Best Lightweight Fleece?

[Dalton Cooper]

Not necessarily a necessity, but I love bringing and hiking in a lightweight fleece top, especially during the cold and rainy mornings in late fall/early spring in the South. Also sleeping in a fleece is super-soft and cozy, which is an added bonus.

While back at home, I accidentally melted my longtime Eddie Bauer hiking fleece stirring chili over my parents’ gas stove and am having a hard time finding a lightweight fleece that’s not crazily expensive. Love the idea of a Patagonia Micro D, Montbell Chameece, or North Face TKA 100 but would prefer to avoid spending $60 on a fleece. Any advice on a sub-$30 fleece that weighs 8-9 ounces and is cozy and well-made?

[Brad P]

This Old Navy fleece was recently on sale for $20 so I got one for my son.  Under $30 greatly limits your option.

[Brad Rogers]

Try Lands End.  I have a 100wt Fleece from them that is 8.8oz in a Men’s Large and it’s even made from real Polartec Fleece.  I think I paid $18 for it four years ago.

[BlackHatGuy]

If you don’t care about the color, you can find North Face TKA 100 fleeces for around $35 on Amazon. You just have to choose your size and click through the colors, as they aren’t all the same price.

[W I S N E R !]

Last season I picked up a Fila Polartech fleece pullover from Costco for $10.

Pretty sure it’s this one:

I promptly cut off the sleeves, recycled the fabric, and turned it into a hooded vest.

[Dalton Cooper]

Hmmm, gotcha. Does anyone have experience with some of the pricier options I mentioned (or didn’t)? Since I’m more or less content with all my other gear, splurging on a nicer fleece could be a solid use of my REI dividend…

[Link .]

These are very nice (different sizes and colors are different prices)my friend owns several

. Craghoppers Selby Half Zip .

[Geoff Caplan]

Take a look at the Rab Alpha Flash. It’s made of an innovative Polartec Alpha fabric that wicks like a champ and gives better warmth for weight than an equivalent fleece. I’m finding it very impressive.

Full retail price is a bit unjustifiable given that a generic conventional fleece works pretty well. But if you’re not too fussy about colour there are some big discounts around.

[Ken Thompson]

Eddie Bauer. Picked up a 1/4 zip for $18 at the outlet.

[Graham F]

“splurging on a nicer fleece could be a solid use of my REI dividend…” for what it’s worth Dalton, save your money, I reckon a fleece is a fleece. Some are heavy some are light. Some are brands and you pay for that.

Try the White Sierra Bas Az (160g/m) 1/4 zip on Amazon 210 grams in medium. Buy the colour no-one wants and sometimes $12! I bought 4 to Australia. Excellent quality.

Or go the KIUIU Peleton/Mountain (120gm-130g/m) fit 150 grams in Large. Big difference in price tho’.

Search Peleton in the BPL search for lot’s of peoples comments including mine if you are interested in paying more and getting an ethereal UL fleece. Cheers.

[JP]

+1 KUIU Peloton. Very nice, if you have the means.

[Matthew / BPL]

What Doug said. I <3 my TNF TKA and they are not hard to find on sale.

[Ryan Jordan]

I’m a huge fan of double-faced fleeces – higher warmth:weight ratio than some of the more techie fabrics. My favorite is the Patagonia MIcro D, which I made some comments about here (#10).

[John S.]

I like my montbell vest and jacket for backpacking only since they are a snug sport fit. They are over 50 bucks though.

[Rob P]

I agree with Ryan…I tried to save some money on some North Face TKA’s that I found for $26, but the fleece was very flat and packed out.  The Micro D fleece is always fluffy…just wait for them to go on sale.

[Brad Rogers]

Real Polartec Fleece is better than the generic fleece.  I know the North Face TKA100 and Mountain Hardwear Microchill Lite used to use Polartec Fleece, but I think they have both changed to generic fleece. Patagonia still uses Polartec brand fleece.

[JCH]

What Brad said. Cheap fleece is just that…pills easily and gets thin after many washes.  Buy quality (polartec) and enjoy it for a long time.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I found one today at my local thrift shop. Columbia. The quarter zipper is broken but I can fix the zipper. Since it’s used I know it won’t pill up because it hasn’t.

[Link .]

The Eddie Bauer fleece(like Ken mentioned) uses polartec fleece, I own both an Eddie Bauer and the Patagonia Micro D and they look and feel the same to me, the Eddie Bauer ones go on sale especially at the end of the season and is a great bargain for the quality.

[BlackHatGuy]

“Patagonia still uses Polartec brand fleece.”

On the Patagonia website for the Micro D it doesn’t mention Polartec at all, but seems to infer that Patagonia makes their own fleece from recycled plastic bottles and such (and have since ’93), from what I can tell.

[Brad Rogers]

I’m 99.9% sure the Micro D is Polartec Classic 100 but you could ask Patagonia to be sure.

[BlackHatGuy]

They are listed as a brand who uses Polartec on the Polartec site, so maybe I’m just misunderstanding the Patagonia site. Mountain Hardwear and North Face are also listed, as well as a whole bunch of other companies (including the Postal Service and all four military services. :-)

[AlpineIce]

I got the Arc’teryx Konseal Zip fleece for Christmas and it’s fantastic.  Lightweight, super breathable and the men’s medium fits perfectly.  For cold multi-pitch days on ice, I pair it with a Nano-Air Light Hoody underneath my Alpha FL … Bingo!

[Brad W]

I would avoid the TKA 100 unless it’s older. The newer version are cheap and show wear extremely quickly. The older is much better-tighter fleece.

[Benny H]

I love my montbell chameece. Thinner than expected but one of my favorite jackets.

[Author]

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