Wool vs Fleece

[Poser]

Presently use no fleece for any outdoor activity and haven’t in a good while. I do have some emergency fleece layers I keep in the truck because I don’t use them for anything else.

 

[rayporter]

basically, i do the same as Poser
i tried fleece on an elk hunt where i had a lot of wet weather and never could get it dry --even with a stove, so i went back to wool.

 

[49ereric]

Thrift store sweaters merino wool easy to find and also got some cashmere which I use for cold hunting multiple layers.

 

[North country]

Anybody know of any outer wool garments with a wind liner to help break wind. I’m a white tail stand hunter with a western mountain hunt every other year. Just to have one set of clothes to do it all

I bought two of the cabelas wool sweaters with the wind stopper liner one for hunting and one for work and they are fine while doing very minimal activity but as soon as a guy starts to move around a bunch it’s like wearing a garbage sack under a nice wool sweater. Zero breathability.

 

[Shraggs]

I think of it this way, fleece is the attempt to mimic wool, synthetic puffy are mimic if down. All have there place and work. I prefer wool in most applications too. I especially feel a wool knit or the itchy stuff is very warm under a shell and if hiking it’s very porous and breathes very well. I’ve found it’s harder to wet it out vs merino wool too.

 

[Whaledriver]

Just for the record, anyone that says wool is warm when wet, has never been wet in wool. In fact my experience is it takes longer to dry than synthetic, meaning your chance to slip into hypothermia increase. It does breathe better than most fleece and definitely stinks less. Warmer dry...maybe. Wet and warm is pure bullshit.

 

[49ereric]

Just for the record, anyone that says wool is warm when wet, has never been wet in wool. In fact my experience is it takes longer to dry than synthetic, meaning your chance to slip into hypothermia increase. It does breathe better than most fleece and definitely stinks less. Warmer dry...maybe. Wet and warm is pure bullshit.

They say wool can be 30% wet and maintain its warmth.

 

[SMOKYMTN]

I may be the outlier here but I recently switched from wool to synthetics. Modern synthetics have great odor control treatments, dry faster, weigh less, and last longer. Plus, no special washing/drying procedures needed. They just fit my lifestyle better and I’ve found that KUIU or Sitka synthetics handle odor very well.

 

[Seeknelk]

They say wool can be 30% wet and maintain its warmth.

It just won't "feel" as wet ,and that's important. It does lose its r value as it gets wet, just not as badly as fleece. It certainly works and what we preferred to wear when running a chainsaw in the winter was a good wool shirt. It just regulated all your sweating ,then freezing better than fleece. Fleece is incredibly warm, but it's almost like the thermostat gets stuck wide open as you heat up. Also. Both absolutely SUCK up the sawdust especially in the neck area!! Wow that itched...got a leatherneck after a while.

 

[Anglo-American]

Just for the record, anyone that says wool is warm when wet, has never been wet in wool. In fact my experience is it takes longer to dry than synthetic, meaning your chance to slip into hypothermia increase. It does breathe better than most fleece and definitely stinks less. Warmer dry...maybe. Wet and warm is pure bullshit.

I've been seriously wet out in wool, and in fleece.
Being wet out, and exposed to steady, cold wind is not fun. It's less fun in fleece.

 

[Maverick1]

Can someone explain to me the difference of fleece and wool for the mid layer/2nd layer. And not merino wool lm Talking like the old itchy wool. Is the pro vs con going from one to the other or vice versa. I picked up an old woolrich shirt from a yard sale and was worried if it’s wise to use. Thanks in advance

OP - this thread was from July. Hope you have your answer at this point.

The question you asked was if either wool or fleece was good as a mid/second layer. Wool excels at wicking, not so much at insulating. Better suited as a base layer than a second layer. Check out the CLO values.