Hi, Can anybody help me please. I'm looking for a decent quality mid layer to wear over Lowe Alpine Dryflo tops but under a goretex outer. I get quite hot when I walk so am looking for something that will be breatheable and lightweight. Can anybody offer any advice please? I'm not looking to spend any more than about £75

A lightweight fleece pullover should do the job. Depending on the brand, you should be able to pick up a couple and still be within budget.

I favour the Berghaus Yukon. I practically live in them.

HTH

Any 100 weight fleece will do the job. A lot of them are pullover-style. The TNF Expedition is another good one (flat seams that don't interfere with rucsac straps - possibly something to watch out for).

Another approach is a lined windproof. I've had a Patagonia Zephur jacket for several years - Ripstop nylon outer (with DWR) and coolmax lining. It's about the weight and warmth of a 100 weight fleece but also turns a shower and being windproof means you can avoid the need for the Goretex quite often. One of the best bits of kit I ever bought. (I guess it was something of a precursor to all this softshell stuff).

Noy sure if the Zephur is a current model, but I think the Montane Hyper-Lite is similar and I'm sure other manufacturers do them too.

Personally my favourite mid-layer is the Lowe Alpine Micro Grid zip neck - lightweight, breathable and wicks to a better degree than most fleece so can be worn as a warm baselayer/single layer.

Other than that I've used 100 weight tops from Patagonia, Mountain Equipment and Berghaus and they've all been okay.

micropile/pertex things like driclime or microtherms are excellent, much more versatile than a simple 100 weight fleece as they can worn as a base layer, mid layer, shell or all three at once.

Hmm... I think a lightweight fleece and pertex are more versatile, as you can then wear:

base
base/pertex
fleece
base/fleece
base/fleece/pertex
base/pertex/fleece

You can also choose a fleece layer to suit the conditions, cold or warm.

You can replace each layer individually when it wears out.

For these reasons, if the OP only has a base layer and a Goretex, I'd recommend a 100 weight fleece, and a pertex or similar hooded windproof (and Nikwax it to make it almost waterproof, leaving the Goretex for when it really rains). You should be able to get these two for £75 if you shop around.

With a fixed microfibre/micropile item, you can't change the level of insulation, and you have to replace everything when one layer wears out (the shell, most likely). That's not to say that I think they're a bad idea at all, just that I don't think they're as versatile.

I have been using a north face expidition shirt for the past 3 years and have found it to be an excellent mid layer. It is so versatile that I have on ocassion used it as a base layer as well.

How about Montane's Duality Smock or Buffalo's Teclite range really good venting and can be worn over a base layer or next to skin, plus you get a hood for shower protection, my wife lives in her old Montane Krypton and Featherlite wind shirt.Forget the fleece.

Captain Para, what you say is absolutely true, but I think that the bare-skin venting when a shelled polyester garment is worn as a base layer makes up for the lack of 'versatilty', in terms of temperature control at least (and this is much quicker than changing layers as well). Base layers feel cold when they get soaked as well, whereas micropile (due to high surface area in contact with skin) don't feel wet unless really saturated because of the quick evaporation.

Don't pay millions. Have a look at M&S ski/golf range and their range of fleeces. It all looks pretty good quality stuff and doesn't cost a fortune. Of course there's also landsend.co.uk. They have some pretty good stuff at very reasonable prices.

TNF expedition shirt really is good. I wear mine all the time (well, have two so they do get washed).
Good over a base layer or on it's own.

fw, yes, it's true that venting can be effective for cooling, but this is also true of a pertex windshirt; you just open the front zip...

Micropile has very little surface area in contact with the skin; that's why it feels dry, because the micropile draws moisture from the surface of the skin, and the tips of the pile dry very quickly, so it feels drier. I think a conventional base layer has a much larger area in contact with the skin.

