Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Good quality fleece jacket?

Don't go cheap, you'll spend more in the long run. Most of them never fit right, the zippers break etc. You ain't gonna find a business you agree with 100%. Buy what you want and don't worry about where they stand on issues. 99% of the time any other choice is just as bad, you just don't know it.

LLBean makes decent stuff. This is windproof, but less breathable.


https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/123...archTerm=fleece%20jacket%20men&pos=7

Another good one. Breathable

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/127...archTerm=fleece%20jacket%20men&pos=9

If you want a really light fleece jacket the Columbia jackets are good enough for the money. They aren't very warm, but not everyone needs a heavier jacket.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/columbia-steens-mountain-full-zip-fleece-20-jacket-for-men

REI carries good stuff and their prices are comparable. If you're a member you get 10% dividends back every spring. Spend $500 in the store in one year and you get $50 off anything the next year. Plus twice a year I get 20% off anything in the store. But their store brand stuff is spotty. I tried one of their fleece jackets and the fit wasn't right.

Zippers are the early demise of many items of clothing. If the zipper just separates, you can often fix it by simply squeezing the slide slightly with needle nose pliers. If the teeth start coming apart, it needs a new zipper. Often you can find a seamstress who does custom work who can replace it for a low fee. Getting a matching color is a big problem so you might have to be content with black.

^^^^^^^ This.

All very true. That’s why I purposely try to avoid zippers and prefer buttons.

I'm agreeing with Geno wool. Fleece is ok for around town! Camping, not with campfires. One big old tamarack ember hits, at the speed of light, and melts a hole in the coat. Observed this first hand. A nephew standing next to the fire, talking to his dad, an an ember about the size of a silver dollar, popped out and tagged the coat, heart shot. At least it self healed the edges 😎!!

I might have picked a different name for this one haha https://swazi.co.nz/products/ophv?variant=43299359326393

I may have to try that as Asbell wool... looks tempting..

Swazi is great gear. I have a few pieces from them, including a fleece jacket from which I have had years of excellent service.

Another good Kiwi brand is Stoney Creek https://www.stoneycreek.co.nz . Between me and the family we have a fair bit of their gear too.

The Kiwis seem to make some of the best hunting/fishing clothing. Perhaps because of the weather they get there.

Could be I'm retarded but couldn't easily track down the wool content or fabric weight on the site - any insight Pard?

Lined or straight wool?

I have a bunch of fleece jackets but the best one is from Mountain Hardwear. It has a windproof membrane but isn’t noisy. It also has pit zips so you can ventilate as you warm up to avoid perspiring. I have a Beretta branded jacket that is pretty much identical to the Mountain Hardwear except for the color and the label - I suspect they likely came off the same assembly line @ Mountain Hardwear.

After Columbia jumped on the bubba Wallace bandwagon when he found a noose in Talladega I will never buy another Columbia product.

I like the Pendleton shirts and jackets.

Undershirt/thermal and a thick Pendleton Wool Shirt can get thru most cold conditions.

Toss a down sleeveless vest on top if it really gets cold with some wool gloves.

You're not retarded. Seems the website has changed since I last was on it a few years back. I think they used to put the wool weight and makeup on the page if you clicked on a particular item. I poked around a bit and see that the Olive Drab Anorak is 29oz according to that individual page

I think another one of the Anoraks was sherpa lined as I was scrolling through some.

Last time I deal with them, years ago, it was easy enough to get answers by contacting them. They might still be that way. As I mentioned, I didn't want a hood, did want the zipper version, and Teresa fixed me up. I also bought a larger vest to keep in the pack and put over the jacket if the weather changed and it got colder.

Right on, I'll drop them a line. Thank you.

You're welcome and good luck

Is there another type of vest?
😂😂

I hope Teresa keeps the company up and running after the passing of G. Fred earlier this year.

That was sad news for me. He was my inspiration for getting into traditional bowhunting back in the 1980's, and the best bowyer out there.

Pair it with some ass less chaps.....

Fleece jackets need a poly liner to get on and off without turning them inside out.