Steens Mountain Full Zip 2.0

At its budget price the Steens Mountain is how a great many people get their first real layer, and it does what a midweight fleece should: stays warm when damp, dries reasonably fast, feels good against skin, and has zippered hand pockets so a phone does not launch when you sit down. As camp wear and cold-morning wear it is genuinely pleasant. It is also 459 grams, which is where the case falls apart for backpacking. A synthetic puffy of the same warmth weighs half that and compresses to a third of the volume; this fleece eats serious pack space and does not stuff small. It has essentially no wind resistance, so on any exposed ridge you need a shell over it regardless. The polyester pile pills at the cuffs and hem after a season, and it holds body odor in a way wool does not. Buy it for the car and the campsite, not the pack.