The Smartwool Energetic Fleece 1/2 Zip Pullover is a good mid-layer garment for colder climate and winter mountaineering. It’s made with a four-way stretch knit material that places soft-brushed Merino wool subsequent to your pores and skin and recycled artificial supplies on the outside to guard in opposition to the weather, balancing consolation and safety. It’s additionally simple to launder and doesn’t shrink within the wash, which is essential to me as a result of I can’t be bothered with wool clothes that require particular care.
- Gender: Males’s (Girls’ additionally accessible)
- Supplies:
- 4-way stretch knit material places soft-brushed Merino subsequent to pores and skin and recycled artificial materials in opposition to the weather to assist stability consolation and safety
- Match: True to measurement
I’ve averted Smartwool clothes as a result of I assumed it was all made with wool, requiring extra care to clean and dry. However when you take a look at the Smartwool catalog, their Intraknit, and Energetic Fleece product strains are made with a mix of merino wool and artificial supplies that understand the advantages of each supplies. Wool feels good in opposition to the pores and skin and stinks up lower than polyester and elastane, whereas these artificial supplies wick higher and dry quicker once you’re perspiring and dealing onerous.
Intrigued, I’ve been utilizing the Smartwool Energetic Fleece 1/2 Zip Pullover as a mid-layer and outer layer for mountaineering sections of the North Nation Path in Vermont this autumn. I’ve been pleasantly shocked by how a lot I like this pullover, and it’s develop into a go-to mid-layer garment on hikes and nights out in town as a result of it’s so sharp-looking.
The brushed inside feels nice to put on. The pullover has thumb loops on the sleeves, which make it simple to make use of with a wind shirt or shell because the arms don’t bunch up after I put them on. The neck is lined with smooth wool and comfy after I zip it up, which is steadily the case after I hike for miles throughout windy farmers’ fields. The pullover is heat with out being too heat, and it’s additionally surprisingly wind-resistant, so I can typically put on it as an outer layer by itself. There’s additionally reflective piping within the chest pocket though I’m undecided I’ll ever want that.
By way of care, I wash this pullover in chilly water with the remainder of my coloured clothes, however I grasp it to dry, (which helps humidify my residence in winter) as an alternative of throwing it within the dryer with my different synthetics. I deal with my Polartec Alpha Fleeces equally, in order that’s not an enormous deal.
If you happen to choose the texture of a wool midlayer, however want it depraved and breathed extra like fleece, I counsel giving the Smartwool Energetic Fleece 1/2 Zip Pullover a attempt. It’s modified my thoughts about Smartwool merchandise and their function as baselayer and mid-layer clothes elements.
Disclosure: Smartwool donated an lively fleece for assessment.
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