At a glance
Plusses: Comfort, warmth, breathability.
Minuses: Weight.

Weight: 320g (m), 305g (w)

Features: The fleece has a ‘thermo-regulating Active-Temp’ treatment to improve wicking performance, breathability and drying. It has a stand-up collar, a large front ‘kangaroo’ pocket and thumbholes.

The women’s version is the Trail Mix Cowl Pullover and in place of snap buttons, it has a two-layered ‘cowl’ neck with drawcord. 

Fit: It’s loose-fitting and with single-piece Raglan sleeves provides good freedom of movement. Base-layers can be worn comfortably underneath. It’s not in the Goldilocks zone though and it felt bulky when wearing a jacket over the top.

Comfort: The fabric is super-soft and lush, the top fits well and the stand-up collar, when buttoned up, acts like a lush neck warmer. An absolute delight to wear. 

In use: It’s designed to be worn during activity and close to the skin so that moisture from sweat can be managed better. Its super-soft fabric is quite unlike traditional fleeces and is achieved with a unique micro-grid structure that creates small gaps in the face fabric to help move moisture and excess heat into the atmosphere. This also makes it quick drying. This process is aided by the ActiveTemp treatment that reacts to your body temperature to quickly pass moisture through the fabric when you are warm.

Warmth is quickly trapped when it’s buttoned and because there’s no zip or stiffened fabric here, it doesn’t irritate or rub the chin. Using it around the house it kept me comfortably warm. On day hikes, the air temperature was cool enough that I didn’t over-exert myself.

The kangaroo pocket can hold a surprising number of items, but it’s for warmth that I mostly used it, plunging both hands inside on cold morning walks.

The jacket is quite bulky when packed, making it less likely for me to pack it on multi-day trips. 

Value: A reasonable price for a performance fleece that will help regulate your temperature so you (almost) always stay comfortable. 

Verdict: A comfortable fleece for maintaining warmth on the trail and at your destination.