Superior Fleece Alpha Direct hoody

Tjaard, how are the hoods? I bought a Brule last autumn and the hood is too short and the opening at the neck too wide. The result is that it tents out at the sides when up, which is not a big deal unless wearing a pack. Pack straps trap and depress the sides of the hood, which shortens it so much that it pulls down on the top of my head, compressing my neck. I’m not able to wear it backpacking for this reason.

I notified Superior Fleece about this and got a very, very nice reply from Eben, but it didn’t sound like this issue was resolved yet, and maybe would not be until later this year when they get a chance to tweak the pattern for the hoody.

But perhaps they already have fixed the issue? Have you worn yours with a pack?

Have been wearing my Brule 90 a lot. Apart from the hood, Superior Fleece has made a great sweater. The fit and cut are pretty much perfect, for me at least. Generous in shoulders and chest and slim through the torso. Fits easily over a base layer and nicely under a windshell. Alpha Direct has a little stretch and Superior Fleece have made good use of it.

Wore it this week for several hikes at 5-10F moving at around 4.5 METS. Very comfortable combined with merino T and wind shirt.

I found the hood to be plenty tall, and that’s unusual for me, I have a super tall neck, so usually hoods end up pulling down over my eyes!

But, mine is a custom size, so maybe my hood is taller than standard?

The opening at the neck is wide. I get a cold neck a lot, so always wear zipneck layers, never crew, so this is not my preference. I will add a small button and string loop to pull it closed underneath my chin.

The opening needs to be big to pull it easily on and off, so I don’t see how that could be changed.