Available to consumers next Fall 2012 for $299, the Polar Hooded Jacket is a sleek, hybrid, body-mapped soft shell made of two new Polartec fabrics. This design maps key hot/cold zones and optimizes fabric placement for function and comfort, providing increased warmth and breathability where needed most.

The body is made of a new version of Polartec® Power Shield® soft shell fabric with a high loft fleece interior that’s both 25% warmer and 25% lighter thanks to a revolutionary new lamination technique. A new version of Polartec® Thermal Pro® is used in the sides, underarms and hood to insulate without inhibiting breathability and moisture vapor transport. Unlike down or classic synthetic fill insulation, Polartec® Thermal Pro® fibers won’t migrate, so The North Face was able to use an open mesh knit fabric on the inside to eliminate the vapor barrier phenomenon of most puffies.

The Polar Hooded Jacket combines the warmth of a puffy with the moisture-wicking properties of fleece and the protection of a soft shell to let climbers eliminate layers and give them freedom of movement. We’re not aware of a warmer, lighter, more compressible soft shell.

Cabela’s E.C.W.C.S Thermal Zone® Polartec® Power Dry® Crew Top

New Thermal Zone baselayers by Cabela’s use Polartec® Power Dry® High Efficiency fabrics to create a complete body temperature regulating system with antimicrobial treatment that allows the outdoorsman more versatility depending on the variety of weather conditions and situations faced in the field. Body thermography was studied in order to determine the critical areas that maintain core temperatures. Combining three weights of strategically-placed fabric, Thermal Zone provides maximum breathability, warmth and comfort where you need it most. Heavier weight Polartec® Power Dry® is used in the core and maximum exposed areas, mid weight is used in less critical areas, and lightweight Polartec® Power Dry® fabric is used in high-output areas prone to excessive perspiration, as well as the cuff areas to minimize bunching. Cabela’s Thermal Zone baselayers include crew and 1/4 zip tops, and bottoms.
MSRP: $79.99 – $89.99 (Huge muscles in photo sold separately)

To WIN YOU MUST:1) Head to the Polartec Facebook Page and ‘Like’ us
2) Find this giveaway post
3) In a comment below the post, answer this question: “This winning base layer uses three key fabric weights to achieve a higher level of performance. What three things do you always take into the outdoors to keep you at the top of your game?”

We will choose a winner at random on Friday December 9th at Noon MST

We have Men’s Medium, Large, or XL available.

Thanks so much and good luck!

The New York Times magazine recently published an article, “The Evolution of Fleece, From Scratchy to Snuggie”, which takes a historical look at the product category Polartec invented.

Polartec fleece products are now more lightweight, warm, functional, versatile and durable than ever. And we keep working to make them better.

The Evolution of Fleece, From Scratchy to Snuggie

By HILARY GREENBAUM and DANA RUBINSTEIN

Published: November 25, 2011

Even in the heyday of the polyester age — during the height of John Travolta and white bodysuits — when people wanted to stay warm, they still wore wool. And that venerable material had its downsides. It was notoriously itchy. When it got wet, it stank. And moths liked to eat it.

By the late 1970s, however, Malden Mills, a Massachusetts textile maker that specialized in baby bunting, began experimenting with polyester’s outdoorsy potential. Under the direction of the mill’s owner, Aaron Feuerstein, a team of engineers wound superfine polyester yarn into a dense fabric resembling terry cloth, only lighter. After its fibers were brushed, the fabric’s volume greatly increased; they also provided insulation and could wick water away.

In 1981, through an unusual collaboration with Yvon Chouinard, owner of a little-known mountaineering outfitter called Patagonia, Feuerstein introduced his invention to the burgeoning sportswear market. “We had the finest technical group, engineering group and research group in the textile industry,” recalls the father of fleece. “We built performance into the fabric. We were so proud of what we did.”

“GAP HAD IT TO THE MAX”

The first-generation fleece, called Synchilla (as in synthetic chinchilla), was used in Patagonia’s seminal Snap-T pullover (1985), which was subsequently made famous by family ski trips across the Northeast. “For many, many years,” says Rob Bondurant, vice president of marketing at Patagonia, “Synchilla was the Kleenex of fleece, if you will.”

Within a decade, however, fleece had become an inescapable element of daily life. And just as the fabric’s lightness appealed to sportsmen, its colorfulness, lack of fur and relative inexpensiveness made it, in a word, trendy. Scott Schulman, who runs The Sartorialist, a popular style blog, is reminded of the transformation that jersey went through after Chanel used it in her early collections. Before that, he says, jersey “was thought of as underwear fabric.”

Eventually, Lands’ End, L.L. