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.

 

[parkerMV]

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

The wool is definitely going to be warmer than fleece, and more breathable.
There is little reason to choose fleece for the mid layer, unless someone really hates wool and finds it too irritating. There could be reason to choose fleece if it is the outer layer and there will be wet conditions, or there are worries of the outer layer getting snagged on something, or you are worried about the outer layer getting dirty or muddy or rubbing against rocks and are not willing to tolerate the wear and tear on the expensive wool.

If you're going to be wearing a windbreaker over the mid layer, then it may not matter as much, though wool would probably still be better in that situation.

If it will not be too cold, and you are not worried about breathability, overheating or sweating, then the fleece would be acceptable. I might lean a little more towards fleece if the air is going to be extremely damp and cold. But wool if it is even colder, the air is drier, and there is snow.

 

[parkerMV]

There is a lot to like about fleece
- lighter than wool for same warmth

While it may technically be true that "fleece is lighter than wool for the same warmth", realistically that is NOT a good or logical reason in most situations to choose fleece over wool; and even in the very particular situations where it may be, it is not a very strong reason at all.

Sure, you could use a double layer of fleece and select a tighter weave to get the fleece to be as warm as a layer of wool. But then that fleece would be much less breathable than the wool, almost like wearing a puffer jacket or windproof insulated jacket, which mostly defeats the point of choosing fleece. That fleece would also be bulkier and take up more space than the wool, even if it weighed less.

 

[parkerMV]

Wool served mankind for thousands of years.
It's an excellent insulation even when wet.

Both wool and fleece maintain their insulating abilities much better than other materials when wet.
I think wool will loose a larger percentage of its insulating ability when wet than fleece does, but on the hand, wool is more insulating in the first place.
But if the fabric material is going to get totally soaked with water, then it could add a lot of weight to the wool and make things more uncomfortable.

Fleece is not going to be able to keep out cold winds as well as wool. But wool that gets totally soaked with water is not going to be any more breathable than wearing a windbreaker, so in that case you would have been better off wearing a windbreaker, regardless of what whether it's a wool or fleece layer beneath it.