I have used an old style (mid 2000s) Rab vapour rise hooded smock on top of a brynje mesh t-shirt + hooded base and under a hardshell, sometimes with a thin nano-puff style gilet or jacket under the hardshell. Generally my mid layer goes on quite late so it's not something I'm concerned about being too warm for the walk in.
The vapour rise is about 400 grammes, bulky and pretty knackered and I'm looking for a (preferably lighter and smaller packing) replacement. I've looked at the ME kinesis and Rab VR summit and those tick a lot of boxes but they're both a bit baggy around the waist, quite bulky and they don't do a smock (although smocks seem to be out of fashion along with salopettes so I might have to compromise on the zip or get something and replace it with a shorter zip.
Does anyone have any recommendations to look at? I run cold and don't sweat much. It's rare my midlayer goes on before my harness or for walking in but its nice if it's not a sweat bomb in case I need to wear it for longer. I find the fleecy interior of the likes of the vapour rise and kinesis work well but it's also bulky to pack and heavy and I have thought about using a thicker base layer with a primaloft insulation layer instead but haven't come across anything. Interested in what other people use or find works well.