Seasonal greeting's
I must have somehow missed polartec alpha when it was first launched or dismissed it as a new marketing concept
Anyway I've just 'rediscovered' it since it's hard to get hold of shelled micropile these days, ie driclime or previous version vapour rise
So reading around it looks like when alpha was originally launched it came with a face and backing fabric, usually some kind of pertex variety
Since then we have alpha direct, correct me if wrong, which removed the backing lining fabric
I've got hold of a marmot alpha 60 which has the lining fabric removed and seems to function much like a vapour rise or driclime, it wicks and dries really fast and with all shelled micropile I can see being really useful
But I've also come across the Montane halogen alpha which keeps the lining pertex type fabric, question is how is this type of alpha actually supposed to function in practice? The lining seems to block access to the skin for the alpha and it's ability to wick seems seriously diminished... Does anyone know of any brand still using this version of alpha or has everyone moved to the direct version?