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Wool vs fleece jackets
- Thread starter Fuori
- Start date
For high exertion activities, I prefer fleece under a windproof shell with big pit zips. Because fleece is the opposite of windproof, venting the outer shell allows me to dump heat quickly without taking off my pack.
For day long hikes in hypothermia weather of mid 30s and rain, polyester underwear, polyester pile and a waterproof/breathable shell is my go-to combination.
The big problem I have with fleece/pile is mounting evidence of micro-plastic pollution accumulating in the food chain of the oceans.
Wool sweaters may be wear I move to next. But they are heavy and wear faster.
I still use a traditional wool jacket for hunting. It is more windresistant than fleece and it is quieter in brush than nylon.
The choice depends non what I'm doing.
For day long hikes in hypothermia weather of mid 30s and rain, polyester underwear, polyester pile and a waterproof/breathable shell is my go-to combination.
The big problem I have with fleece/pile is mounting evidence of micro-plastic pollution accumulating in the food chain of the oceans.
Wool sweaters may be wear I move to next. But they are heavy and wear faster.
I still use a traditional wool jacket for hunting. It is more windresistant than fleece and it is quieter in brush than nylon.
The choice depends non what I'm doing.
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- May 13, 2015
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Hi. I generally apply the onion concept 
for outdoor clothing when hiking. I have a first layer in contact with my skin that is either a long or short sleeved light polyester garment, then the mid layer is a polyester fleece/pile with a wind-stopper membrane. Third outer layer is a Gore-Tex shell with thermo-sealed stitching. I put on and off the different garments, depending on walking, standing, altitude reached, weather changing, etc. The good thing is my polyester clothing really never gets wet/damp and provide good insulation and warmth. True, it can be tricky when sitting close to open camp-fires! Never happened to me that they are catching fire like a torch , but I ended up having some tiny holes due to sparks, mainly produced when wood is wet. Currently I wear a Salewa gore-tex jacket and generally wear Haglofs/Berghaus fleeces.
for outdoor clothing when hiking. I have a first layer in contact with my skin that is either a long or short sleeved light polyester garment, then the mid layer is a polyester fleece/pile with a wind-stopper membrane. Third outer layer is a Gore-Tex shell with thermo-sealed stitching. I put on and off the different garments, depending on walking, standing, altitude reached, weather changing, etc. The good thing is my polyester clothing really never gets wet/damp and provide good insulation and warmth. True, it can be tricky when sitting close to open camp-fires! Never happened to me that they are catching fire like a torch , but I ended up having some tiny holes due to sparks, mainly produced when wood is wet. Currently I wear a Salewa gore-tex jacket and generally wear Haglofs/Berghaus fleeces.The issue isn't crystal clear from what I've read but as I understand it, small bits of polyester go down the drain when you wash fleece and adds to growing accumulation of micro plastics that are showing up in marine creatures.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics
I'm not getting rid of my fleece and pile yet but it's an issue I'm tracking. It may be that plant based synthetics break down better. Petroleum based, not so much.
Patsgonia did a review maybe 15 years ago on the impact of wool vs polyster/fleece and concluded its a wash (so to speak) as the processing of wool is pretty harsh.
No free lunch for the conscience. I try to buy as little as I need and upgrade very slowly. Less is better.
One would think but apparently the fabric sheds a large amount of "micro fibers" that are too small to see with the naked eye. These micro fibers are being found in all bodies of water and inside the stomachs of sea mammals and fish. Check the link I posted earlier in this thread.
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I have been choosing synthetic fleece over wool. Price is the main reason. Wool is just too dang expensive these days, and by carefully picking other products, I see at least a 95+% equivalence with wool.
What the USN's foul weather deck coats used to be lined with. I remember Dad's. Man that was a warm coat! Lasted him decades.
Firstly, there is much waste when recycling those soda bottles into fleece.
Secondly, finished fleece "sheds", so tiny threads of it go out the drain with the waste water when washing it. Thousands of fibers per washing. Researchers have found them in the sands of beaches all around the world and on every continent excepting Antarctica (and I'm not sure they looked there).
http://grist.org/living/2011-12-07-how-microplastics-cause-macro-problems-for-the-ocean/
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Codger_64
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Plastics have been in use over a hundred years and we are still here. If one eschews plastics, one cannot post on the internet or drive a car or carry much modern camping gear or wear shoes or eat any food which has been processed. The world will not end because people wear fleece jackets.
