Best use | Mid-high output activities. | Outer-layer for static use when it's cold, windy and/or rainy out in town. | Classic collegiate look, timeless. | Athletic leisure, aka "athleisure". | Considering other options, I wouldn't really recommend this one. |
MSRP | 159 USD | 189 USD | 119 USD | 159 USD | 139 USD |
Cell | R1 Fleece Pullover Hoody | R2 Techface Hoody | Lightweight Synchilla Snap-T Fleece Pullover | Performance Better Sweater Hoody | Woolyester Fleece Pullover |
Pros | Most breathable pick, great fit, thumb holes, comfortable, ultralight | DWR helps in damp areas, smooth inner surface, warm, comfortable, handsome | Extremely comfortable, warm, perfect for casual purposes, light | Perfect balance between Synchilla and R1 in this review | |
Cons | Colder than other picks | Easier to overheat | No hood, not breathable, fit might be too large for some | Hood might come too big for some | |
Cell | R1 Fleece Pullover Hoody | R2 Techface Hoody | Lightweight Synchilla Snap-T Fleece Pullover | Performance Better Sweater Hoody | Woolyester Fleece Pullover |
Weight | 312 g (11 oz) | 485 g (17.1 oz) | 405 g (14.3 oz) | 473 g (16.7 oz) | 434 g (15.3 oz) |
DWR | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Women's counterparts & alternatives |
- #A sidenote here: Patagonia.com's Web Specials discounts are GOOOLLLDDD. Highly recommend you to check it out before you buy.
R1 Fleece Pullover Hoody. My top pick for active use.
Recently, probably with the effect of warmer weather, I'm getting asked a lot about the best Patagonia fleece.
Generally speaking, for most common uses, although I'd say this Arc'teryx fleece is the best fleece out there in the entire market, I'll limit the context of this post to Patagonia only.
Now, first things first: A fleece is mostly used for either of these two reasons:
- Casual everyday wear,
- A mid-layer (or in some cases, outer-layer) to fine tune the warmth - breathability balance during outdoor adventures.
Find below the lowest temperatures you can wear each jacket without feeling uncomfortably cold.
These are only approximate values assuming:
- you only have a shirt under and no shell over,
- during daily use (strolls, power walks etc at most - no high output activities),
- with enough wind to cause an umbrella to twist in your hand,
- and when it's dry out.
Name | Est. Temp (F/C) | Insulation | Review | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arc'teryx Alpha Parka (Men's - Women's) | -17/-27 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Feathered Friends Khumbu (Men's) | -17/-27 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Ceres SV (Men's - Women's) | -15/-26 | Down | Down | Review | Yes | M |
Mountain Equipment K7 (Men's - Women's) | -13/-25 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Positron Pro (Men's - Women's) | -13/-25 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Grade VII (Men's) | -11/-24 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Firebee AR (Men's - Women's) | -10/-23 | Down | Down | Review | Yes | M W |
Mountain Equipment Exo (Men's) | -10/-23 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Thorsen (Men's) | -7/-22 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M |
Patagonia Frozen Range (Men's - Women's) | -6/-21 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Centrale (Women's) | -5/-20 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | W |
Rab Neutrino Pro (Men's - Women's) | -2/-19 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Therme (Men's) | -2/-19 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M |
Arc'teryx Dually Belay (Men's) | 0/-18 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | Yes | M |
Arc'teryx Camosun (Men's) | 0/-18 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M |
Arc'teryx Piedmont (Men's) | 2/-17 | Down | ParkaD | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Fission SV (Men's - Women's) | 3/-16 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M |
Outdoor Research Super Alpine (Men's - Women's) | 3/-16 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Tres 3-in-1 (Men's - Women's) | 3/-16 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Radsten (Men's) | 3/-16 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Patagonia Fitz Roy (Men's - Women's) | 3/-16 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Rab Electron Pro (Men's - Women's) | 5/-15 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Macai (Men's | 5/-15 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Nuclei SV Parka (Men's - Women's) | 5/-15 | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W | |
Patagonia DAS Parka (Men's - Women's) | 5/-15 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Patera (Women's) | 5/-15 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | W |
Arc'teryx Cerium SV (Men's - Women's) | 7/-14 | Down | Down | Review | Yes | M W |
Black Diamond Access Down (Men's - Women's) | 7/-14 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Kappa (Men's - Women's) | 7/-14 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | Yes | M |
Arc'teryx Prema (Women's) | 7/-14 | Down | ParkaD | No | W | |
Arc'teryx Radsten Insulated Men's) | 7/-14 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Rab Microlight Alpine (Men's - Women's) | 7/-14 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Macro Puff (Men's - Women's) | 8/-13 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Feathered Friends Eos (Men's - Women's) | 8/-13 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Macai LT (Men's) | 8/-13 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Seyla (Women's) | 8/-13 | Down | ParkaD | No | W | |
Arc'teryx Koda (Men's) | 8/-13 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Thorium AR (Men's - Women's) | 8/-13 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Kole (Men's - Women's) | 10/-12 | Down | ParkaD | No | W | |
Patagonia Vosque 3-in-1 (Women's) | 10/-12 | Synthetic | ParkaS | Review | No | W |
Arc'teryx Alpha IS (Men's - Women's) | 12/-11 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Yes | M | |
Patagonia Jackson Glacier (Men's - Women's) | 12/-11 | Down | ParkaD | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Sensa (Women's) | 14/-10 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | W | |
Patagonia Hi Loft Down (Men's - Women's ) | 14/-10 | Down | Down | Review | No | M |
