood, just not a hood and three other layers with a collar!

Quarter zip base, hooded mid and a high collar outer layer and I am getting choked out!

Would it make you cringe if I told you that all my layers have a hood? If they don’t fit right then it’s terrible, took me a long time to get them right.

 

[mtwarden]

I’ve got a pic somewhere I dubbed “a four hood day”. Freezing ass cold glassing session.

From inner to outer—base layer->midlayer->puffy->wind layer.

 

[dailyherold]

I've purchased a few Farpointe hoodies last few months and really enjoying them. The Octa Cruiser in Teijin Frontier Octa 85gsm material has been my favorite. It's like a mesh jersey with fluffy alpha'ish type lining. I run pretty darn hot and the holes in mesh can give me nice ventilation and the whole thing breathes incredibly. Throw a vest or wind layer over and it's warmth to weight ratio I think is great. Haven't tried everything out there so maybe better. Definitely something you'd want to cover though when in field, given the holes and snag potential.

 

[Jake Larsen]

Active insulation is the bomb. I sweat like crazy, and never could find a grid fleece that didn’t just get soaked. Major issue in cold/windy weather.

My current system is: ultralight synthetic base layer (Sitka Core LW hoody), Ambient vest, and Mountain Evo jacket for the wind layer. I run this from September archery clear through late season rifle this last year. Solves the “layer stacking” on forearms issue as well. I really don’t like it when I get more than 2 full length layers on my arms. For later season hunts, I throw in a Duckworth Powder hoodie for non-active situations

Previous iteration was the Kelvin active instead of the ambient. Tried both the original and the hoody version. Both were great, but that Ambent 100 vest was way better.


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[Oregonhuntrboi]

Active insulation is the bomb. I sweat like crazy, and never could find a grid fleece that didn’t just get soaked. Major issue in cold/windy weather.

My current system is: ultralight synthetic base layer (Sitka Core LW hoody), Ambient vest, and Mountain Evo jacket for the wind layer. I run this from September archery clear through late season rifle this last year. Solves the “layer stacking” on forearms issue as well. I really don’t like it when I get more than 2 full length layers on my arms. For later season hunts, I throw in a Duckworth Powder hoodie for non-active situations

Previous iteration was the Kelvin active instead of the ambient. Tried both the original and the hoody version. Both were great, but that Ambent 100 vest was way better.


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So for late season glassing you just add that hoodie? You don’t use a puffy?

 

[Jake Larsen]

So for late season glassing you just add that hoodie? You don’t use a puffy?

Oh no I’ve got a puffy also. Kifaru LPP usually. I’ll bring that hoodie more often than not anymore. The core LW, ambient vest, and mountain Evo work amazing for moving moisture, and temperature regulation. However I found there’s situations when it’s just not enough warmth, but I don’t need the full puffy. That Powder hoodie fits right in the gap. Merino blend, that thing is extremely comfortable, and amazingly warm for its weight. I can actually layer it over the top of all three of the aforementioned pieces, or just over the base. It’s a unique piece. If you want to see it more, the Gritty guys have been wearing it the last couple seasons, and I recently saw Cliff Gray recommend it in a video


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[HankMorgan]

Active insulation is the bomb. I sweat like crazy, and never could find a grid fleece that didn’t just get soaked. Major issue in cold/windy weather.

My current system is: ultralight synthetic base layer (Sitka Core LW hoody), Ambient vest, and Mountain Evo jacket for the wind layer. I run this from September archery clear through late season rifle this last year. Solves the “layer stacking” on forearms issue as well. I really don’t like it when I get more than 2 full length layers on my arms. For later season hunts, I throw in a Duckworth Powder hoodie for non-active situations

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This is very similar to my setup. I run a SG synthetic base, Arcteryx Gamma SL wind layer, and SG Cirque lite vest. Occasionally throw another light fleece over the whole getup, but I’ve climbed exposed peaks in single digit temps with 50 mph winds and had to unzip the vest a bit to cool off. Going downhill after it was a little cool, but it was perfect for the climb. Big fan of wind shirt + vest. Especially for not having to take off a layer to add a layer.


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[Jake Larsen]

This is very similar to my setup. I run a SG synthetic base, Arcteryx Gamma SL wind layer, and SG Cirque lite vest. Occasionally throw another light fleece over the whole getup, but I’ve climbed exposed peaks in single digit temps with 50 mph winds and had to unzip the vest a bit to cool off. Going downhill after it was a little cool, but it was perfect for the climb. Big fan of wind shirt + vest. Especially for not having to take off a layer to add a layer.


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Vests are highly underrated IMO. Significant moisture management improvement with a vest, and based on body mapping heat loss, there’s very little to gain by covering the arms until it’s windy. Sounds like you arrived at an identical solution as me, just with different brands.

Another bonus of the vest is keeping the forearm from building up with layers. Uncomfortable, and it can be a real problem for archery.


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[Oregonhuntrboi]

Vests are highly underrated IMO. Significant moisture management improvement with a vest, and based on body mapping heat loss, there’s very little to gain by covering the arms until it’s windy. Sounds like you arrived at an identical solution as me, just with different brands.

Another bonus of the vest is keeping the forearm from building up with layers. Uncomfortable, and it can be a real problem for archery.


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I love both those setups you guys are rolling with. I currently run SG chinook base t, SG helio grid fleece, Sitka mountain evo for wind/ light precip layer. I have a SG cirque lite vest as well but don’t use it too much. I’m debating taking the grid fleece out of the equation and just going , SG base, cirque lite vest, Sitka mountain evo + my Sitka ambient for late season.

 

[HankMorgan]

Vests are highly underrated IMO. Significant moisture management improvement with a vest, and based on body mapping heat loss, there’s very little to gain by covering the arms until it’s windy. Sounds like you arrived at an identical solution as me, just with different brands.

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Exactly. I can wear the same setup on a 20 degree run and manage moisture to where I’m not sweating too bad easily. I’ve been trying to convert my buddies but haven’t had success yet. Their loss.


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[HankMorgan]

I love both those setups you guys are rolling with. I currently run SG chinook base t, SG helio grid fleece, Sitka mountain evo for wind/ light precip layer. I have a SG cirque lite vest as well but don’t use it too much. I’m debating taking the grid fleece out of the equation and just going , SG base, cirque lite vest, Sitka mountain evo + my Sitka ambient for late season.

Try it! I’ll be curious to hear your report back!

 

[bradmacmt]

I totally agree, sometimes I feel like I’m one of the only ones that can’t stand hoods on my mid layers… the last thing I want is a stack of hoods to deal with…

Hoods have their place, but not on every damn garment! It's annoying that Alpha is hard to find without a hood. I finally found one 1/4zip in Europe - should have it this week. Senchi had an Alpha90 batch drop this week. I just ignored it since everything they make has a hood!

 

[mtwarden]

Rab has a nice full zip one (I think 95g/m) w/o a hood; I asked them if the could make it with a hood