A fleece jacket just by itself will do a good job of keeping you warm. But a fleece jacket with hood will do an even better job of keeping you warm. The reason is that a lot of your warmth when you’re outside is lost from your head. It takes a lot of heat to keep that brain inside running properly. So if you want to get warm, it’s a good idea to trap all that heat that’s escaping from your head, and direct it back at you. That’s why a fleece jacket with a hood is such a useful piece of gear to have.
Fleece Jacket with Hood
What to consider when you want a fleece jacket with hood.- Thickness – A hood will definitely help keep your head warm, but the thickness of the fleece itself will also determine, to a large extent, how warm you stay. 100 weight fleece, for instance, will keep the chill off, but 300 weight fleece will leave you warm and toasty inside you jacket.
- Hardened – Just like the thickness of the fleece jacket, a hardened exterior will also do a lot to keep you warm. Fleece jackets often come with hardened outer surfaces to help deflect wind. So if you don’t want to lose all kinds of heat to the wind chill, a hardened outer surface on your fleece jacket is a good idea.
Best Fleece Jacket with Hood
Some of the best fleece jackets with a hood for men as well as women.Men's Fleece Jacket with Hood
- REI Rauk Jacket - The Rauk is less athletically cut than the R1 below, and is ideal for around town, though is certainly has a few features that make it suitable for life in the outdoors. One is the hood, obviously, but another is the hardened outer surface, which makes it more resistant to both wind and moisture, two things that you're likely to experience frequently in the outdoors. There's no word on the weight of the fleece, but it's likely 100, or maybe 200 weight fleece, so ideal for cool temperatures, but not extremely cold, at least not without a few more layers. It also comes with a couple of zippered hand pockets and thumb holes on either sleeve.
- Patagonia R1 Hooded Fleece Pullover - The R1 is ideal for those who like to be active. It is 100 weight fleece, but has tiny channels cut in to the inside, so that it will breath as much as possible, so that you stay warm when you're staying active, without sweating. It has a hood, plus a zippered chest pocket and a couple of thumb holes on either sleeve and an extra long length, with an athletic cut, which makes it perfect for layering. The ideal hooded fleece jacket for being active in the outdoors.
Women's Fleece Jacket with Hood
- The North Face WindWall 2 Fleece Jacket - The WindWall 2 is a solid fleece jacket for when the temperatures start to dip down. It uses 200 weight fleece, to keep you warm, plus a hardened outer surface to keep the wind and rain at bay as best as possible. The hood is joined by a couple of zippered chest pockets, so that you can keep all your extremities warm. It doesn't have an especially athletic cut, however, so it's equally suitable for around town. So a very versatile hooded fleece jacket for cold temperatures.
- Rab Shadow Hooded Fleece Jacket - The Shadow is a lighter fleece jacket than the WindWall above, as it uses 100 weight fleece, which will keep you warm but will also allow you to breath, and not get too overheated when you're staying active. The hood also has a small opening, to keep in as much warmth as possible, and a couple of zippered hand pockets and thumb holes in the sleeves, all designed to keep you as warm as possible. So an ideal fleece jacket for going out and being active in.
