carhartt stonewashed fleece active jac vs. thermal lined active jac: opinions?

Josh Muller

Josh Muller

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Jun 22, 2003
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i have bought for myself a thermal lined active jac and a stonewashed fleece lined active jac, and im really on the fence between the two of them...

the thermal lining amounts to a nylong mesh thats rather scratchy and seemingly doesnt actually add any warmth to the jacket, and the fleece lined has a thick padding of fleece along the torso, and padded smooth nylon for the sleeves.

the things i like about them -

thermal active jac:
light, can be warn even when warm
can be layered, i have a langlitz columbian i like to wear over sweatshirts
dark pleasing od green, nice firm canvas, black cuffs

fleece active jac:
feels like im wearing a quilt, very soft and pleasent
actively warm, projects body heat back at you
good for colder weather, hood lining is excellent for ear and head heat retention

things i dont like about them -

thermal active jac:
provides no active heat. much like my carhartt duck canvas pants, when it gets cold, all im wearing is a wind breaker over my legs
scratchy interior lining

fleece lined -
its big... quite poofy
a little warm for moderate temperatures, 60-70 degree's
cant be easily layered with my langlitz, cuts off circulation in sleeves
not a big fan of excess color, and the ligher green is less appealing to me then the darker od green of the thermal lined




its very hard to choose between being able to wear the thermal jac at all times, but be colder in low temperatures, or wear the fleece lined and deal with it both being hot in moderate temps, and not being able to wear with my langlitz... thats the biggest downside - i love my langlitz and would hate to see it retire to the closet... but i like the way the fleece feels a lot more then the thermal lined...



so... your opinions?

how does the thermal lining react in low temps - 20-35 degrees?
 
I don't think I'd be happy with either of them. If the thermal is scratchy, it would drive me nuts, I wouldn't wear it. I like fleece a lot, very comfortable, very warm, but if it doesn't layer well, I'm in trouble. I overheat quickly when I'm active, and bulky fleece will hold sweat and chill me eventually. Very uncomfortable. Poor sleeve circulation is a deal-breaker for me.
 
i kind of feel the same way... gonna see if anyone has a flannel one they'd want to trade for... otherwise i think im going to try to sell the thermal lined and look for a flannel stone washed medium, wich should be about as thick as the thermal lined, but not as.... dead to me.... lol....

the thing i really dont like about the thermal nylon lining is that it works when you dont move, allowing heat to be trapped in the air space between you and the canvas, but the second you start moving, you start to lose your body heat to the canvas on the other side since the nylong is reletively thin.

where as with fleece or with flannel you have a soft layer of fiber that holds heat in it, rather then allowing the air between you and the outer shell to stay warm, wich is an all together more inviting feeling when wearing....


man.... i gonna feel really stupid going back to the store and buying a 3rd carhartt jacket...
 
just realized that its called flannel quilt lining rather then fleece....

i really should have tried for one in flannel/blanket....
 
You really have to guage the layering potential. The "flannel quilt lining" sounds like it's worth keeping for days when it is warm enough, but you need something snugger for layering. I've got a lot of quilted flannel that's great for cool weather and a turtleneck warms it up a bit more if I need to. I just go with sweaters for layering, or a thick shirt.
 
oh it has plenty of potential for layering under it, to the extent that i could probably wear it over my langlitz columbian, but it has almost 0 potential for layering over it, wich is what i want

my langlitz columbian is one of my ultimates, the ultimate in leather hard use apparel. for me, it doesnt get any better. with the quilted flanel, and how puffy the jacket is, it means if i wear the carhartt, i cant wear my langlitz, wich is a serious drawback for me.

i can layer over the thermal insulation active jac, but its way to scratchy and doesnt provide any soft warmth, so its not pleasent to wear. im thinking that the normal flannel version or the sherpa version would be a better choice for what i want - something that can keep me warm down to 40 degree's, but can be worn under my langlitz. neither of the ones i have now (the padded flannel and the thermal) can do that...
 
Go buy the Lands End polartec fleece at sears. Is an awesome fleece for layering and is only about 45 bucks;D
 
nuts... turns out that they dont make a flannel lined version in anything but brown... i'll have to see tommorro how the sherpa lined is....

if not i may just have to ghetto rig in a flannel lining into the thermal lined active jac :rolleyes:
 
Polyester fleece jackets and pull-overs are available under $20.00 at K-Mart; Gander Mtn (hurry - sale); Old Navy; Walmart (some stores). Stocks will fall as Spring approaches.

I just got a 200 wt (med. wt) fleece jacket at Gander Mtn. for $15.00 (50% off) -- complete with pull cord at waist and full-length zipper.
 
i decided to forego the active jacs (after buying 2 of them) to get the blanket lined traditional duck canvas detroit jacket with the optional a04 black "one size fits all" hood

i love the jacket, but have 2 quarrells with it

1 - the 2 left breast pockets.there are two slash waist pockets, one outer breast pocket on the left, and an inner breast pocket also on the left. what you end up with is the inner left breast pocket overlapping with the left slash pocket. thats fine until you put things in both and end up with this big uncomfortable bulge in it. if i had a choice, i would have gone with two outer breast pockets, one on the right and one on the left.

2 - the "one size fits all" hood. thing is - it fits like a skull cap. so i have my doubts that it will fit all, since it fits me tight, and im a reletively small guy at 5' 10" 135lbs. i decided that id rather have a normal jacket with a hood that i could layer under instead of a heavy canvas sweatshirt that i would try to layer under something else (wich didnt work at all). the jacket is wonderful for layering under it, i could wear 3 sweatshirts under it and be okay, but not the hood. its tight by itself, anything underneath makes it unusable snapped down, and very restricting open. being that its a skull cap, and it has a short nape, it ends up pulling up a little on the shoulder area of the collar, making it so you cant turn you head past 20 degree's in iether direction. you also cant button it shut, AT ALL with a sweatshirt hood on under it. i tried for about 15 minutes while coming home tonight, and all it resulted in is my feeling like i was going to vomit from choking myself with it.

im going to modify the chinstrap/cover they provide with it to make it much wider, so that i can use it without actually tying the hood in tight, since i cant actually do that without choking if i have a hood on under it.

preferably, id much rather use the wide roomy hood of my active jac on it, but its green and that just looks weird, plus id have to modify it a lot to get it to work (hemming in the lining, and putting the snaps on it).

i love the jacket, but the hood leaves a lot to be desired. its okay by itself, though still quite restricting, but when used with any underlayering, it becomes unusable in the buttoned up position.
 
Keep both of them if you can. I love Carhartt and it is so durable. The other jacket sounds like a good color but linings can be not all what they claim to be, but if you have to choose just one...keep the other jacket and layer it. Stone washed and fleece lining looks so good on anybody though. Can't you keep them both? :D cry if you can't...it works for women. Somebody may have mercy on you huh?
 
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