Bushwalk Australia

Anyone know of a decent Grid Fleece or Merino top with a chest pocket deep enough for a phone and power bank and a half zip overhead style. At this time of year I find hiking in a light/medium weight top like that enough, but my grid fleece (picked up cheap from Kmart once) has been excellent, but I could do with another. Platatac have one, but not my size and are making no more. Only other one I have seen is a Spika hunting one. I’m sure you lot have ideas

Hiking Exped wrote:Anyone know of a decent Grid Fleece or Merino top with a chest pocket deep enough for a phone and power bank and a half zip overhead style. At this time of year I find hiking in a light/medium weight top like that enough, but my grid fleece (picked up cheap from Kmart once) has been excellent, but I could do with another. Platatac have one, but not my size and are making no more. Only other one I have seen is a Spika hunting one. I’m sure you lot have ideas

The Macpac prothermal hoody has a reasonable pocket but I doubt if it is big enough unless you have a medium sized phone and powerbank.

Thanks for info. The phone is not one of those super large ones and the power bank I usually use on me in cold weather is usually slim and smaller than phone. Don’t need the hood and it’s extra weight though

Macpac Ion looks to be a kind of grid fleece, and the pocket looks a reasonable size.

Certain colours of the Ion pullover are currently clearance too and reasonable value at $90- even better at $85-
That said it is easy enough to sew a phone pocket onto almost anything
However if you are not sweating in deep cold perhaps microfleece and the Macpac Tui is a better choice, it is slightly lighter I think and much cheaper

Be aware that Macpac’s sizing can run a bit small. I bought a Tui several years ago for my partner who was a true XXXL then. It was way too small. He has a couple of their cotton hoodies however which fit him well.

Eremophila wrote:Be aware that Macpac’s sizing can run a bit small. I bought a Tui several years ago for my partner who was a true XXXL then. It was way too small. He has a couple of their cotton hoodies however which fit him well.

Hmm, that is news. A lot of clothing I have bought from MacPac has required alterations of some sort; pants, usually turned up a full 9 to 12cm (!); jumpers — not much can be done about their inherent bulkiness and slight over-sizing — just a few warm washes until they start losing a bit of "extra fat"! A luxe furry-lined burgundy coloured hoodie bought 3 years ago is a daily favourite — neither small nor flappy, but just-so (my usual size is S). The one thing I bought recently that fits like a glove was ... gloves! And a grey beanie that fits my head and covers my ears! Gloves with tac-tips — finally! A beanie that keeps my ears warm. Joy.
I wear them almost every morning now on my walk-talk-and-gawks. Next trip down south will be for MSR snowshoes...

LATE EDIT
Have had my brother purchase a blue Ion from Waurn Ponds. I can wear that over a 150wt merino sports tee (Kathmandu), and over that a Kathmandu 150wt sports long-sleeve, cutting down on bulk when using a thicker jumper/pullover. I'll collect it on Thursday. I know the Ion will be a correct fit because it is similar to a lightweight fleece pullover with quarter zip sold by them.

I just had a look at the Macpac Ion. Lovely jacket and the sale price is OK. Measurements are great in my usual size 10 ... except the sleeves are at least five inches too short. Now, I know I have longer than average arms for my height, but that's ridiculous.

Macpac sizing is all over the shop - IMO it tends to run small - in line with british sizes. I bought a tui jumper a few years ago in a medium and it was a small, really. I now generally size up to a large in their gear and I am usually a US medium or british large. But... their baselayers run true to size so you can't win.

That said, their genuine bushwalking/mountaineering gear is still really good even if they now tend to pitch their range to the Kathmandu/fashion market.

slparker wrote:Macpac sizing is all over the shop - IMO it tends to run small - in line with british sizes. I bought a tui jumper a few years ago in a medium and it was a small, really. I now generally size up to a large in their gear and I am usually a US medium or british large. But... their baselayers run true to size so you can't win.

That said, their genuine bushwalking/mountaineering gear is still really good even if they now tend to pitch their range to the Kathmandu/fashion market.

...

If it's functional and fashionable (to a sensible degree, but certainly not over-the-top e.g. not everything should be black or battleship grey!) I'll take it.
Otherwise for function alone, I would make the effort to go to Bogong or the Wilderness Shop in distant Box Hill. MONT items are a good fit, but others, like Patagonia, RAB, ArcTeryx etc., have not been an especially comfortable fit, not helped by a narrow and dull colour range.

I'm thinking the TUI is the earlier iteration of the ION, just with the ION redesigned with grid fabric that also gives the collar a makeover, compared to the TUI's fleece collar.

Often the issue with XXXL sizing can be the length. In this case it was both the girth and the length.

But many brands make stuff wider, without catering for extra length. Things are improving I guess with the “average “ size increasing…. But you still need to spend a bit more to get both good quality and a good fit.

Patagonia R1 is what you need. Super comfortable and durable. Chest pocket is big enough for a large phone.

EGM wrote:Patagonia R1 is what you need. Super comfortable and durable. Chest pocket is big enough for a large phone.

I think this will depend on the phone and the year of manufacture of the Patagonia top
My new phone is so big it won't fit into the R1 pocket of my old R1 top or any of my other midlayer pullovers. I haven't tried it in the Pisa yet tho.
Luckily pockets are still easy to sew on as a retrofit

You're probably right Moondog. I reckon my R1 is about 4 years old and my phone has a 6.7 inch screen.

EGM wrote:You're probably right Moondog. I reckon my R1 is about 4 years old and my phone has a 6.7 inch screen.

My Galaxy A12 is 7 inch, and fits just so in the chest pocket of the Ion. Not sure what people are carrying about to need something that sounds more like a tablet? When walking, I remove the phone from the hold-all case; a cuppla chewy bars and Vitamin J also get popped in the pocket for good measure. I have little use for a driver's licence or the bulk of credit cards when I am hugging tree-ferns...

More than a few striking similarities when the Ion is placed next to the R1. Most instructional.