Are fancy expedition fleece jackets wort h the $$$?

“If so, why?
And which ones are worth it?”

“i have the mtn hardware windstopper tech..

absolutely friggin love it....i will never give it up...i wear it to sleep in, and in the shower.”

“Beyond Fleece is some of the finest gear I have seen. I have been working in the "industry" in one way or another for years. I either pay wholesale, get pro deals or free gear. The ONLY piece of gear I own that I paid full retail for is my Beyond Fleece and I'm planing to buy more.

It's not just the quality, it's the fact that you decide what options you want, what you want it to be made of and it's custom made to your exact size. Woman in particular will find having clothing made to order and made to fit is worth the additional cost.

I had my winter pants made a little shorter and tighter fitting around the calf, so they would layer and fit better under my gaiters. I had them add a second bellows pocket so I could have a place to store my gloves. A buddy of mine is an ice climber and he added a thumb loop to the sleeves so his jacket would stay put. Another partner of mine is 5'2", she finally has pants that are the right length and still fit her hips.

Yea, it costs more, but sometimes you get what you pay for.”

“I have a very good Mountain Hardwear, 15 or so years old now. My 19 year old just stole it from me. Very good investment. Like pit zips, high collar and nylon elbow patches.”

“I have the Mtn Hardware Windstopper Tech as well. Black and Gray matches the alpine muck perfectly! J/K, but it is a great fleece, pit zips, high waist pockets, non abrasion elbows and shoulders and a draw cord waist. Damm I sound like an advertisment! My fav peice of tech clothing.”

“I always look at the material it's made out of. For example, I always look for the Polartec label in the jacket and the weight of the fleece. I have a few Campmor jackets made out of Polartec that I like just as much as my North Face jackets. For me, the material is important because that way I know if I'm getting quality or not. There is a store near where I live, and SuperTroll knows what I'm talking about because it's his favorite store, and it's called Unclaimed Baggage. I go in there and look through all the fleece clothing and look for the Polartec label. Sometimes you get lucky and can get a nice polartec jacket for less than ten bucks.

I also have a Columbia all-weather soft shell jacket that I used a few weeks ago in Virginia on a week long AT section hike. It's my new favorite jacket. It's not as bulky as fleece but just as warm...windproof...and waterproof too. Everytime I wear it I get comments from people saying how nice it looks. Check out the soft shells too.”

“I don't pay a lot of $$$ for fleece but I do like it. 100 wgt for shirts. 200 weight for spring & fall. 3oo wgt for winter. I use an un-insulated parka over it in wind & for bad weather. In really cold weather, I'll bring my marmot goose down parka for breaks.”

“I prefer to layer. I usually take a light windbreaker, a 100 wgt fleece and/or a 200 or 300 wgt. depending on the weather.”

“i have a 200 wt fleece from campmor that i love, but this fall i tried on a mhw monkey jacket and i really liked it.”

“I lucked out last year and found an Arcteryx polartec thermal pro (Delta SV?) online for about 60 bucks... I think it was a returned item at Moosejaw... I just checked the current price and they sell for $200 w/o any discount!”

“Thanks for interesting posts. I've got a Moutnain hardwear fleece got at an REI used gear sale, but mostly I go for cheaper stuff of Polartec quality and use a Precip as a wind and rain stopping layer. I like to divide the layers up as much as possible for inctreased versatility.

Beyond fleece - however - does sound really good. I've heard several raves.”

“Fleece is just so dang heavy when compared to other insulators.”

“I just picked up a fairly nice polyester mock t-zip shirt from Old Navy that is kind of a smooth waffle weave on the outside with a super thin fleece on the inside. $24.00. I know it's going to stink to high hell the second time I wear it but it should wick well.”