Fleece Jackets
On the hunt for a fleece? The purpose of this guide was to explain what to look for, and that is exactly why it has lasted: fleece is one of the least changed pieces of outdoor clothing there is.
Weight is the only specification that really matters. Fleece is sold by fabric weight, roughly 100, 200 and 300. A 100-weight is a thin layer for moving in and packs to nothing. A 200 is the classic all-round fleece. A 300 is a camp and standing-around layer, too warm to walk in.
Most people should buy a 100 or a light grid fleece, which is the real shift since this was written. Grid-backed fleece breathes far better than solid pile for the same warmth, dries faster and layers under a shell without bulk, and it has largely replaced the old 200-weight as the default.
What fleece is good at: staying warm when damp, drying fast, and costing little. What it is bad at: wind, which goes straight through it, and packing small compared with down or synthetic insulation.
So where it sits in a modern kit list: as the mid layer you wear while moving, under a shell. For sitting still in the cold, a light down or synthetic jacket packs smaller and is warmer for the weight. Many people carry both and use the fleece far more often.
One thing worth knowing that was not discussed in 2007: fleece sheds microplastic fibres in the wash. Washing it less often, on cool, in a mesh laundry bag reduces that considerably, and fleece genuinely does not need washing as often as people wash it.
Part of the guide to clothing and layers.