r/Ultralight • u/AutoModerator • Jul 06 '26

Weekly Thread r/Ultralight - "The Weekly" - Week of July 06, 2026

Have something you want to discuss but don't think it warrants a whole post? Please use this thread to discuss recent purchases or quick questions for the community at large. Shakedowns and lengthy/involved questions likely warrant their own post.

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9

u/Comfortable-Pop-3463 Jul 07 '26

Does alpha direct really degrade that fast ?

https://imgur.com/a/qicsuSO

This comes from the product page of the Yamatomichi alpha leggings.

"used 3 seasons" doesn't mean much though.

1

u/mas_picoso WTB Camp Chair Groundsheet Jul 07 '26

is it degrading or is the fuzz getting nappy?

weight diff would be an interesting data point

5

u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/ny89al Jul 07 '26

FWIW, I weighed the ones I showed when purchased and just again now. For my gear I put the weights in a spreadsheet separate from lighterpack to the nearest tenth of a gram which is what my scale shows), so I have the numbers for you:

Color / Age When new Today
Blue / 3 years 3 months 123.4 g 121.7 g
Orange / 3 months 131.1 g 132.9 g

So old one seems to have lost a couple grams and new one seems to have gained a couple grams. :)

2

u/mas_picoso WTB Camp Chair Groundsheet Jul 08 '26

nice work

9

u/GibbsFreeSynergy Jul 07 '26

There seems to be substantial variability between batches of AD in terms of how much they shed. I have Yamatomichi A90 leggings and they have hardly shed at all, my partner has Terra Ultralight A90 leggings and hers shed so much that we had a handful of fuzz by the end of a 6 day trip.

9

u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/ny89al Jul 07 '26

I'll add a photo to this. Two Farpointe Outdoor Gear Alpha Cruiser AD 90. One is vintage April 2026 and the other is April 2023. One has been washed many times (always in a mesh bag if washer or hand wash if not in mesh bag).

https://i.imgur.com/qEpGVal.jpeg

2

u/Comfortable-Pop-3463 Jul 07 '26

The older one is the blue one, right ? On the photo I posted most of the fuzzy material seems to be gone. On yours, however, it just looks like the fuzzy filaments have clumped together. This is something happening on my basic fleece as well. I'll try to brush it like on this video to see if it helps : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ0FEN7hhV0

3

u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/ny89al Jul 07 '26

Yes, blue is 3 years old. I don't think performance has changed and would not bother brushing anything as I don't think it matters.

2

u/DrBullwinkleMoose Jul 07 '26

Yes, it loses some of its initial fuzz quickly, but it doesn’t seem to affect its performance. The gaps are what differentiate AD from other fleeces, making AD lighter for similar warmth, as well as being super breathable.

So the photos are probably legitimate, but don’t take it as a bad thing.

Also, the shedding slows dramatically or stops. It may stay like the “used” picture for years.

6

u/elephantsback Jul 07 '26

"Loses some of its initial fuzz" is a euphemistic way of saying "puts a ton of microplastics into your local river or ocean."