What is Fleece?

Anyone who has ever heard about fleece has given himself a question “What is fleece?” We will try to answer this question.

A large family of synthetic fabrics made from polyester (which comes from plastic) is called fleece. The technology of making fleece is rather new. The American company “Malden Mills” developed it in 1970-s. After that, fleece clothing became widespread among fans of sports and active tourism. It is not surprising that by its quality standards fleece made a revolution in sportswear. Let’s figure out what fleece is, how it differs from wool, and what are the advantages of fleece?

What are the Advantages of Fleece?

Compared to natural wool, fleece is much lighter. At the same time fleece warms better than the wool. Due to its texture, it creates air bags that serve as a barrier against cold air.

Due to the waterproof properties of polyester, only the external part of the surface gets wet. This property allows the fleece to remain warm even after it gets wet, which is not typical for woolen clothes.

 

Fleece generally does not require a special care. You can easily wash it in washing machine with other clothes.

Due to the type of material and elastic properties of polyester, fleece does not lose its original shape and does not deform. Compared to other fabrics, fleece easily removes sweat and dries quickly in case of getting wet.

Fleece types

The fabric of fleece has two criteria:

• Density of fabric
• The texture

The density of fabric is expressed in grams/m². Below you will see the most acceptable classification list with its typical models:

• Less than 100 g/m² — Polartec Classic Micro, Polartec Power Stretch Pro, Pontetorto Technostretch;
• 100–200 g/m² — Polartec Classic 100, The North Face TKA 100, Patagonia R1, Polartec Power Stretch Pro, Pontetorto Technostretch;
• 200–300 g/m² — Polartec Classic 200, The North Face TKA 200, Patagonia R2;
• More than 300 g/m² — Polartec Classic 300, The North Face TKA 300, Patagonia R3.

Of course, the thicker the fabric, the warmer the fleece. However, the thickness of the fabric is related to its weight.  Therefore, when the thickness rises, the fleece becomes heavier and loses its breathing properties. Since the porosity of the thicker fabric is less, the sweat and additional heat cannot demolish easily. Remember this so that you can make the right choice.

The texture

Fleece retains heat not only due to the density of the fabric, but also due to the form of the texture. The longer and thicker the fibers are, the warmer is the clothing. However, it should be noted that the jacket with longer and thinner fibers does not provide adequate protection from the wind.

Long and thin fibers cannot be a barrier for wind, unlike short and dense fibers. You can wear this jacket under a warm windproof jacket as a thermal insulation layer.

Nearly all parts of the clothing such as pants, jackets, gloves, hats even socks can be made of fleece. Fleece is an excellent thermal insulation layer. Nowadays fleece jacket is a must-have hiking gear. People use it not only during hiking, but also in everyday life: during evening walks, at home, in workplace, etc.

The copyright of this article is owned by armgeo.am. The content of the article may be cited or used on other websites only with an active link to the source.

Blog about Armenia