When it comes to buying outdoor gear for Adventure Treks (or even for a personal trip), there’s nothing more daunting than trying to decipher every obscure label, material, fabric, and technology that comes with buying even the simplest outdoor item these days.
But Adventure Treks is here to help! This spring, we’re launching our Gear Series: Tips for Buying Outdoor Gear. We’ll discuss some of the materials, technologies, labels, and other features commonly found on outdoor equipment, and attempt to clarify their meaning, use, and how they’re helpful on an AT trip.
What is fleece? Especially if you live in a warm climate, that’s a great question. Despite being a staple of any outdoor packing list, this product is often poorly defined. The title “fleece” is applied to such a wide-ranging variety of products that it can be difficult to know what to actually purchase.
Fleece is simply a fabric: a soft, fuzzy material made from processed or recycled plastic or polyester or other synthetic fibers. These fibers are processed until they are soft enough to weave into fabric, which is then “brushed” to create the fluffy texture that we would recognize as fleece. The finished product resembles sheep’s wool, from which it gets its name.
A fleece layer is a must-have for many different outdoor settings, including all Adventure Treks trips. Until synthetic fabrics (and merino wool, the soft, fine weave that most of today’s products use) hit the market, the staple outdoor non-cotton material was wool because of the warmth it provided and its natural oils that would help retain its warmth when wet. The downside to the wool of old (and the reason for the emergence of merino fabrics): They were bulky, heavy, and sometimes retained a lot of odors.
Nowadays, fleece is a staple in most households. Because it’s a synthetic or made-from-recycled-plastic fabric, its thick network of fine fibers provide insulation while remaining lightweight. And because plastic doesn’t absorb moisture, it retains its insulative properties when wet. Plus, fleece tends to be less expensive than wool. Jackpot!
In the fleece world, “warmth” and “weight” are fairly intertwined: To talk about one is to talk about the other. Fleece descriptions often include terms like heavyweight, midweight, or lightweight. This refers to the fabric’s thickness, its actual weight, and how warm it’ll keep a person. (You may also see the term “pile”; this refers to fabric with loops, strands, or tufts of yarn standing up, resembling the fluffy bath mat material.)
If your Adventure Treks packing list says to bring two fleeces, one of them can be lightweight. If it just lists one fleece, you’ll want to pack a midweight.
For more information fleece jacket wholesalers, please get in touch with us!