In reply to TobyA:
> From some of you running photos on Strava Rob, I've noticed you wearing some brightly coloured furry fleece that looked like 'naked' Alpha. Is it OMM that make them? Anyway, I thought about trying something similar myself. But does the TNF futurefleece breath as well as whatever it is that you run in?
Sorry Toby, in/amongst the various other things I've got going on I realised I completely failed to get back to you about this - and fulfil my promise of various photos.
The fleece you're thinking of is the OMM Core+ Hoody, which is another amazing layer - so much so that I actually bought one for both my Mum, Dad and Penny for Christmas. You're quite right in it looking like 'naked' Alpha (remember the Rab Alpha Freak from a few years ago?), but it's actually 'naked' Primaloft (aka. Primaloft Active). Its pretty fascinating stuff, and is probably another level of breathability up from Futurefleece, although this comes with its advantages and disadvantages. The major advantage is, of course, how breathable and quick drying it is, but the disadvantage is that it's quite fragile as a result of the lack of a firmer face fabric. You've definitely got to be quite careful with it as a result of this, but bloody hell - it's good. Remarkably good at temperature regulation considering how warm it is, due to the fact it's so breathable, and when you do need something to take the edge off a wind or waterproof basically turns it into a Primaloft jacket.
I've attached three pictures below, which give a good visual indication of the difference between the various products we've discussed, namely 'standard' microfleece, octa-yarn and Primaloft Active. As you can see they're incrementally fluffier, but also incrementally more open and air permeable. They are also incrementally more expensive too!!