I've tried most everything except leather and everything is a compromise. For warmth and protection nothing touches fur and leather but that doesn't breathe very well and is very heavy and bulky. i used wool in the old days and ya it will insulate when wet but it's miserable stuff and the only benefit is that it won't melt and is burn resistant, within reason. and it smells but not as bad as any polyster will. i avoid it now except for a piece or two around the campsite and fires. Waterproof breathables are great from goretex when warm to dryloft when cold for membranes and if there is a danger of getting wet I like primaloft best. That does insuloate when wet and will dry while you wear it, eventually. But it's not down. There is a cotton that isn't suicidal to use in the wet that some people swear by, ventile, and I have used it for travel and hiking but not extended trips on the land or kayaking. British troops and hunters swore by it and a related mercurized high density cotton was used by Willis & geiger to equip all the old explorers from teddy roosevelt on. Personally, if you are going where it is c0ld and wet you are nuts to go in any cotton.
the search for a perfect material continues. i remember one rude lesson i was aught. One trip to the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories was my first in many years. So I got me a fancy new hitech pair of pants in "Schoeller' super stretch super abrasion super fast drying super breathable fabric. Sho' nuff the stuff was fantastic in all sorts of conditions, except for that funky smell after a week or so. But as we got down the river to the slower parts where the mosquitos can take down a moose or a small plane, i discovered the weak spot nobody mentioned: they're porous enough that mosquitos, black flies and horseflies can bite through them like you are naked. i had some very miserable hours before i could change. The bites lasted for days.
the search for a perfect material continues. i remember one rude lesson i was aught. One trip to the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories was my first in many years. So I got me a fancy new hitech pair of pants in "Schoeller' super stretch super abrasion super fast drying super breathable fabric. Sho' nuff the stuff was fantastic in all sorts of conditions, except for that funky smell after a week or so. But as we got down the river to the slower parts where the mosquitos can take down a moose or a small plane, i discovered the weak spot nobody mentioned: they're porous enough that mosquitos, black flies and horseflies can bite through them like you are naked. i had some very miserable hours before i could change. The bites lasted for days.
It's not so much eschewing plastic products as much as it is eschewing those plastic products known to slough off plastics which get into the food chain and pollute worldwide environments.
Patagonia's issue are PR related because of it's target audience. It's my understanding, however, that a significant percentage of the micro plastics found in the food chain and environments are from makeup, facial and body scrubs, and tooth paste.
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No one said it would. But many people want to offset their consumption/use of plastics since we all realize a life without plastic is relatively difficult these days. Moderation is a good thing.
Those are some of the contributors, but evidence is mounting pointing to a huge variety of sources including polyester fabrics. Given how plastic is made and sourced, it will be relatively impossible to target one group of users or products. We've all made the mess from the huge variety of plastics that we use. Pointing fingers is....well....pointless.
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We need add as little more as possible regardless of source, including fleece. Like I posted earlier they've found microfibers from fleece on beaches of every continent excepting Antarctica (not sure they've looked for it there). The problem is much greater than anyone's (or even everyone's) public relations issues.
Codger_64
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What "damage"? You do know that polymeric compounds are a part of the natural world? Silk, wool... heck even DNA is a polymeric compound! Otzi's clothes? Yep! They just identified mammoth DNA on a spearpoint in the Southwest dated to 12,500 years ago! And found mammoth hair on a farm in California! That was dated to roughly 10-27,000 years old!
By the way, Patagonia just gave our conservation group a $8,750 grant to help us in the removal of a failed dam in Arkansas for the restoration of the Little Sugar Creek watershed! The dam was built (poorly) by a real estate developer over 100 years ago and formed a fetid lagoon covered in algae which prevented fish migrations and in fact, touted as a recreational lake, swimming is prohibited because of horrible water quality. The effort by our group has been ongoing for several years now and we have enlisted the aid of water quality specialists and stream ecologists. The city (mayor) is dead set on rebuilding the dam which serves no useful purpose because... a 3M dollar FEMA disaster grant! We have been working on grassroots public support and information gathering to educate the public on the issues involved. Now we are moving to the court system. The city has tried all sorts of tricks from blocking council meeting participation, introducing specious documents, hiring a Texas engineering firm to file false ecological reports with FEMA etc. Thank you Patagonia!
I've heard of them, but would like to know what separates them from the Boreal shirts? Warmth? Is it the wool they use? Do they fall apart?