Backside Line
The Outside Analysis Vigor (males’s / ladies’s) is considered one of our favourite fleece jackets to put on when situations are chilly, however we’re prone to additionally break a sweat. It’s the lightest full-zip jacket on our record, so relating to high-output actions, we attain for the Vigor. Its quick-drying grid fleece gives the proper quantity of heat and airflow to maintain you comfy even whereas chugging uphill.
The Vigor is sort of a beefed-up baselayer, so it’s an incredible go-to for the whole lot from mountaineering to snowsports – something that requires thermoregulation and moisture administration. We additionally love the full-seat protection.
The worth of the Vigor is great too, with comparable fleeces costing considerably extra. We suggest the Vigor to anybody seeking to rating an incredible deal on a flexible, high-performance jacket for his or her energetic life-style.
We examined this fleece all through the autumn on cool morning hikes and chilly evenings by the hearth pit. We love the scuba hood for sporting below helmets alpine climbing and whereas backcountry snowboarding.
We additionally love that the layer transitions from mountaineering as an outer layer to a midlayer for backcountry snowboarding. It is a perfect layer for early morning ascents when it’s chilly out, however you’re producing physique warmth. The professionals far outweigh any cons for this well-priced fleece.
Fast Specs
Outside Analysis Vigor
Most Breathable Fleece
CleverHiker Ranking:
68
Value:
$120
Measured Weight:
12.9 oz.(Males’s M)
Fleece Weight:
Light-weight
Professionals
- Inexpensive (particularly for technical put on)
- Light-weight
- Extremely breathable
- Fast-drying
- Straightforward to layer
- Good mobility
Heat
The Outside Analysis Vigor provides an excellent mid-layer degree of heat. It isn’t as heat as among the warmest fleeces on our record, however it’s nonetheless an incredible possibility for cool mornings on the path.
This skinny, lighter-weight fleece won’t carry out properly as an outer layer in frigid winter temperatures until you’re actually working up a sweat. We wore the Vigor on a cool crisp Colorado day deep within the Rocky Mountains and round city on informal walks.
This thermoregulating layer has Outside Analysis’s signature ActiveTemp cloth remedy, which implies it regulates your temperature throughout high-energy hikes, runs, and ski tour laps. It’s a stable mid-layer fleece to pair with a jacket for added heat. The hood additionally provides further heat by slowing warmth loss out of your head.
Consolation
The Outside Analysis Vigor was very comfy each as a townie layer and as a technical path layer. Its stretchy materials strikes together with your physique. Whereas not a heat fuzzy fleece, it’s extra of a second-skin type fleece.
It is vitally light-weight and stretchy, and we shortly forgot we had been sporting it. Outside Analysis designed the Vigor with a flat-seam development, which provides consolation, particularly with layers, and eliminates any likelihood of chafing. Light-weight and free vary of motion are the 2 excessive factors for consolation right here.
Sturdiness
Our testing confirmed no put on and tear on this fleece. The bluesign-approved 94% polyester and 6% spandex materials stood as much as customary hikes and a few scrambling over tough rocks. If the Vigor encountered a pointy department otherwise you had been to take a giant crash, then the material would possibly tear, however this must be one thing out of the bizarre.
On your common hikes on a path, the Vigor goes to carry out nice and may final a very long time. When washing this fleece, it could be higher to air dry it because it has high-performance sweat-wicking expertise. That would assist extend the lifetime of the Vigor, however there’s no concern of pilling or fraying right here.
Weight
This fleece is 12.9 ounces, making it one of many lighter fleeces on our record. Whereas testing the Vigor on hikes within the Rockies, we discovered it to be a superb light-weight layer that’s straightforward to hike in. We needed to scramble over a couple of rocks, and the Vigor moved with us whereas by no means weighing us down. It additionally packs into a light-weight ball in regards to the dimension of a softball and stows away simply right into a backpack. By way of compact and light-weight fleeces, this is among the prime choices on our record.
Options
There aren’t a ton of options with the Outside Analysis Vigor; nevertheless, for being such a primary light-weight layer, it has some good options. Our favourite is the 3-panel hood with binding. Typically, fleeces which might be this mild will sacrifice a hood and pockets for fewer ounces, however Outside Analysis included a pleasant hood right here, together with a zipper chest pocket and two hand pockets.
The fleece is quick-drying, sweat-wicking, and breathable. It additionally has UPF 30 solar safety, which is sweet for cloudless days on the path. It has a full zipper and thumb loops on the sleeves, which makes it straightforward to layer. Whereas the Vigor is a minimalist design, it has some good options that got here in useful whereas we examined it.
Ought to You Purchase The Outside Analysis Vigor?
The Outside Analysis Vigor is a superb fleece for the worth (and OR is kind of beneficiant with their gross sales, so maintain an eye fixed out for them!). The worth right here is off the charts and provides an incredible stability of light-weight heat and luxury. It’s not an off-the-cuff cumbersome/fuzzy fleece however extra of a technical layer that’s designed for any out of doors exercise the place you’ll be working up a sweat.
If you’d like a light-weight, breathable layer for the path or mountain climbing, or a mid-layer for winter sports activities, that is the fleece for you.
What Different Fleeces Ought to You Take into account?
Patagonia R1 Air Overview: An analogous fleece to the Outside Analysis Vigor, the R1 Air is a light-weight, technical, breathable fleece. It doesn’t have a hood or hand pockets, however apart from that, these two fleeces have comparable designs and chest pockets and work for a similar actions.
REI Flash Hyperstretch Overview: Just like the Outside Analysis Vigor, the REI Flash Hyperstretch will not be the warmest fleece, however it’s comfy, light-weight, and wicks sweat on high-energy hikes. The Flash Hyperstrech is one other light-weight fleece that works nice for backcountry hikes and longer ventures.
