Harkila Fleece Jackets

When it comes to top of the range outdoor wear, Scandinavian company Harkila is without doubt one of the leading brands. As you would expect from their extensive range of clothing and footwear there are some very appealing upper body fleeces, many of which are manufactured using the highly acclaimed Polartec material.

The original

Polartec changed the way the world dresses for cold weather, with the invention of polar synthetic fleece. They were the first to knit, nap, and shear synthetic yarns into thermal fabric for outdoor apparel. Another fact of relevance is that Polartec fleece is a soft, synthetic fabric that is hydrophobic (absorbs less than 1% of water), making it ideal for outdoor wear. It can be made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and recycled fleece.

The middleweight

First up is the Venjan Fleece Jacket, which is made using recycled Polartec 200 fleece fabric, that is insulating, quick-drying and highly breathable. The garment is a light to mid-weight soft fleece that provides optimal warmth and versatility. It has a full front zip opening with a storm placket. In this case, the latter is a strategically designed fabric that overlays the zip to add protection and helps to keep wind and cold air from entering at this point.

It also boasts two front hip pockets and one on the chest, all have zip closures with cord pull assists.

Cold comfort

The Harkila Polar Fleece Jacket is made from warm Polartec Thermal Pro fleece, which is the company’s most advance fleece fabric and a great alternative to natural wool. It features a high collar, 2-way front zip and durable stretch panels on the arms, shoulders, chest, and sides. It shows two zipped hip pockets, as well as zipped radio pockets with antenna eyelets on each side of the chest. The jacket also has elasticated cuffs, so that the sleeves snugly fit around the wrists, plus there’s bottom hem adjustment. All zips include pull assists.

The benefits of this regular fit jacket are that it is lightweight and extremely warm. Also, it’s stretch properties allow unrestricted movement and it has a high level of wind resistance.

Stay active

The Metso Active Fleece Jacket comes from a quite diverse range of clothing that has the same first moniker but are of very different builds. The fleece jacket of the range is made from quick drying TechWool, which is a wool and polyester blend. This 63% polyester/26% wool/11% nylon, 2L Thermal Functional Knit material is creaseresistant and breathable. It’s stronger and lighter than pure wool without compromising on warmth and softness.

The garment has a fine mesh inner lining for comfort and air circulation plus a twoway front zip and high neck. It also features elasticated cuffs and hem, which help with heat retention. The shoulders are reinforced with microsuede and there are two front pockets and a radio pocket on the left side of the chest, all are zipped with pull assists.

Check out the company’s comprehensive website for colours and sizes.