REI Magma 850 Hoodie 2.0 (Men's - Women's) | 14/-10 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Atom AR (Men's - Women's) | 18/-8 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia Downdrift (Men's - Women's) | 18/-8 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Down Sweater (Men's - Women's) | 19/-7 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Magnus (Men's) | 19/-7 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Agrium (Men's - Women's) | 21/-6 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia AlpLight Down (Men's - Women's) | 21/-6 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Patagonia Topley (Men's) | 23/-5 | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Xenon 2.0 (Men's - Women's) | 23/-5 | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W | |
Patagonia Silent Down (Men's - Women's) | 26/-3 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisp/2 (Men's - Women's) | 28/-2 | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Arc'teryx Cerium LT (Men's - Women's) | 28/-2 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Nuclei FL (Men's - Women's) | 32/0 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia City Storm Down (Men's) | 32/0 | Down | ParkaD | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Atom LT (Men's - Women's) | 36/2 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia Micro Puff (Men's - Women's) | 36/2 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia Isthmus (Men's | 36/2 | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Proton LT (Men's - Women's) | 37/3 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Patagonia Nano Puff (Men's - Women's) | 37/3 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Norvan SL Ins. (Men's - Women's) | 39/4 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Yes | M W | |
Patagonia Nano Air (Men's - Women's) | 41/5 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Cerium SL (Men's - Women's) | 43/6 | Down | Down | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Proton FL (Men's - Women's) | 48/9 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | No | M W |
Arc'teryx Atom SL (Men's - Women's) | 52/11 | Synthetic | Synthetic | Review | Yes | M W |
The North Face Summit Down (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Mountain Equipment Lightline Echo (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Mountain Equipment Kryos (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Mountain Equipment Xeros (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Arc'teryx Andra LT IS (Women's) | Testing | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | W | |
Arc'teryx Phoria IS (Women's) | Testing | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | W | |
Feathered Friends Helios (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Feathered Friends Volant (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Axion Pro (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Feathered Friends Rock & Ice (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Valiance (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M W | |
Rab Expedition 8000 (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Zero G (Men's) | Testing | Down | Down | No | M | |
Rab Generator Alpine (Men's) | Testing | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M | |
UBR Regulator Parka II (Men's) | Testing | Synthetic | ParkaS | No | M | |
Helly Hansen LifaLoft (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M | |
Mammut Eigerjoch (Men's - Women's) | Testing | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W | |
Helly Hansen Lumines (Men's - Women's) | Unknown | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M | |
Haglofs V Series Mimic (Men's - Women's) | Unknown | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W | |
Black Diamond First Light (Men's - Women's) | Unknown | Synthetic | Synthetic | No | M W |
Read more about this chart here in my Insulated Outerwear Temperature Ratings Guide. Also my Best Patagonia Jackets post.
If you think you run warmer or colder than the average person, then shift temperature ranges accordingly.
Lastly - make sure to check out Patagonia.com Web Specials before you buy.
Some fleeces lean toward the former and some to the latter. This is why it's impossible to give one-fleece-fits-all. Rather, it makes more sense to lay out best picks for each type of uses (which you'll see in the chart below).
- Some of the Patagucci products you see in this post might be discontinued, and hence might be unavailable at patagonia.com.
- If that's the case, then I'd recommend you to check out this page at REI. You might be able to find them there. manufactures great jackets, but they can be expensive for most of us.
- R1 has 5,
- R2 has 6,
- Synchilla has 6,
- Better Sweater has 14 main configurations.
As you see in this Patagonia R1 vs R2 and Patagonia Synchilla vs Better Sweater posts of mine, I reviewed all of their configurations.
- #A sidenote here: Patagonia.com's Web Specials discounts are GOOOLLLDDD. Highly recommend you to check it out before you buy.
Having said that, for this post, I picked out only one piece of each model (which are the best picks in my opinion), and put them together in this post.
Some Notes
- When choosing best Patagonia fleece for you, make sure you keep in mind that only the R2 Techface Hoody in this review come with DWR coating.
DWR is a coating.
It's basically sprayed on to the surface of these jackets as a finish. It stands for Durable Water Repellent - which means that water will be repelled under wet conditions instead of soaking into the fabric.
DWR also decreases dry time.
It's a good thing these jackets are coated in DWR, but pay attention to the fact that DWR is a coating - meaning that it will wear off over time.
Which is why you might want to invest in a DWR spray such as this one for after treatment.
As you see, there's a strong correlation between FP x FW and temperature ratings, but not more than, say, 80%. I explained why this happens here in this post of mine.
If you're planning to use your pick as an outer layer AND possibly under wet weather conditions every now and then...
Then your only pick is R2 Techface Hoody, which is the perfect fleece for you.
- If you almost only care about casual use... and don't care about performance at all...
Then I probably wouldn't get R1 or R2 Techface, and instead get the Synchilla. Or Performance Better Sweater, at the very least, since it's positioned somewhere between Synchilla and R1 in Patagonia's fleece line-up.
Lastly, if you're looking for an insulated jacket, then check out my warmth chart for all Patagonia and Arc'teryx insulated jackets.