Fuzzy fleece question

[Buddha]

Hiya guys,

I've got a question for you all. I've been looking to buy me another mid-layer. I've seen and tried this really nice looking fleece jackets. They are kind of fuzzy on the outside (surface/texture), almost like som kind of short hair standing out of them... Most of them are made of Polartec Thermal Pro. They've got Polartec Thermal Stretch on the sides. Really nice looking and according to the staff at the shops they bind air really good as well as ventilate moisture.

I've seen brands like Haglöfs, Tierra, The North Face and Arc'Teryx but I am sure there are plenty of other brands around if I just shop around a bit...

Does anyone own these jackets/sweaters and can give me some advice on them, except that they look really good and feel good in the shop. How are they in reality, out there on the mountain?

I've attached a pic of one so that you can see what I mean by fuzzy surface/texture.

[7summits]

I Bought a cheap Lowe Alpine one in Anchorage, it had the best warmth to weight ratio of all my jackets. The 'fur' or hairs catch a lot more air than regular fleece and are therefore warmer. It performed great on Aconcagua and some other mountains as a light but warm mid layer.


You do need a windstopper/bloc or Goretex layer on top as these fur jackets have 0% windproofness and are bloody cold without outer layer 


The North Face has some nice ones in this year's collection.

[Buddha]

Yeah, I was planning to use it as a mid-layer. I've got a few hardshells... Trying to switch from Haglöfs attire to Arc'Teryx. Right now I'm still proudly striding around in my Arc'Teryx Theta AR jacket looking like a million bucks I wear the sucker everywhere!

[Ron]

If you what the lightest, most compressable, warmest fleece then there is only 1 answer.

Regulator fleece.   It comes in R0.5,R1, R2, R3, R4

It has the best warm to weight ratio.
Initially invented bye Patagonia but now in use by Haglofs too
The Jacket Harry bought in Anchorage is lowe alpine R2. Very good price but not as nice and high tech as patagonia or haglofs.

For examples look at Patagonia Alpine fur, Haglofs Siberia jct

[Buddha]

Well, Haglöfs Syberia is one of the jackets I've looked at. It uses the same material (Polartec Thermal Pro and Stretch) so as long as the jacket is made of the same material there shouldn't really be a big difference between the different brands now would there?

I rather buy an Arc'Teryx or TNF then Haglöfs... moneywise they don't differ at all

[Ron]

Offcourse the base material is the same. But the way it is sewn and made into a garment can be very different. Also the use of stretch panels on the RIGHT places and cut makes it ware confortable...or not. Thats the big differance between brands

[Buddha]

What about the TNF Denali Thermal jacket? Isn't that a fuzzy fleece? Is that good for mid-layer use? How does it compare to the rest of these?

[Ron]

yup its a nice jct. Only thing is the fit. Its made for somewhat thick americans and not for athletes like me