How to Choose an Alpkit Fleece

How to Choose an Alpkit Fleece

By Alex Guerrero

The fleece is an absolute staple of any outdoor lover’s wardrobe. In fact, it’s such a staple that we’ve carefully designed nine wonderfully cosy midlayers for your every need. Everybody will have their go-to, whether it’s layering up for a campsite fireside singsong or keeping you toasty while you’re exploring the Great Outdoors. Here’s a run-down of the range so you can find your new favourite.

Overview

  1. A Quick Comparison
  2. Kelpie quarter zip micro fleece
  3. Griffon grid fleece jacket
  4. Redpoint technical sweatshirt
  5. Akita full zip midlayer
  6. Yakutian half zip micro fleece midlayer
  7. Keeshond high loft fleece
  8. Moya hooded fleece
  9. Sastrugi breathable pile fleece
  10. Mamalute heavyweight hooded midlayer

A Quick Comparison

Product

Fit

Weight in g (Men's/Women's)

Fabric weight

(gsm)

Features

Kelpie

Relaxed

280 / 235

175

Quarter zip

Griffon

Slim

325 / 275

210

Full zip and lightweight hood

Redpoint

Active

340 / 305

250

Pullover style

Akita

Slim

360 / 320

249

Full zip

Yakutian

Slim

380 / 320

225

Windproof outer

Keeshond

Slim

450 / 420

220

Hooded and polygiene treated

Moya

Slim

480 / 450

300

92% recycled polyester

Sastrugi

Regular

580 / 500

300

100% recycled polyester

Mamalute

Relaxed

640 / 605

450

Full zip and snug hood

Kelpie

 

Weightlessly warm, the Kelpie is a versatile micro fleece with a quarter zip. It’s a fleece that’s equally at home on the fells as at the pub.

The Kelpie is ready for movement: it has low profile seams to prevent rubbing under your rucksack or harness. The quarter zip gifts you the flexibility and freedom to warm up, cool down and throw whatever kind of funky shape you fancy. Kelpie is an essential bit of kit you can chuck in your rucksack no matter where you’re headed.

What makes it special?

The beauty is in the simplicity with the Kelpie. But don’t be mistaken – it’s still a fast-drying, quick-wicking, technical garment with a high-performance fabric. Lightweight microfleece is layer-able and highly breathable.

Use for: almost any outdoor fun

Griffon

A firm favourite for hiking, biking, running, climbing, you name it! The Griffon is a full zip, hooded jacket using lightweight and breathable grid fleece. It’s just as suited to a British summer evening at the campsite as it is as part of a layering system.

What makes it special?

We’ve treated the ultra-versatile Griffon with Polygiene® – an anti-odour treatment for synthetic products which means you can go longer between wearing before washing. Not only has the packable fleece got a fantastic warmth to weight ratio, but it also has a great wear to smell ratio! Wear more, smell less, wash less. Perfect!

There are a couple of nifty little features we’ve crafted for the Griffon. The lightweight hood will fit under your helmet to keep your noggin nice and warm when riding or climbing. It’s got thumb loops: they’re there when you need the extra warmth but are out of sight when you don’t.

Use for: anything! It’s the lightweight layer that you can pack for any trip

Redpoint

The Redpoint is no nonsense, and to the (red) point, this is a technical crew neck fleece.

What makes it special?

There’s nothing like an effortless, transitional piece that takes you from pub to mountain and back to the pub again. Redpoint is a technical sweatshirt: it’s wicking and fast-drying, so it’s ready for high-intensity adventure.

The best outdoor pieces don’t even need thinking about – they just work. Pull it on. Throw it off. Layer it up. If you’re a hiker, biker, climber or camper, there’ll be a place in your outdoor wardrobe for an active layering piece like Redpoint.

Use for: transitioning from bouldering to beers, a stand-alone piece in the summer or a layer in the winter

Akita

Move slow or move fast with Akita. There’s a place in your winter wardrobe for a slim, lightweight fleece. Use the Akita as an outer layer for fast activities in colder weather or layer it up for a day of hillwalking.

With a full zip and hand warmer pockets, there’s versatility in its toastiness. Unzip right down when you’re overheating and batten down the hatches when you’re getting chilly.

What makes it special?

It’s fast drying so you don’t have to fear getting your sweat on, but it’s insulating enough to ward off the wintry winds. Our Design Team have combined a wind-resistant, smooth-faced outer with a soft brushed inner, to keep you protected while you’re out on the moors.

