Hooded Fleece Jacket
Himali Limitless Grid Fleece Hoodie
$160, 9.2 oz./261g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL
himali.com
The evolution of fleece has traced an arc toward efficiency and versatility that now seems to be reaching its apex in lightweight fleece hoodies, perfectly exemplified by Himali’s Limitless Grid Fleece Hoodie. The breadth of activities, conditions, and environments where I’ve worn it just this fall speak to my point, from a 13-hour, four-summit dayhike in Utah’s Wasatch Range to a short hike in southern New Hampshire, backpacking in southern Utah’s Escalante region, camping and climbing in Idaho, and a local trail run in the chilly, fading daylight of a November afternoon.
Here’s the first conclusion I drew about this fleece hoodie: It’s basically a warm, midweight jersey with a full front zipper and a hood. It replaced—and provided more versatility than—a midweight, long-sleeve top when I wore it over a synthetic T-shirt in the falling temperatures of an October evening hiking by headlamp in the dark for the last two hours of an 18-mile, 7,300-foot, partly off-trail dayhike in the Wasatch Range—when I needed warmth (and got a big boost from the hood) plus the ability to speedily dry my sweaty T-shirt.
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It served the same purpose in my layering system for three days in early October backpacking the 22-mile Boulder Mail Trail-Death Hollow-Escalante River Loop in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, shining especially in camp and for the first couple of hours hiking in shallow water down the shaded and cool canyon of Death Hollow on our second morning. Ditto on cool mornings and evenings in camp over a late-September weekend of climbing at Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve, pulling a down jacket over this hoodie in colder temps; and when I wore it as a middle layer under a rain shell on a 2.5-hour dayhike up a couple of wooded peaks along the Wapack Trail in southern New Hampshire on a rainy day with temps in the 40s Fahrenheit.
Lastly, it proved ideal worn over a lightweight, long-sleeve base layer on an hour-long trail run on a sunny day in mid-November, but often in late-afternoon shade that made it feel colder, with a light but chilly breeze and temps in the mid-40s Fahrenheit. I had the hood down at times going uphill but up virtually the entire time returning downhill.
As these examples illustrate, this hoodie has much more versatility from spring through fall than heavier and warmer fleece hoodies. Although I expect to wear it plenty in winter, I could see myself pulling it on more often in spring and fall.
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At just 9.2 ounces/261 grams (men’s medium), the Limitless Grid Fleece Hoodie falls into a small category of the lightest, most breathable and packable hooded jackets you will find. That has, of course, one major tradeoff: For everyone, there will be a point where it’s not warm enough and if you like the breathability of fleece as a middle layer, you’ll want a warmer hoodie.
That said, I first thought a fleece hoodie this light would likely only be comfortable for Nordic and backcountry skiing only in moderate cold—not deep deep. But I changed my mind after wearing it over a very lightweight, synthetic jersey on an early-March day of backcountry ski touring with mixed clouds and warm sun and temps from around 12° F to the high teens, sweating while wearing those two layers alone when skinning uphill and under an insulation layer and a shell when skiing downhill; and the system worked great, keeping me dry most of the time and staying comfortable.
The range of activities and exertion levels for which the Limitless Grid Fleece Hoodie will suit your needs, almost year-round, will exceed the versatility of a heavier and warmer fleece hoodie.
Plus, I can replace a long-sleeve, midweight crew neck or zip-neck base layer top with the Limitless Grid Fleece Hoodie without any weight penalty. In fact, in cold temperatures, its warmth and hood augment whatever warmer insulation layer I need, allowing me to bring a lighter down or synthetic insulated jacket than I might otherwise. Few pieces of apparel offer more versatility while reducing your pack weight.
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Its performance qualities—warm for its low weight, fast-drying, and highly breathable and packable—are inherent to the 100 percent recycled, odorless, waffle-grid-style Polartec PowerGrid fabric. Its performance is enhanced by the close but not skin-tight, athletic fit and ample stretch in the fabric. That provides space for a short- or long-sleeve base layer underneath—logically, something lighter than this hoodie—and makes it feel like a jersey, but one with a full zipper and hood. It’s so comfortable I wear it over a T-shirt around the house (in cooler seasons) just like I’d wear a flannel shirt.
That superior breathability, of course, also means that wind cuts right through it. That works in your favor whenever you need to dump excess heat because your body is producing it faster than the ambient temperature, wind, and precipitation conditions are drawing heat away (and that can include chilly, windy conditions when you’re working hard). But there’s a simple solution to that problem: a shell jacket.
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The full-length front zipper not only permits easier on and off (than a pullover) and enables venting, it also smoothly integrates with the close-fitting, non-adjustable, elasticized hood, which delivers a noticeable boost in warmth and layers easily under helmets and shell jacket hoods. The Limitless Grid Fleece Hoodie zips up to just below your nose and the hood remains in place on your noggin in wind or when you turn your head, even with the zipper open. That makes a big difference in comfort and performance.
The hoodie has one zippered chest pocket large enough for a smartphone. Reinforced thumbholes in the cuffs—and good length and stretch in the sleeves for using them—enable pulling the sleeves over under-the-cuff gloves or using the thumbholes alone over bare hands or underneath heavier, over-the-cuff gloves.
It’s not available in women’s sizes. The closest women’s product from Himali looks like the Women’s Momentum Hoodie ($115, 12.2 oz./346g).
The Verdict
With a hoodie as light, breathable, quick-drying, packable, warm for its weight, and comfortable as the Himali Limitless Grid Fleece Hoodie, you will expand your mental menu of the activities and all-season conditions for which a fleece hoodie seems perfectly suited as an outer or middle layer, which certainly include dayhiking and backpacking, climbing, running, Nordic and backcountry skiing, and walking.
BUY IT NOW
You can support my work on this blog, at no cost to you, by clicking either of these affiliate links to purchase a Men’s Himali Limitless Grid Fleece Hoodie at himali.com or a Women’s Momentum Hoodie at himali.com. Readers of The Big Outside get an exclusive 10 percent off their Himali purchase by using the discount code THEBIGOUTSIDE.
See all reviews of outdoor apparel at The Big Outside, including “The 12 Best Down Jackets,” “The Best Base Layers, Shorts, and Socks for Hiking and Trail Running,” “The Best Rain Jackets for Hiking and Backpacking,” and “The Best Ultralight Hiking and Running Jackets.”
NOTE: I tested gear for Backpacker Magazine for 20 years. At The Big Outside, I review only what I consider the best outdoor gear and apparel. See my Gear Reviews page at The Big Outside for categorized menus of all of my reviews and my expert buying tips.
—Michael Lanza