"Best" Fleece Mid Layer

[Taxboy]

I've been thinking about getting a new fleece for this winter. To help me with my purchase can I call on the collective wisdom on this forum please.


My understanding is that  fleece material is all the same regardless of manufacturer So a Polatec 200 fleece from say Berghaus will have the same warmth as a 200 fleece from Mountain Equipment. Is this correct ? If it is are the only differences in the cut, quality of the zips and paying for the brand?


My second question is a 300 weight too hot to wear under a outer layer when out and about


Any advice appreciated

[richardh1905]

I doubt that there is much difference in practice between a cheap manufacturer and a branded jacket; marginal at most. I bought a budget Craghoppers light fleece for less than £20 last year; perfectly happy with it, although I use something heavier in winter.


As for how hot; that very much depends upon the individual. And the conditions that you are out in.

[gunwharfman]

I've read lots of reviews about fleeces, the cheap ones seem to get as many 5 stars as the expensive ones. A few reviews on The Great Outdoors on line magazine, its free!I've never knowingly used a fleece on my hikes, although I do use a Berhaus full zip cardigan, I don't know if its a fleece?

I have two actual fleeces indoors, one is too warm, one is not bad, but I only use them now and again when I go to the pub. The common feature of both of them is, when there is no wind they work, when its windy they are useless, it just whistles straight through the fabric and I get cold quickly.

I've now solved this problem though, I bought a thin £14.99 windcheater from Decathlon and it works a treat! I just slip it over my fleece and from then on I'm warm as toast.

My preference when hiking is to use a long sleeved bamboo baselayer, a long sleeved shirt, possibly a synthetic jacket (from Alpkit) or my Berghaus cardigan, or both beneath my Decathlon windcheater.

[NeilC]

I can never tell any difference in their insulating value. I imagine quality differs in zips etc but I have Decathlon ones that cost £8 that seem to be lasting well too.


You can get different types of fleece like Paramo or pile types which are functionally different.


Hard to say how warm you'll be personally. I'd find 300gsm about as warm as I'd like to get and usually too warm under a windproof or waterproof in most weathers, when hill walking

[humansnail]

I've only ever used cheap fleeces and never really felt the need to go for a more expensive "name" one. My cheap craghoppers fleece has done the job for years.


Thin fleeces seem more useful than thicker ones to me. Thicker fleeces always make me too hot when walking and not warm enough when I stop. A cheap thin fleece and a cheap down jacket (decathlon etc) has been a decent combo for me. The thin fleece when walking on very cold days and stick the down jacket on when I stop.

[forgotmyoldpassword]

There is quite a difference with some 'types' of fabric.  100, 200, 300 'weight' reflects the rough warmth, and in general fleece is about half as warm as primaloft for the weight and a quarter as warm as down.


Polartec corner the market for the 'name' brand fleeces with their range of Grid/Windstopper/etc for specialist use - but for the weekend walking (as someone who owns all types) is there a huge difference?  Not really.  'Grid' is meant to be warmer against your skin due to creating pockets of air and transfers moisture quickly, windstopper is great for a 'mid layer' you may want to wear as an outer in cold conditions for high breathability (Paramo make one of these) and power stretch seems to be a combination between high wicking and a high amount of elastane, with thermal pro being their heavier version.  Other manufacturers seem to have their own named equivalents to these.


But in real terms many hugely experienced walkers love a 100/200 weight fleece in their pack.  Doesn't degrade much when wet, can be layered, doesn't break or have parts which de-laminate with time etc and stands up better to abuse than 'lofting' products.


I will say though, after buying a lot of different types - I really like a winter fleece with a hood, ideally a full zip and (if possible) pit zips - winter fleeces can get a bit toasty under the arms if working hard on ascents so I find opening these along with the jacket pit zips lets you use the same fleece in autumn as well as winter.


Lots more companies are producing merino mid-layers now however, with the whole environmental impact fleece has (hundreds of thousands of microplastics pieces every wash) this may end up becoming more normal for a winter mid layer in the future.


As for the 'best winter fleece' - is it for walking around town, doing a low level weekend hike or for Scottish winter use when it's freezing and it's blowing a gale?    Lot of it comes down to how much you want to spend.

[fernman]

Well I'm glad someone (the previous poster) has got around to explaining about different weights and types of fleece.
My experience of lower-end-of-the-market fleece, be it jacket, pullover or hat, is that the wind absolutely zaps through it. Give me a blindfold test in outdoor conditions between a budget fleece and something like my Lowe Alpine Aleutian and I'm confident I would easily feel the difference.
And GWM, don't go by what you read in TGO, magazine reviews rarely criticise anything too heavily!

[Taxboy]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll look at a budget 200 equivalent fleece as it's simply going under a shell. I looked at the RAB double pile and thought it effectively was an outer layer, for which IMO there are better options