Hello all,
First of all - hello everyone. It is nice to have found this amazing community and I hope to be able to stay here longer!
Having done fun-mountain-hiking for years, I decided that it's time to progress and get more serious about this hobby. One reason has been that I got invited for a trip to Kilimanjaro - which I allow myself to treat as "a good start," as opposed to the end of my adventures.
So, I need to slightly "refurbish my wardrobe". I have Merino base layer and some (not windproof) Polartecs for mid layers... However, I need to get:
-> a proper fleece for midlayer; and
-> GoreTex jacket + trousers for shell/outer layer (I'd be embarrased to say what I have been using so far!).
I would be grateful if you could recommend me some models which would be a good investment, especially when I later progress to mountain climbing.
I thought that it would be best to get a high quality outer shell and high quality fleece - as opposed to e.g. insulated shells - as this way I will get more versatility in the future.
So... what would you suggest? From what I have seen reading various articles, Arc'Teryx and Patagonia seem to be most often recommended - but I must admit that I am lost trying to differentiate between Alpha, Beta, Sabre etc... I don't even know what FL, LT, SL, SV, AR etc. abbreviations mean!
Thank you so much for your help!
Best regards,
Theriel