advice please _new fleece or new jacket

littleknown

hi i have a north face summit series hyvent jacket with primaloft lining which is a good jacket but i find it can be a bit cold so i was thinking of getting a fleece for it. its only about a year old and is in perfect condition.

had a look at a north face polartec 200 fleece which looks and feels the business but costs 80euro, is it worth forking out this for the fleece or would it be a better investment to buy a new jacket with lining like this one
http://eu.thenorthface.com/tnf-eu-en/men/jackets-vests/men-s-galaxy-triclimate-parka.html?colour=592#1
which can be bought for 220euro,

btw, thinking of sticking with northface as it seems good quality although a bit pricey.

advice appreciated.

Delta Kilo

The Jacket you have is fine, dont replace it with a new, €220 jacket just because it has a fleece integrated into it.

You need a fleece, not one but get a few. They don't have to be expensive. Just make sure they are polyester. Polyester wicks away moisture very quickly and keep you warm even when damp.

The idea is to build up layers. Start off with a thermal base layer. Thermals are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased in any outdoor store. Next is mid layer which are your fleeces. This is what keeps you warm. The idea is to bring a few so you can put on more to warm up or take some away to cool down. Never wear a big thermal jacket hiking because if it gets too hot you can't cool down.

Then you have a jacket, which is basically just a shell layer to keep out the wind and rain. The jacket doesnt have to have any thermal properties. So your jacket is perfect.

The North Face is very good for jackets, fleeces etc but they dont have to be expensive. You can get good microfleeces in TK Maxx for €20+, which will do the exact same job as the north face's polartec.

There are other very reputable brands such as berghaus. You will get a good berghaus fleece for ~€45.

Patagonia is also excellent, if not even better than the north face. There is an outlet store for patagonia gear on exchequer street in Dublin city center where you can pick up stuff fairly cheap considering the quality you are getting!

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Some of this may be irrelevant as you don't seem to be using the jacket for "outdoor pursuits". All the same Id just buy a fleece, or a cheapish thermal/ski jacket. I wouldnt go and replace a really good jacket with another expensive one. Don't limit yourself to the north face as there are many other equally as good brands out there.

hmmm

I prefer to keep the fleece and jacket separate, allows for far more flexibility. TK Maxx are often not a bad place to pick up cheap fleece and the like.

pats87

I wouldn't replace your jacket if the only thing you don't like is that its a bit cold. Throw on a couple of layers under it.

It really depends on what your using your gear for though.

If your spending time on the mountains I'd go for two 100 weight fleeces (one bigger than the other) rather than a 200 weight fleece. This allows you to layer up if necessary and more importantly remove a layer if you start to overheat. You get alot more flexibility with 2 thin fleeces than with one thick one.

If its just around town then do go for a 200 weight fleece because you wont be building up much of a sweat. And anything that you like will do really.

Also don't restrict yourself to North Face gear. It is very expensive and much more of a fashion brand than you'd think. Don't get me wrong, some North Face stuff is brilliant. But there are other brands that are better and cheaper. Mountain Equipment and Rab are fantastic mountain brands and you'd get a 100 weight fleece for around €50.

concussion

TK Maxx carry a lot of Craghoppers gear at good prices (Kiwi pants - €25, fleece - €20)