Description
Perhaps one of the lightest and most breathable of all fleeces, we like The North FutureFleece LT Pullover for warm weather camping or exertion in the cool temps. Price : $130 Weight : 5.1 oz Fabric : FutureFleece LT Grid, Octa fiber, 100 g/m2 Pros: Ultralight. Ultra breathable. Cons: Not very warm. Not the softest. No hood. Expensive. Features Like its thicker, warmer sibling, FutureFleece LT has flat face fabric and a gridded interior. The grid is comprised of ¼ inch alternating squares of pile clusters and empty spaces. The clusters insulate while the empty spaces encourage breathability. FutureFleece LT fabric weighs 100 g/m2. Which is lighter and less insulated than standard FutureFleece fabric, which weighs 124 g/m2. This can be seen in the gridded fabric clusters of LT, which are flatter and less voluminous compared to the protruding loop clusters of the standard 124 g/m2 FutureFleece fabric. However, LT still reaps all of the benefits of Octa fiber. The hollow core and interlocking ridges creates microscopic pockets of dead air that have insulative properties. This improves warmth-to-weight. At 5 oz, even juiced up by Octa Fiber, it’s FutureFleece LT still isn’t very warm. We think it’s comparably insulative to a mid or heavyweight merino wool base layer. Not a bad warmth-to-weight, considering comparable merino is almost twice as heavy. Feature-wise, this is a super bare bones lightweight fleece jacket. The quarter zip vents and thumb loops secure the sleeves. That’s it. Verdict FutureFleece LT is incredibly ultralight and supremely breathable. It breaks the chill, but it’s not warm enough to be an all-purpose backpacking camp fleece by itself. Great to wear while hiking in cool weather or camping in warm weather.
