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What does everybody think about windshirts? are they worth having? i'll be hiking in late May early June in N. Ga and NC. Any suggestions on brands or better ideas on light layers would be great
Lined or unlined?
I like a lined windshirt for active, all day pursuits... (e.g more hiking and less camping).
I like the Marmont lined windshirt so much that I have two.
take-a-knee
02-03-2009, 17:24
What does everybody think about windshirts? are they worth having? i'll be hiking in late May early June in N. Ga and NC. Any suggestions on brands or better ideas on light layers would be great
No way will you need a windshirt on the southern AT in late May/early June. They rock in the winter though, when it is too cold to hike without something more than a long sleeved tee shirt, and they are breathable enough you don't get sweat soaked. All I use for rain gear that time of year is a silnylon poncho, it also covers my pack. A light synthetic vest like a Patagonia Puffball is good insurance but you won't use it much. A wearable sleeping bag like an Exped Wallcreeper works at those temps, no jacket required. I like my JRB No Sniveler quilt with it's head hole.
brooklynkayak
02-03-2009, 19:45
A good light very breathable windshirt is very flexible. Even if it is too warm while hiking it would come in handy on a cool night around camp.
Wear a windshirt under a poncho or rain shell to add comfort when it is really coming down.
A windshirt over a shirt will get you through most spring and fall AT weather.
Wear it over fleece or a down shirt and it adds a lot of warmth in the wind.
It does more for the 3 or 4 oz of weight than almost any other article of clothing.
stevie
The Mountain Hardwear Tempest wind shirt is one of most favorite pieces of gear. I use it in the winter as my middle layer and it's great to put on during breaks. In the spring and fall I use it as my insulating piece.
garlic08
02-03-2009, 20:00
I love my Marmot Driclime windshirt, but I agree that it's probalby too warm for your planned hike.
bigcranky
02-03-2009, 20:02
In late May and early June here on the Southern AT, I usually carry my Marmot Driclime jacket and a Montbell down vest as my only warm layers. Later in June I'll just carry the Driclime.
SGT Rock
02-03-2009, 21:32
I like mine in the winter.
SloHiker
02-06-2009, 15:41
Personally, I have found an unlined windshirt (Golite Wisp/Ether, Patagonia Houdini, Marmot Ion, etc) in the 3-5 oz range is be extremely usable & versatile in ANY season. Get one and don't leave home without it!
I've worn my Golite Ether and Marmot Ion with long johns underneath and without, with insulation over and over fleece. Basically, they improve the insulative capabilities of unshelled insulation by blocking the convective heat loss due to wind. Highly versatile in a cold rain, too, when it's too warm to wear a hard shell, but the rain, falling from far above, is very cold initially. You still get wet, but not as cold.
Carrying fleece and a windshirt makes the most of fleece, whereas the "windstopper" fleece and its copycats lose half their insulative value in the wind because the wind can blow halfway through the fleece before it hits the windproof barrier. Think "multiple use". Well worth the 2-6 oz. in your pack.
Jayboflavin04
02-06-2009, 19:04
My gear list right now is just so big!!!!! I dont wanna throw another 100 bucks on the final tally.
daddytwosticks
02-06-2009, 20:33
Get yourself a cheap nylon windbreaker from Goodwill for a few bucks. You know, the type you used to wear as a kid. Maybe not as wisper-light as all the cool boys are wearing, but it'll do the trick! :)
The Will
02-06-2009, 20:47
It looks like I am the lone dissenter. I have never thought them necessary for backpacking when I'm already carrying some form of a rain jacket. Usually the rain jacket, though not more breathable, will have more venting options and can thus do the job of the wind-shirt over a greater temperature range and degree of exertion.
YoungMoose
02-06-2009, 20:49
i use my rain jacket whenever its windy. i think it works just fine.
I think a wind shirt is something to decide about in the context of other clothing you're carrying. I certainly understand the idea that a person already carrying a lightweight rain jacket finds a windshirt to be redundant. I typically carry a poncho as my rain gear (and sometimes as shelter as well). In this context, a windshirt is a great thing to have --- both in terms of light weight, and hitting a sort of sweet spot for layering.
I also, btw, find it very handy to use at home. I like to take long walks, and my hoodless unlined windshirt packs very small, so that I can just stuff it in a pocket on a day that is or might be just a touch on the cold side.
Jayboflavin04
02-07-2009, 09:21
I am a total gear head! I would like to have one for geater versatillity (late spring to early falll) but I am gonna use my rain gear. Probably going to get marmot precip.
Get yourself a cheap nylon windbreaker from Goodwill for a few bucks. You know, the type you used to wear as a kid. Maybe not as wisper-light as all the cool boys are wearing, but it'll do the trick! :)Thats what I picked up at LLBeans Outler for $12 and $20. Cheap ligt nylon. 4oz in Large and XXL. I got the XXL for winter. I carry or wear one every day, both hiking and here in town.
I am not sure what a windshirt is. Aren't they just windbreakers by a new name? We used to call them shells also. Now I distinguish between wind shells and rain shells. I like both to be light and cheap, but one non-waterproofed, and the other non-breathable. For a rain shell I use a poncho/tarp, so 4oz wind shell plus 8oz rain shell and still under 12oz, and very packable. Harder to find cheap light wind pants though.
Sad really.
"I am not sure what a windshirt is. Aren't they just windbreakers by a new name? We used to call them shells also."
I'm not aware of a precise, consistently used definition. I think of a windshirt as quite like the old "windbreaker", but perhaps with higher tech fabric and even less weight/volume.
JAK, the ("one non-waterproofed, and the other non-breathable") approach you describe is exactly what makes sense to me too (at least in normal hiking conditions).
I used to be a big advocate of the ultralight windshirt. I found that in many conditions, especially when working hard that a base + windshirt provided just the right amount of protection when a fleece wouldn't be right and a WPB rain jacket would have too much condensation.
In the last couple of years I find myself using a windshirt a lot less on backpacking trips. I have found that that a supplex shirt breaks the wind enough that I don't really need a windshirt until it's getting chilly (say around 50F) at which point a driducks rain jacket isn't too heavy.
I do still use windshirts a lot on done in a day events (day length snow trips, dayhikes, around town). Sometimes unlined, but more often then not something that is lightly lined.
--Mark
What does everybody think about windshirts? are they worth having? i'll be hiking in late May early June in N. Ga and NC. Any suggestions on brands or better ideas on light layers would be great
My Marmot Driclime original windshirt is the first thing I take anywhere.
Even when not hiking, I wear it everyday in the fall/winter/spring, adding & subtracting layers as needed for the conditions.
I think it is the most utilitarian piece of gear made.
Just my 2 sense.:sun
brooklynkayak
02-08-2009, 08:07
Now I distinguish between wind shells and rain shells. I like both to be light and cheap, but one non-waterproofed, and the other non-breathable.
That's how I look at it. A windshirt is a good outer shell when it's not raining hard.
A windshirt over a light fleece breaths well and keeps me warm in cold weather. The fleece alone is not very warm if there is a breeze. Adding the 4 oz windshirt really makes a difference.
I'll even wear it as a mid layer in the rain as it seems to reduce the claminess caused by the rain jacket.