John said:I am looking to buy a Fleece top for my father for christmas who does
go up mountains a lot.
I have looked at a certain make of fleece, and they seem to have
different grades, eg 200 or 380. The 380 being more heavyweight and
having more features (I believe). Yet the recommended retail price for
the 380 is £27-50, and the 200 is £40-00. What gives? I can't
understand why what looks like the better product is cheaper?
One needs to define "better". For example, one very practical feature
of mountain and cycle clothing is its weight, with lighter being better.
Aside from material, excess "features" add weight as well.
Another point is that both cycling and mountaineering tend to be
aerobically active and keep you warm to some degree while doing them,
which lessens the need for outright insulation. However, wind can cut
through less dense fabrics more easily and so windproofing plays a big
part in how effective things are. Heavier fleeces tend to be less
dense, which makes them great insulators out of the wind but more
string-vesty in it, so a lighter fleece in a denser knit is usually
better. As well as windproofing, a lighter, denser fleece also holds
significantly less water, so if it soaks up a lot of rain then it will
take much less time to dry.
Executive Summary of the above is that one of the primary features of a
jacket is what it's made of. Heavy, cheap fleece is, like thick wool,
great for sitting around in still air not doing much, but it's less good
doing active things in the wind.
If you want a Really Good Fleece my tip is put Powershield at the top of
the shopping list: it's tough, comfortable, stretchy, breathable, much
more windproof than most fleeces (sandwich fleeces like Windstopper
excepted) and is basically your Desert Island Fleece IMHO (assuming a
cool and windy desert island, that is...). But it's also expensive and
tends to come in Henry Ford colour schemes :-(
Sandwich fleeces like Windstopper are windproof and will see off most
showers, but in prolonged rain they soak through and become very cold
and won't dry out in any reasonable time on your body. The fabric is
also relatively heavy and is a bit "cardy" for touch and drape compared
to more conventional fleeces, and it doesn't breathe as well (let sweat
out, that is).
Polartrec Thermal Pro and Wind Pro are good general fleeces,
developments of the original Polartec 200. Karisma (aka Ultrafleece) is
a very good product for UK conditions though harder to find these days.
It is light and densely woven, reasonably windproof, tough and very
fast drying.
Shelled fleeces can get over the windproofing limitations of
conventional fleece very well, though the light nylon or polyester shell
typically has much lower tear strength than a fleece. Not often a
problem though, if you're not scrambling or actively climbing.
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
