The North Face Fleece: What it Does for You by Brian Carter

The North Face has been around since its founding in the San Francisco Bay area in 1966. They started making ski apparel in 1968. They got into technical sportswear in 1996.

The North Face also has a long history of sponsoring mountaineering expeditions- their gear has been tested in the most extreme places in the world, including Everest, Antarctica, Siberia, Tibet & Nepal.

The North Face is not the only company that makes quality technical outerwear- notable competitors include Mountain Hardwear, Arc'teryx, and Patagonia. If you want to go cheap, go for Columbia, but if you want quality that stands up to extreme cold and wind, stick with the upper echelon.

Polar fleece is is a soft fuzzy insulating synthetic wool fabric made entirely from recycled plastic bottles. It was created in 1979 by Malden Mills, a new, light and strong pile fabric meant to mimic and surpass wool. Polar Fleece has some of wool's finest qualities but weighs a fraction of it. It's a vegan alternative to wool that is very light, soft and easy to wash.

Polartec® x wt. Fleece is a technical title for polar fleece of a specific weight. Polartec® 100, 200 and 300 series fabrics are the reference standard for lightweight warmth and breathability.

The North Face has several proprietary technical advances in their use of Fleece:

- TKA Fleece: Thermal Kinetic Advancement Fleece are proprietary fabrics created by The North Face with superior insulation and wear-resistance.

- Apex™: A technology breakthrough - their signature stretch material has an abrasion- and water- resistant face and a comfortable soft-brushed interior.

- DWR Finish: Gives long life to waterproof technologies.

- Windwall™: The North Face's proprietary wind-resistant fleece. Fabric bonding limits air permeability and increases your comfort.

Not every fleece has all these features. The North Face has a bunch of options for you to choose from, and the jacket you choose is going to depend on what activities you're planning, what the weather in the target environment will be, and how much you're willing to spend.

Another way to choose between NorthFace fleeces is to check out customer reviews on various websites such as:

- Adventure16.com
- BackpackGearTest.org
- eBay.com
- epinions.com
- Shopping.Yahoo.com

About The Author

Brian Carter is an avid backpacker and rock climber who also enjoys the lifestyle wear created by the outdoor apparel industry. For more information, he recommends you see http://Adventure16.com and http://BackpackGearTest.org