REI Polartec Thermal Pro Weight & Warmth

I didn't see any on their site but you want something lore akin to fur, hair or pile rather than just a smooth face or pilled. Look at any R2 or Monkey Fur any that is what you want.

weighs over 14oz. very heavy for what it is.

the powerstretch is lighter (around 8oz) without the handwarmer pockets. i would just cut the sleeves off a target c9 fleece and be done with it for $8.99

It is heavy. Nice for cold wet weather though and tough. Look for the military ECWCS Gen III Level 3 fleece. Same stuff for much less.

Now that I think about it, the Level 3 fleece is thermal pro high loft. Like R3 vs R2. For the record, the military version is 20oz in a large/long size.

Thermal Pro High Loft would be slightly more efficient than Thermal Pro, but I think the ECWCS Gen III Level 3 fleece is not High Loft either.

Anyway, he wanted a vest. I don't see why the REI vest should be heavier than expected for Thermal Pro, unless there is something unusually heavy about the pocket lining.

On Sierra Trading Post, I see
Kenyon High-Loft Polartec Fleece Pullover
Kenyon Polartec High-Loft Fleece Vest
which appear to be contructed of Polartec Thermal Pro High Loft and relatively minimalistic.

Also on Sierra Trading Post are some Mammut Loft fleeces which appear to be constructed of a High Loft clone.

I bought a REI Thermal Pro vest from the outlet when it was a deal-of-the-day a while back; the 20% should get it close to that low price. Completely worth it, in my opinion.

My men's medium comes in on my scale at exactly 10.0 oz.

It's definitely a little "overbuilt" with a #5 zipper, elastic banding at the armholes and the pockets. The pockets are simple, do not have zippers and are "floating" (n the jacket's inside, they are sewn on the sides + bottom only so that they make an inner pocket too). I thought about cutting out the pockets, but I actually like having hand-warmer pockets. There's not much to cut, unless you really go to town on the pockets and sew up the pocket opening.

I bought it to take on spring dayhikes, when it there might be rain. I have a synthetic 60g vest (Arc'Teryx Atom) which is VERY nicely made but just not really that warm. The Thermal Pro feels warmer.

One really nice thing about a vest like this is it does not need to be handled carefully the way some ultralight-fabric down & synthetic vests might need to be. I think this is going to be a really useful piece and a great for the price.

Thanks a ton for the replies everyone! Especially the weight, I was really looking for that.

I'd say $30 for a "brand name" (so to speak) fleece vest is a pretty good deal. However I would need a large meaning I'm probably going to be pushing 11-12 oz…

I wonder how light a target flesh-wound special would be…

I would mainly just use this when I stop moving on my hikes to keep my core warm while I make camp, filter water, eat lunch, etc. I'll have my thin down parka for sitting/sleeping in.

I might still pick up the REI vest for day hikes, but with how much I've dropped on gear since I picked up UL (P.S. Gear Swap is the best thing ever) I would feel pretty stupid lugging around a fleece vest that was nearly half the weight of my contrail.