100 weight fleece, full zip, chest and hand pockets? Any suggestions?

So, I now have the Marmot Reactor 2.0  Fleece Men’s XL. IT’S PERFECT!

Mine weighs around 13 ounces in XL, which is about as light as a jacket like this can be with full pockets and full zips. I still have to all a hem cord, but that takes 30 seconds at most to cut little holes and thread a thin cord through. The older model is sort of junk I think, as I find having any sort of solid face fabric on top of fleece ruins the core abilities of fleece.

Although, I am not sure if I would be so stoked if I had paid full price, which is over $100. I probably would have looked at others first.

I hope not too many people fall for the hype around other styles of fleece, at least in terms of ultimate warmth to weight ratio and performance in wet conditions. I feel too many people might be tempted by the fancy zig zag fleece from Patagonia in the R1. I found the R1 didn’t have adequate stretch for layering insulation under it, and the open mesh style fleece areas let in weather and wind too easily to work effectively in wet or windy conditions. It’s a very specific piece of gear that isn’t as versatile as Polartec Classic 100, in my opinion.

It would be interesting to compare the Chameece  and the Marmot Reactor 2.0 (the 1.0 sucked, IMO). The Chameece 9.7oz weight is likely for the medium size, so XL would probably weigh a couple ounces more. Looking at my Marmot, I can’t find any place on it where weight could be dropped without going to too-fragile zippers or using a lighter fabric. After cutting the massive bundle of tags off my Marmot it actually weighs at 12.6 ounces. Based on full retail price though, I would be all over trying the Chameece first if making the decision again. My only beef with everything Marmot makes is that they sewn their giant logo into the worst places. LOL

Also, as a side pro tip, always add an elastic hem cord to your fleece jackets. Closing off the bottom makes a big difference sometimes, especially in an emergency situation where one needs to stuff it with vegetation or gear to stay warm. (I’ve done this)