Fleece and some of the other synthetic stuff in cloths has really been liberating. Lightweight, windproof, waterproof . . . but as I have not found a fleece jacket which covers all my needs I need more than just one.

 

Vaude Roccia softshell is my favorite. It is quite light and really keeps me dry in modest rain. As I can zip from mid-upper-arm to the armpit and all the way down to mid-waist, the ventilation is superb. My Mountain Hardwear Men's Paladin Jacket is warmer and heavier but serves me well on cold days. No armpit-zipper. My The North Face Canyonlands Full Zip is a splendid piece of clothes, lighter than my MH Paladin jacket, not fully windproof and no match for rain: a warm mid-layer in winter and a fine jacket on a (chilly) summer day in the interior of Iceland.

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As I aim to carry nothing with me, unless I really need it, one of these jackets is my choice each time I go out for hiking/ backpacking. The Vaude Roccia will travel with me to Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. I guess I just need a Meriono shirt under it (230g/m2) except in the highest mountains in Kyrgyzstan (+4000 m.a.s.l.).  I think I will wear two layers of Merino wool under ther jacket, up there. The MH Paladin has been sheltering me in hikes/backpacking tours in Iceland this winter and so it will next fall/winter. The TNF will be my companion in my treks in Iceland. I will be wearing a 1/4 zip Merino shirt as a first layer and having my rain-jacket at hand to rain- and windproof when needed.

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All these above mentioned jackets are "active fit" - that is, not baggy. 

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Same as it was in 2017 - these statements hold value in 2019. The Altai will see me wearing the same Vaude jacket 

 

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