Montane Featherlite Smock or Haglofs Shield Pullover

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Mention of Montane, Haglofs, Fuera, and smocks. 

Smocks

Pro - lighter, less to ruff on backpack hipbelt, pack smaller

Jackets

Pro - easier to get on/off. 

I have no Haglofs experience but have Montane and Fuera. I did have a Rab windtop smock and I found smocks ultimatelt annoying and didn't replace when it worn.

Montane Litespeed

Pro - half the packed size of the Fuera

Con - sleeves so narrow I cannot get above the elbow.

Fuera Jacket

Pro - wired hood less noisy flappy. Sleeves can roll up above elbow. I find very breathable, more breathable than the Pertex in the Montane Litespeed, good smooth non-sticky feel next to skin.

Con - barrel chest, baggy, many inches excess armpit-waist.  About twice the packed size of the Montane.

So I tend to use the Litespeed for:

- days which are generally warm with a possibility of cool, as adds insulation for little weight/size, for packing mostly.

I tend to use the Fuera jacket for:

- days which are cool and generally dry/drizzle to wear all day as I find the hood and pockets more comfortable and can keep the jacket on longer due to sleeves can roll up.

Based on the OP's context of use, it sounds like the Montane matches best, although I'd say give serious consideratoin to jackets rather than smock....

Paramo Fuera Smock is by far the most breathable item Ive ever owned...I find it much much better than any pertex stuff...I find the fit excellent. I bought the small and its a pretty athletic yet comforable fit. The wired peak is ace and it holds of a pretty good shower...and its rusttle free. Its a few more grams than the others mentioned but it is far far more durable. I use mine constantly with a pack and have begun to go to it for running too as its far far dryer than the montane smock I was using.

I reckon if some find it too baggy they need to go a size down because its actually a very very good cut...athletic but with room to breathe!

So they can have arms ending at their shoulders rather than their elbows you mean?

Seriously, there's no such thing as a 'good' cut out of the context/fit of who's wearing it I 'can't' wear about 99% of clothing that people produce, but I'm not normal.

Well except maybe for MTM  folk like Cioch. Who might actually be a useful option here if neither of the options under consideration proves to fit: Made to measure windshirt. Still relatively heavy compared to a featherlite, even in beachcomber, though.

wanderingdave wrote (see)

Paramo Fuera Smock is by far the most breathable item Ive ever owned...I find it much much better than any pertex stuff...I find the fit excellent. I bought the small and its a pretty athletic yet comforable fit. The wired peak is ace and it holds of a pretty good shower...and its rusttle free. Its a few more grams than the others mentioned but it is far far more durable. I use mine constantly with a pack and have begun to go to it for running too as its far far dryer than the montane smock I was using.

I reckon if some find it too baggy they need to go a size down because its actually a very very good cut...athletic but with room to breathe!

I'd agree with all of that apart from the fact I can stow a small child between hip and chest in mine. In fact I did once and took a picture, somewhere..... Its a lot more grams, think double weight, but irrelevant if you're wearing it all day. The breathability is excellent,comfort excellent, and smooth to have over t-shirt bare arms.

If I go a size down I can't get it over my chest. Medium I have right fit armpit-armpit and sleeve length in medium. In small, I can't actually get it on, well I can but Houdini would escape a straightjacket quicker. In medium the sleeve length about-right but small would be too short.

If you do a shower test you'll see its got no appreciate water resistance, LESS than Pertex which explains its breathability, make a bucket shape and begin filling with water, it drips through easily, so its ONLY being a windproof, and in fact the fabric was designed for that purpose to blunt velocity of water over the Analogy liner.  Pertex can hold more water back, but Pertex not meant to be waterproof but it will shed light rain when Fuera won't. The Fuera's seam, the centreline on the hood lets water through extremely easily.

The Fuera, as supplied, isn't proofed, IIRC.  You can always Nikwax it.

[chuckles at 'very very good athletic cut': if the athlete is a shot putter, maybe...]

captain paranoia wrote (see)

The Fuera, as supplied, isn't proofed, IIRC.  You can always Nikwax it.

[chuckles at 'very very good athletic cut': if the athlete is a shot putter, maybe...]

Doesn't help with leaking only beading and after a year+ you can't make it bead in places like sleeve ends anyway in real-world usage. Ain't waterproof can't be made anything remotely water proof. However, that's not what it is made for. Great for coolish dry/drizzle situations.

I have the Summit Hoodie also to turn a windproof into waterproof combo but it adds so much insulation it needs to be cold rain which somewhat restricts the situations, even with pitzips and arms rolled up.  Its never got used (so far). So..... carry a shell if you want to be dry  (when low acitivity, there are cheap light ones out there), get wet (if you're active you won't be cold anyway the amount of new cold rain getting is significantly reduced think wetsuit), carry an umbrella for windless, poncho for windy, etc.  

So pick very breathable windproof, or pick less breathable water resistant, don't think anything exists which is both. ISTR to recall on OM who washes in detergent Pertex to remove the DWR to improve breathability because that's what a windshirt should primarily be?

I picked up a Golite dome umbrella in sale recently, similar weight to a shell for windless days.

> Doesn't help with leaking only beading

It was the comparison with Pertex that I was addressing with the 'proofing' comment.  Of course, I didn't mean waterproofing, just treating with an after-market DWR treatment to increase the water resistance.

CP  - np.

 I guess the other difference, thanks for reminding me, is a proofed Fuera is not sticky, whilst a proofed Pertex is stickier. A proofed Fuera feels the same as when new, whilst if you take a new Pertex, then proof it, it turns stickier. Not sure why, might be that the inside face of Pertex is smoother so more of it touches the skin??? Both feel smooth but the thread size is thicker on Fuera (partly why tougher as shown by my Pertex items coming unstitched in places).

 So Pertex is more a pack-to-wear, whilst Fuera is more a simply wear. If I were starting out and  buying just one... probably still buy the Pertex as it is not uncomfortable, just compating what I own, the differences are slight and Fuera is bigger than a shell to pack and as heavy as a thin down jacket (not comparing for the same conditions, just comparing packing size/weight)