Many fleece jackets come with a hardened outer surface. The reason for this is that fleece material, on its own, doesn’t do a particularly good job of cutting the wind down. In fact, your average fleece jacket will let quite a bit of wind chill through, making you cold. But a fleece jacket with a hardened outer surface is a windproof fleece jacket. Just that simple process of hardening the outer surface can make even a fairly thin fleece jacket a perfect solution to a windy day.
Windproof Fleece Jacket
What you want to see when looking for a windproof fleece jacket.- Hardened Surface – As alluded to above, for a fleece jacket to be windproof it will have a hardened outer shell, which is what makes a fleece jacket windproof. This hardening is, fortunately, a fairly common feature to find on a fleece jacket, because no one likes to suffer from a bad wind chill.
- Thickness – A hardened outer surface is the most important part of what makes a fleece jacket windproof, but a thick fleece jacket will, obviously, keep out more wind than a thin fleece jacket. So if you want a windproof fleece jacket, a really thick fleece jacket is another way to do it. The benefit of a thick fleece jacket is that it will keep you toasty warm too.
Best Windproof Fleece Jacket
Some of the very best windproof fleece jackets, for men and women as well.Men's Windproof Fleece Jacket
- Arc'teryx Hyllus Hooded Jacket - The Hyllus is a feature rich, wind resistant fleece jacket from Arc'teryx. It has a few features, like a water resistant exterior and a good, that make it an excellent option for getting out in just about any conditions. It also uses 300 weight fleece, which is the thick stuff, you can be sure you will stay nice and warm inside this jacket.
- Mountain Hardwear Mountain Tech Jacket - The Mountain Tech jacket is a thinner fleece, but is made with a particularly dense fleece and then finished with a soft shell finish, which makes it a fully windproof option ideal for ugly weather. There's no hood, but two zippered hand pockets and one zippered chest pocket which are great options to have.
Women's Windproof Fleece Jacket
- Arc'teryx Hyllus Hooded Jacket - The Hyllus is a thick, feature rich fleece jacket from Arc'teryx. The combination of heavy, 300 weight fleece and soft shell exterior make it wind resistant, as well as water resistant, so ideal for a whole range of weather conditions. There's also a hood, as well as 2 zippered hand pockets and 1 zippered pocket on the chest. A great fleece jacket to have when things get cold.
- Patagonia R4 Fleece Jacket - The R4 is a great, heavy duty fleece jacket from Patagonia. There's no hood, but it's a thick, windproof fleece that will keep you warm in even the worst of wind storms. The two zippered hand pockets are also raised up, so that they're accessible while wearing a backpack. So a very solid choice for a windproof fleece jacket.