Use for: hikes, trail runs and mountain bike rides in breezier, brisker weather

Yakutian

Introducing our showstopping fleece, the Yakutian. When the wind is the villain, Yakutian is the superhero. It’s a half-zip, hard-wearing, wind resistant mid layer.

Although it’s fairly lightweight (380g for men’s medium and 320g for a women’s 12), it’s still tough enough to withstand the strain of rucksack wear-and-tear. It’s breathable, fast drying and has four-way stretch to give you the freedom of movement you need for a variety of outdoor activities.

What makes it special?

Yakutian has 4x better wind resistance than standard fleece. It may have a tough, dense-knit outer face for fighting off fierce winds, but it has a super-soft inner, with warm brushed fleece. The Yakutian technically sits in the midlayer category, but its level of wind resistance means it sits just below soft-shell territory.

Use for: windy, damp conditions whether hiking, scrambling, or cramming in the post-ride snacks

Keeshond

Sometimes, you’re just not emotionally prepared to take your dressing gown off and step out into the cold. That’s okay, us too. That’s why we designed the super-soft Keeshond. It’s a ridiculously fluffy, full zip fleece, ready for winter hiking or even post-hike pub trips.

What makes it special?

Our Design Team have crafted the Keeshond fleece to keep you cosy in calm, cold conditions. With open hand warmer pockets, a tall collar and high loft fleece, it’s certainly toasty. The open structure of the Keeshond’s high loft traps air to warm you up, whilst its breathability means you won’t overheat. This breathability does mean that you have very little protection from the wind.

Don’t be fooled by the fluffiness– it’s light, slim, and versatile enough to be used as part of your layering system. The grid fleece panels are carefully placed to keep you cool where it matters. The relaxed hood (on the women’s version) fends off the dreaded brain freeze when you’ve forgotten your hat.

Our Design Team have treated the fleece with Polygiene®. This means that you can wear it more and wash it less, ultimately reducing your water and energy consumption. The Keeshond is not just handy for reducing the workload on laundry day, but also for use across a variety of sports.

Use for: ski mountaineering, winter climbing, and hiking in cold, calm conditions

Moya

Moya: our warm, wearable fleece hoody. At 450g for a women’s 12 and 480g for a men’s medium, it’s our smooth-faced, slim fit fleece.

What makes it special?

With 92% recycled polyester and 8% spandex, Moya is made with active mountain use in mind. For the mountaineer, hill walker or climber, Moya can take you on your intrepid (or not-so-intrepid) winter outdoor fun.

The fleece has a slim fit and a snug hood to keep you active in cool conditions. Moya is versatile enough to use alone or under a shell. Unzip on the ascents and zip up to regulate your temperature. With a full-length zip and thumb loops; the fleece is breathable but warm.

Use for: cooler, breezier, active days in the mountains

Sastrugi

Sastrugi is our answer to a more environmentally friendly pile fleece. Now, we know that the word ‘sustainable’ is thrown around a lot these days, but we’re proud that we not only made our Sherpa pile fleece recyclable, but also out of 100% recycled polyester. 

What makes it special?

What do you look for in a fleece? Warm? Breathable? Layer-able? Sustainable? Sastrugi ticks all the boxes. It’s joyously cosy and a fleecy solution to an insulated jacket. With a windproof front, it suits the keen British mountain enthusiast for year-round climbing, walking and camping.

Do we dare call Sastrugi a jacket? It’s certainly a capable outer layer. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be worn under an outer shell for extra protection when the weather gets rougher.

Use for: fun in the UK mountains. Bivvying, bothy-ing, camping, climbing even in windier conditions

Mamalute

Entering the ring is our heavyweight fighter, the Mamalute. It’s a notorious challenger to the fiercest competitor (the biting wind on a British hilltop). In other words, it’s our relaxed, windproof, full zip, knit face fleece.

What makes it special?

The V2 of our bestselling Mamalute is more mobile and less stiff than the previous version, meaning you’ll stay agile for a day climbing at the crag. As our heaviest weight fleece, it’s seriously warm but it doesn’t lack on freedom of movement. That’s why we see it on climbers, hikers and summer campers alike.

Mamalute is comfortable, wearable and practical. With its chin guard, snug fit hood and zipped pockets, it keeps your head toasty and your hands cosy. It might have a relaxed fit but it can still be layered under a shell for ultimate protection against the elements.

Use for: slow moving activities in harsh winds

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