It’s winter, which, for most outdoors people, means that it’s fleece season. Cozy, comfy fleece season.
Fleece dates back to 1981, when Yvon Chiounard worked with Malden Mills (now Polartec) to create something that felt as warm and cozy as his favorite wool sweater, but that dried quicker and compressed down smaller for backpacking trips. Since then, outdoor adventurers of all sorts have loved their fleece.
I am no exception: I own a hooded, 15-year-old men’s Patagonia R1 that I pilfered from my husband and wear for climbing, winter running, and camping (love pulling the hood on to sleep). I also own a fluffy (high pile) purple zip-up fleece jacket from The North Face that, for almost 20 years, I’ve pulled on during backyard dinners that turn chilly; it feels like a blanket. I invested in a Patagonia Better Sweater Jacket a couple years ago and wear it to outdoor sporting events and around town. And I just recently bought a Patagonia Los Gatos Hooded Jacket that I’m now obsessed with. Talk about cozy. I’m sure I have more tucked into my closet somewhere, and I love them all for their performance abilities…
