I've worn a LOT OF FLEECE! These are my favourites

Fleece has been an essential part of my kit for YEARS. In this video we take a trip down memory lane and look at some of my favourites.

My Store

*🔗 VIDEO LINKS:*

Patagonia R Series

Patagonia Pullover Hoodie

Macpac Fleece

[tomsitzman]

I've been on a long outdoor journey, going back to when I was three years old. In my 83 years I have seen a lot of changes and learned a lot about keeping warm as well as keeping cool and understanding being confrontable in high energy activities kayak and canoe touring, voyager canoe (26 feet long 5 foot wide six person) snow shoeing, x country skiing, bike touring, running, hunting and fishing, backpacking. As well as guiding trips. I live in a place where it can be -20F and two weeks later 55F. Where the wind never stops blowing and the weather man says, Tomorrow the winds will die down to 20mph. The summers are 95-100F with a few days reaching 110F to 120F with high humidity. I end up with not a lot of clothing in my closet, but enough to cover the spectrum. As a kid in the fifties winter outdoor clothing was flannel pajama tops and bottoms under a wool sweater and cotton jeans. By the late 60's I could get better wool sweaters and wind breakers and the best thing ever, Fishnet tops and bottoms from Scandanavia under a wool sweater and a wind breaker, and Down jackets were a thing. By the early 1970 I discovered an outdoor coop in Seattle Washington that had a mail catalog, and I was on my way to putting modern outdoor gear together. The flannel PJ's were gone. Hunting boots were replaced by hiking boots. Backpacks from Germany were on my families backs along with light weight tents. The hot new thing was plastic clothing better known as Poly Pro Fleece was what to wear and I wore a lot of it since my wife worked in an outdoor shop and the employee discount was too good to pass up. The wool went to the back of the closet replaced on a cold day with three zippered layers of fleece. Fast forward to 2025. The poly pro is now in the back of the closet and the wool has moved back to the front. I realized that instead of wearing three layers each with one temperature range that my wool has a 5 F to 15F degree temperature range. By wearing my base layer of fish net once again with a weight merino mid layer and a second base layer of alpaca wool mid weight sweater, an alpaca stocking cap and an over the butt wind breaker today I took a comfortable two hour walk at -16F (-28 C ) wind chill with no need for zippers to adjust my body temperature, the mammal fibers did the regulation. Everything old is new again.

[banditbaker]

Thanks, that was fascinating👍👍
I must admit that I am addicted to wearing fleeces just about all the time, the combination of lightweight, warmth and ease of use is unbeatable. I also like to wear them around the house, which can be an issue because my cats enjoy making biscuits on them. So I have to have two ranges the technical fleeces for outdoors and cheap & cheerful for indoors.

[Neofolis]

I have fleeces from Arc'Teryx, Mammut, Haglofs, Fjallraven and others. Overall my favourite has been the Haglofs Heron, which they no longer do, because, for my uses, it is the most versatile, but it's important to get a fleece that fits your activities.

[mjod]

Great video! I'm currently wearing the Arc'teryx Kyanite lightweight fleece. This one is made with Arc's homebrew fleece, while its heavier Kyanite sibling is made with Polartec. Tried them both in the store and the lightweight is the one that suits me best because I run hot and because it is so insanely soft on skin.

[mikekelly]

I agree the old r1 hood pullover is one of my favorites. The R1 next to the skin and a light softshell is my go-to for cold-weather rock climbing but is often too warm for hiking uphill. My most used is the North Face Future Fleece light pullover hoody(octayard) which is about a 1/3 the weight of the R1 and maybe 1/2 the warmth. It dries faster than the r1 and paired with softshell give me the right warmth for a wide range of temps.

For colder days the Moutain Equipment Kinesis jacket is amazing. About the same weight as R1 but somehow is warmer, breathes better, fries faster, and blocks the wind.

[a.w.thompson]

First video I've seen by you. Really liked the history and comparison. Watched your fleece shootout inspired by comment on this and then subscribed.

[manuelilic]

In my naive early mountain hiking days, I wore jeans, a cotton T-shirt, a wool sweater, and a thick synthetic winter jacket. Now I've bought all the fancy gear that breaks my bank account – but I like it. 😀

[michaelbutler]

Good video. I lent a friend of mine, who was not an outdoors person, a fleece jacket and vest for a trip to Canberra and when he came back he was pretty quiet. A few days later he told me that he got too close to the fire on his trip. There wasn’t much of it left when he handed it back. Seems that an ember drifted onto it and the rest was history. He came out of the incident unscathed but the jacket and vest certainly didn’t.

[aussiehiker]

Hi Mowser, I was looking at both nitro and the R1 myself for a bit there and i was going to buy the R1 because i was concerned about snagging with the Nitro. But then i went to Macpac and saw the Prothermal Fleece Top (found in thermals) and it's so so so soooo good. It's very versatile and small enough to pack as an extra layer. Very comfortable on bare skin which is what its designed for.
Ill often use it in tandem with my Macpac Trail Long Sleeve Hooded TShirt or my Smartwool merino sun hoodie but it may not be enough for the colder Tassie adventures.

[Jonas_Husu]

Dude you should be a much larger channel. Your content is amazing and super high quality. Keep grinding man. Ps. I also love fleece.

[mattallengroupatREAL]

The R1 Air is probably the best fleece ever made.

[DimEstxx]

I can't find the Paddy Pallin inferno fleece anywhere

[jberry]

First video of yours I've watched, amazing video! Will definitely be watching more. You'll blow up soon mate!

[johnanderson]

I bought a Patagonia R2 over a year ago and it is brilliant. I used it in horrid conditions on Mount Anne. As you've mentioned, it is really good at repelling and wicking away moisture. It kept me warm and dry! Note that it is best used as a technical alpine fleece; it's no good in the Tassie scrub. When I went off track and hooked some Scoparia, I put a hole in it straight away.

[dlc]

I have fleece that's 30 years old or more and it still keeps me warm. A few pieces stay at home now and they're only worn on cold winter nights. As investments go, this is the Rolls-Royce of clothing.

[gunnar]

Nice vid thanks. Definitely deserve more subs, very comfortable presentation good info clear.

[bobmarley]

Fantastic reviews... I'm from the UK you need to try some Paramo gear... You'll me impressed I'm sure....

[artysa.blackwood]

You are missing out my friend, you have to try the R1 air and the R2 techface.

[jamesb]

Give Alpha direct a go. The Macpac Nitro is pretty easy to get hold of. I’m a Tassie hiker and find I use it all the time except off track. Its breathability, warmth to weight and extreme hydrophobic nature is what sets it apart. It also complements a wind jacket for a really versatile layering system.

[explorethebush]

Heaps of great technical detail in this video, I learned something! Actually it prompted a cheeky R2 Techface purchase :)