From backpacking to backcountry snowboarding, this merino gentle wool fleece affords up a hard-to-find mixture of consolation, technical efficiency, sustainability, and elegance.
There’s nothing I hate greater than mountaineering midway up a mountain on a chilly morning simply to seek out my fleece soaked by means of with sweat, chilling me to the bone. You shouldn’t have to hold a spare fleece within the backcountry and your gear shouldn’t be a legal responsibility.
That’s why I’ve been counting on the Ortovox Fleece Light Jacket. From backpacking to backcountry snowboarding, this merino gentle wool fleece is ultra-breathable and ultralight. It retains me heat and dry, and it’s the solely midlayer you will want.
Ortovox’s minimalist development and high-quality supplies make it like a second pores and skin that retains me heat within the backcountry with out overheating. It has all the things you want in a midlayer and nothing that you simply don’t.
Ortovox additionally takes an lively position in sustainability by being a part of the Sustainability Action Plan 2024 and dealing to offset carbon output.
The Fleece Light Jacket is one a part of the Ortovox gear ecosystem that features jackets, bib pants, and even avabags. We examined the Fleece Light Jacket out within the backcountry of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains this fall to see the way it stands up
In quick: Made with sustainable and accountable wool from Tasmania, the Merino Fleece Light Jacket is a perfect all-around fleece for a spread of actions. With the Ortovox Wool Promise, you’re assured to guard animals, nature, and other people with this fleece in addition to your pores and skin.
Ortovox Fleece Light Jacket Review
Ortovox Fleece Light Jacket Specs
- Weight: 318 g/11.21 oz.
- Materials: Merino wool
- Pockets: Two entrance pockets, one higher arm pocket
- Thumb loops
- Ergonomic reduce
- Protective collar
Versatility in Mountain Climes
Founded in 1980 south of Munich, Germany, Ortovox has roots in backcountry snowboarding gear similar to avalanche transceivers. The model continues to be considerably beneath the radar within the U.S. in comparison with manufacturers similar to Patagonia and The North Face.
From testing the jacket mountaineering on West Maroon Pass close to Aspen to the Eagle River outdoors of Beaver Creek, Colo., the fleece has been a mainstay in my pack and on my again. It proved simple to layer with, and labored nice by itself as a lightweight jacket.
After 12 miles and almost 3,000 vertical toes of laborious mountaineering close to Aspen, I wore the fleece comfortably all day. The Fleece Light Jacket carried out by means of a freezing chilly morning and continued to take action after the solar got here up, elevating temperatures at excessive elevations with no cowl.
While much like a Patagonia R2 layer, the Ortovox is extra compact and breathes higher making for a simple selection when packing for the subsequent backcountry journey.
As seen within the title, this fleece could be very light-weight. The complete jacket weighs lower than a can of beer and matches simply in any pack. Ortovox optimizes this fleece for packs, which implies it compresses and matches properly within the physique of a pack or an outdoor pocket for straightforward entry.
Inside, the fleece feels delicate and cozy due to the polyester and virgin wool lining mix.
While it saved me heat mountaineering by means of Colorado’s excessive nation this fall, it additionally breathed properly and saved me toasty and dry. The skinny fleece virtually acts like a second pores and skin transferring with me as I hiked. The materials stretched with me and by no means inhibited motion.
Extra Features
Normally I put on an XL, and whereas this was an ideal match length-wise, the XL felt a bit tight. Make positive to take a look at Ortovox sizing and contemplate sizing up to make sure that the common match works.
The sleeves have thumb holes, which is nice when layering the fleece right into a backcountry outfit, and it has two hand pockets for storage or to maintain your arms heat.
And not for nothing, this fleece appears to be like actually sharp. It stands out throughout après on the slopes, contemplating how modern and style-forward it’s. It is available in 5 distinct colours, and the tonal separation on the shoulder and pocket makes the fleece pop.
High-Performance Sheep
The “secret sauce” on this fleece is the wool that Ortovox touts as a part of its Ortovox Wool Promise or OWP.
The Fleece Light Jacket is product of 67% polyester, 26% virgin merino wool, and seven% elastane. The lining is 72% polyester and 28% virgin wool.
Ortovox sources its sustainable merino wool from moral sheep farms. Since 1988, Ortovox has included all-natural fibers from the primary by means of the third layer of all of its clothes. The firm doesn’t produce clothes with out utilizing sheep’s wool fiber.
The profit is the technical mixture of pure wool with modern fibers that lead to comfy clothes for outside adventures. Ortovox works with the Bennett household in Tasmania who’re merino sheep farmers. Tasmania is the rising floor for greater than 95,000 sheep serving because the uncooked supplies for Ortovox clothes.
The OWP supplies a brand new degree of transparency for shoppers about the place their wool comes from, which helps the vendor and even the sheep in the long term.
Protect the Climate
You may also relaxation a bit of simpler figuring out Ortovox takes steps to guard the local weather with climate-neutral objectives. The firm has a purpose to be carbon impartial by 2024 with a three-step strategy of calculating, decreasing, and offsetting its carbon output.
Ortovox creates 60% p.c of its merchandise within the European Union and incorporates recycled supplies within the merchandise and packaging. In addition, Ortovox works with Climate Partner to assist offset carbon emissions.
In addition to serving to the planet, Ortovox is also a Fair Wear member firm, working to enhance working situations and the lives of the individuals producing the garments. From macro to micro, that interprets to an ethically and sustainably produced fleece that received’t break down within the backcountry.
While the Fleece Light Jacket works nice for fall hikes, it should actually shine within the backcountry this winter. Having a light-weight, breathable layer to maintain your temperature regulated whereas mountaineering up steep slopes and snowboarding down powdery peaks is vital to day.
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