Fleece Jacket Awards for 2011 announced by OutdoorGearLab.com
Best Fleece Jacket Review Winners announced by OutdoorGearLab.com for Editors’ Choice, Best Buy and Top Picks.
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CHEYENNE, WY—OutdoorGearLab.com revealed today the results of the 2011 Editors’ Choice Awards for the Men’s Fleece Jacket category, listing this year’s best and best value for Men’s Fleece Jacket. The OutdoorGearLab Review Editors chose the following winners after extensive field testing and road trips in the High Sierra, Southeast Utah and The Cascades. We took eleven men’s fleece jackets and put them to head-to-head tests to figure out what was the best in the following categories: wind resistance, water resistance, breathability, comfort and cozyness, warmth, layering over, layering under, ease of movement, eco-groovy, and ease of care. We think some of the most important aspects of a fleece jacket are that it is warm and comfortable, and that you would use it as an extra layer. Even though all the fleeces we reviewed were of high quality, we did find that some fleeces are better for certain applications than others. Each underwent extensive side by side tests to evaluate these key performance metrics. View the complete
Fleece Jacket Reviews
The winners are:
Patagonia R2 Jacket winner of the Editor’s Choice Award for 2011. According to Gear Editor Chris McNamara, “The Patagonia R2 Men’s Jacket seems to be the perfect midweight polar fleece for people serious about getting out there and going for it. It’s not too heavy or bulky, plenty warm, and even looks good around town. Made of US-sourced recycled materials and backed up with a great warranty, this was a tester favorite voted most likely to be “lost” during the course of our review.”
North Face Khumbu Jacket winner of the Best Buy award for 2011. This award is given to a product that balances an extremely high score in our tests and a very reasonable price. According to Kevin Swift, “A good inexpensive go-anywhere fleece, the North Face Khumbu Jacket is your basic meat-and-potatoes wardrobe addition.”
Mountain Hardwear Monkey Man Jacket winner of the Top Pick award for 2011. This award is given to a product that excels at a specific application. According to Kevin Swift, “The Mountain Hardware Monkey Man emerged as a favorite fleece due to outrageous comfort and a flattering cut coupled with solid construction and appealing fuzziness.”
