Favorite Midlayer.

[peterk123]

Fleece. Different weights for different temps. Light, inexpensive, great warmth to weight ratio, and breaths just fine.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Another fan of the Grid fleece. I have an old first lite halstead I like. Patagonia R1 (Wish they had brown still) and Sitka core heavyweight hoodies.

when it gets a little colder, I break out the Sitka traverse hoodie. Cozy but a bit heavy for long range backpacking trips.

 

[twall13]

I personally like the Voormi High-E Hoodie for a mid layer. It checks all the boxes for me with a good hood, 1/4 zip, thumb holes, kangaroo pouch hand warmer, and wool blend so it doesn't stink so much. It also has a bit of water repellancy. It's my understanding that they plan on releasing it in their camo patterns this fall as well so I'll be picking up another when they do. All that said, it's expensive and heavier than most fleece mid layers so if backpacking I'll often take a First Lite Klamath or Kryptek Sherpa fleece instead. All have grid fleece, 1/4 zips and good hoods. The First Lite is missing the thumb holes which I really miss on that piece. Of the three the Voormi is definitely the warmest.

I've also used an old military issue grid fleece that I've beat the crap out of and it's still holding up. I don't like the fit on that nearly as well and it doesn't have a hood but I think I paid like $25 for it and at that price it's a fantastic value.

I've never owned a Patagonia R1 but wouldn't mind trying one at some point as it felt like a quality mid layer when I looked at it at REI.

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[mcseal2]

I mostly rifle hunt later seasons. I love the Peloton 240 hoody.

 

[Whiskey_Fish]

Got a favorite "cheap" grid fleece you like? I can't seem to find anything with a hood that's under $100 and would like a back up that I can keep in the tent/truck.

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Found a bunch of these at Sierra a while back. They’re awesome. Get a little smelly if you sweat hard but for $25 can’t be beat.


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[j33]

Sitka traverse: Didn’t like having it as a half zip only and the fact it didn’t breath too good just didn’t work for me so sold it. Awesome wind blocker and tough outerlayer, not a great mid layer IMO.

First Lite Kiln: Love this for around the house, poor weight to warm ratio at 15.6oz. No wind blocker.

Kuiu Peloton 97: Unreal warmth to weight ratio, I always carry this in my pack as it’s only 6oz. No wind blocker. Even the backpacking folks buy this fleece.

Kuiu Peloton 240: Windblocker, okay weight to warmth ratio and pretty breathable. Dries super quick. I wear this most of the time.


Im rocking the hooded 97 & hoodless 240 for mids this year, good windblocker and more temp flexibility and still only 22.5oz.

 

[JB64]

+1 Patagonia R1, year round use outside of hunting. Basically the grid faced fleece everyone copied but haven't beat.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Marmot 1/4 zip fleece

 

[All American Boy]

Camo fleece from Amazon. $20. Works well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079LL2Y6W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_b.cyFbTJC7EDG

 

[Goatie]

North face ninja hoodie


This is my favorite to date and I know it’s not a favorite of the hunting crowd but it’sa perfect mid layer.
-polartec dries super fast (learned in the snowstorm in co last week)
-very warm
-lightweight ( way moreso than wool)
-core is a wind breaking material
-zips high for face coverage so face stays warm but vents well enough to keep nocs from fogging
-Long arms with thumbholes meaning gloves aren’t absolutely necessary in that border temp where you’re debating on putting on gloves but know your hands will sweat if u do

honestly my buddies 250 merino layer was wet for two days after last Wednesday’s hike through sloppy snow. I was comfortable with this ninja hoodie on and a super lightweight goretex rain jacket. Any accumulated moisture was gone in a few hours of air dry when I got back to base camp and put on my puffy.

yes it smelled a little worse than his merino. I was warm for the 7 miles off the mountain, he was miserable. Wool is heavy and never dries.

 

[bcar]

Eddie Bauer has a half zip grid fleece that you can get for $50 if you wait for a 50% off sale. I like it a lot, haven't ever had an R1 so can't compare weight but the EB is fairly light weight. I'm going to pick up a ECWCS gen iii level 2 grid fleece also.

 

[j33]

Eddie Bauer has a half zip grid fleece that you can get for $50 if you wait for a 50% off sale. I like it a lot, haven't ever had an R1 so can't compare weight but the EB is fairly light weight. I'm going to pick up a ECWCS gen iii level 2 grid fleece also.

What’s the weight of that? Looks like they have a green option.

 

[bcar]

What’s the weight of that? Looks like they have a green option.

The Eddie Bauer? I'm not sure but it's really light weight. Probably weighs 8-10oz. They also have the Sandstone Backbone grid hoodie that is heavier weight. From the looks of it the military surplus is probably a similar weight. Definitely doesn't look like a heavy weight grid fleece.

 

[renagde]

Sitka Apex

 

[LostArra]

Patagonia R1 1/4 zip sleeveless. I'm not sure they still make it