Next-to-skin wearing of such a thing is indeed effective, but it's a little bit 'full-on', and it sounded to me as if the OP is something of a novice in outdoor gear (apologies to OP if this isn't true), and I think a conventional layering system is a very good starting point for a novice; a cheap, effective, versatile way of providing both a clothing system for a wide range of activities, and a way of learning what works for you.

ps. I'm wearing a Krypton pertex/micropile smock in my photo... over a base layer, mind. One of five such garments in my gear collection.

interesting... you're right that micropile has a very low surface area in contact with the skin (ie the pricks that dry quickly), but this in fact means that it has a very high surface area to volume ratio, a bit like a radiator. I think anyway...

I've always wondered what was the best of these garments, purely because I think they're so fantastic. I have a Buffalo teclite, which I bought because it has decent pockets, and massive side vents and a nice velvety lining (and made in Sheffield). The hood is crap though. I always fancied a RAB vapour-rise because of the decent hood and that pertex equilibrium (dunno if this works though). The Montanes are made of very light pertex (microlight?) which felt a bit flimsy.

Andy Kirkpatrick has some interesting things to say

Yes, I thought from what you were saying that you'd read Kirkpatrick's words.

I see your point about surface area of the micropile, but that's not in contact with the skin.

Effectively, I think the micropile works like Paramo's pump liner, only in reverse; the Paramo liner is a micropile, only facing outwards, and the capillary depression forces water out. I think the untreated micropile does the opposite, and pulls water from the surface of the skin, and allows it to evaporate on the back surface of the micropile. (Ah, just re-read AK, and this is what he says too) This is why I think it's a bad idea to use a wash-in proofer for such garments; you'll end up with Paramo in reverse... but no, I haven't tried it...

I've seen good reports of the Rab Vapour Rise, it's probably the warmest of the type, and, as you say, the shell seems more robust.

The Montane Krypton is good, and has seen service walking and skiing down to about -10C, over a thick base layer.

The ME Microtherm is also good. Well, I have the old version, pre-pertex shell and waffle lining. The mountain jacket is excellent, I think, with a good length, good hood, but let down by stupidly shallow chest pockets (for no good reason).

I also have a Patagonia Stretch Zephur, but the shell of this doesn't seem to breathe as well, and I've been cold and clammy in it.

Then there's the BH Rage/Fury/Serenity, the TNF Bilayer, the Marmot DriClimes, MHW Tempest and Macpac Matrix (with membrane shells). Every man and his dog makes one, for good reason.

What you say is interesting. I might try buying some micro pile and sewing it the wrong way around in a pattern with a pertex shell and proofing it. Paramo without the dressing-gown cut and massive weight?

If you're near a Decathlon store, try one of their own-brand (begins with a Q)50 "weight" tops.

£7.99 each IIRC.

So far I'd rate it as good as my Berghaus Yukon HT which cost £35.

If Anthony were a woman, (s)he could get one of Tesco's £4 fleece pullovers, which look excellent. Actually, it may even be worth seeing if they fit, as I don't recall them being too 'fitted'.

fw: if you find any micropile (DuPont Microtherm, Rentex, etc), let me know, as I've been looking for the stuff for some time, and Pennine and Point North don't stock it. I'd had the same idea as you...

Lowe Alpine Micro Grid are my fave. Top gear and last well too.

Often wear just that under the waterproof.

Get a Roadmap Basel micro soft top with the side stretch panels. For £75 you will be able to buy half a dozen and still be able tp buy a Polartec Regatta 200 fleece. Its crazy what you are charged for the same fabrics between brands and definitely unjustified

I brought a Haglofs Triton Hooded Fleece top and its ace! Got the black one and its hood is brilliant and its really lightweight, wore it last two weekends in sub zero temperatures and snow on the Old Man and Blencathra and it worked great and the protection from the hood was brilliant! The big pockets are a bonus too!

If you go for one though the sizing is quite tight, I am usually med to large but only the XL fitted me comfortably. ( No Comments!! )