Wool v/s Fleece

[Roger Norris]

Comparing fleece to wool is like apples and oranges. I consider the weather when I think of fabrics to wear hunting. Hot to cold, my ranking system would be cotton, fleece, wool. And with so many light and mid weight wool offerings, i pretty much ignore fleece.

There is some high quality fleece that seems like it's pretty good stuff, but no way is it BETTER than wool.

I have worn wool in some very ugly conditions, and it has never let me down. I suppose if I lived and hunted in the South, my opinion would be different, but up here, for me it is wool, wool, wool.

[kykiller]

Originally posted by Jeff Strubberg:
I can't imagine having any of my outer layers against bare skin, though.  That's not what they are for.

I hate wearing tight clothes, When and if it gets cold enough I wear my under armor cold gear as my base layer.  The reason I like the windceptor fleece is because I can wear it by itself almost all winter, but when it gets down in the mid to low 20's I have to add the coldgear.  Last year in Dec the windshield was between 8 and 15.  And I wore the cold gear base layer, sweatshirt, windceptor fleece pants, vest, jacket, with a fleece beenie, and fleece hand warming tube.  Woody Max Boots with 1 pair of wool socks.  I hunted 3 days in a row daylight till dark.  The only thing that got cold was my face and my hands got cold when deer came in and I stood ready to shoot.  It normally doesn't get any colder than that around here.  If it does it doesn't last long.

[MajorJim]

For cold weather, can't beat wool.  Wool has a protein in it that containes a natural anti bacterial that helps out in the body odor area.  

If you don't want to smell like the butt of a goat on a longer trip, go with wool.  Fleece for those guys that like the smell of the butt of a goat...  

[Mint]

Woll for me. I have KOM wool that i have had for 15 years and it still looks brand new. Love the fact that I hang it outside for aday and it is scent free. I was caribou hunting back in 1997 and got caught in a rain storm about 5 miles from camp trying to find a caribou when there wasn't any and if I didn't have wool on I think I would have had hypothermia on the way back. The wool kept me very warm all the way to camp.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Shedrock:
Yup, wool will still keep you warm when wet.

Millions of sheep can't be wrong.   :D  

I honestly think no man made fabric is better than wool.

I agree....100% when its good quality tight weave fabric....merino next to the skin helps a lot also.

[Chuck from Texas]

Both are great. Wool stays wet forever but retains some insulation value when wet. Fleece will melt to you in a fire and some of it will burn like crazy. Fleece drys a lot quicker. I really like wool it just has a good natural feel to it and it's comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. Wool tends to be expensive except for surplus stuff which can be really good and cheap.
Chuck

[swampthing]

I love how wool interacts with sunlight, fleece has a unnatural sheen to it. One does not need to wear a wool "coat" for the bennies. As a mater of fact a wool shirt from Sleeping Indian, First Light, or KOM will serve one quite well. Buyer beware,  "tight weave," as some say, can be nothing more than a nylon mesh net with wool chemically bound to it, good in the wind and Antarctica, won't see much use for calmer -20deg days, especially if your on the move.

[awbowman]

Good topic guys.

[David Yukon]

Wool for me, nothing else!

[Aunty]

sorry had to comment im know expert but i have been decked out in fleece and talk about sweat got back to the hut and i was PONKY!!!!! The next day it bucketed down with rain got soaked the fleece got heavy and i was bloody cold. How ever a couple good shakes can get alot of water out of fleece. Wool i have worn wool for 10 days straight and didnt stink that is a big plus for me. Wool works with your body  if you arnt walking much it just keeps you warm as you walk it heats up with you but not so much to make you sweat like a pig. Wool  keeps me warm when wet and isnt a fire hasard the only reason i found out about that is "TOO SHORT" telling me about his cabin incident. The one BAD thing about wool is that it gets heavy when wet and it sucks when you jump out of your tent in the morning nice and warm to have to put on a wet woolen jacket that smells a little like wet dog. I dont care if its itchy never bothers me much. So my vote WOOL....
"MOOSE"

[Terry Green]

Don't take my post wrong...Fleece definitely has its place...I wear it a lot...but when it cold...I mean plumb made dog cold...Wool is where its at...yaknowwhatImeanVern?

[Roger Norris]

knowwhatyamean...fursure

[NoCams]

What Shedrock said in his last statement X 10 !!!
Wore fleece and other man made fibers for years before wearing wool. Wool for me now ! Love the huge comfort range and breathability of wool. With a windliner it cannot be beat. JMHO

[ChuckC]

Wool is heavy, especially if it does get soaked.  Wool takes forever to dry.  Wool is not so easy to clean (except let it dry on and brush it off).  Synthetics are light, one shirt I have I gave to my wife because it was too hot.  I could take it off and shake it and get nearly all of the water out, if it got wet.   But. . .

after all of that,  I still wear wool in the winter because it works, very well.  

It doesn't sound weird when sneaking, it doesn't shine when light hits it,  I don't tend to sweat and stink as I do with the synthetics,

and last. .  

I kinda like the way I look in wool plaids !

ChuckC

[Michigan Mark]

Wool for me, the cockle burrs sure love it to. When the wind is really blowing wax impregnated cloth cuts pretty darn good.

[LookMomNoSights]

Wool is where its at....and I venture to say Ive used about everything.  I used to shy away from wool mostly due to the price.  Good wool is not cheap....but worth every penny once you start wearing it.  With wool,  I dont have to layer like I do with fleece.  Wool stops the wind better too.  If you have fleece,  it has to have windstopper in it....and windstopper is NOISEY!  Although its wool for me,  I will say this......dont matter what your wearing:  if you are a long time sitter and stand hunter,  nothing is going to keep you toasty if you arent moving!  Sit still for a while,  you'll freeze when its cold....period!

[njloco]

The funny part about these answers are that the best way to wear wool or fleece is fleece against the skin and then wool. Fleece dries fast so it wicks sweat away from the body, wool dries from the inside out so it just takes the sweat from the fleece and pushes it out.

My vote therefor goes for fleece under wool.

[skilonbw]

I think it depends for wool on what type, I personally prefer the merino close to my skin and then I can use any layer on top to move about. For me I find even polypro holds my seat after day more than I would like. I do have fleece pants that i bought but they are so warm it has to be like crazy cold for me to need them. So the only time I have worn them is while hunting for coyotes out in blizzards.

[Stumpkiller]

There are loads of different wools, wool treatments, polarfleeces and polarfleece treatments.  As someone noted early on in this thread a wool that has been felted is a LOT more wind resistant that an open knit.  There are also multiple weights, fiber lengths, waterproofing left in (lanolin), removed or chemically replaced.  And the synthetic fleece products have similar: "micropores" that breathe but don't allow rain, Dupont 333 waterproofing or similar, etc., etc.  You can't just make a wool or synthetic statement that covers all.  There is some pretty bad wool out there, and some pretty good synthetic fleece.

However.  The "good" wool is great stuff.

And you can quote Spencer on that.

   

[Trad-Man]

If you could only sweet talk Spenser into doing some writing for us!

I do believe that if spenser could type he would say that not all wool is created equally.  The various grades of wool and how they are spun and woven all play a part in warmth, durability and wind blocking ability.

I want wool that breaths...I want to feel a heavy wind blow through.  That keeps me dry when I'm moving!  I also wear silk and merino under my shirts and pants.  If the wind is an issue I either wear a wind break outter garment like my Caaabelas rain gear when it isn't real cold or a tight weave/crushed wool coat when it is real cold.

You have to understand the type of wool you are buying and its indended purpose.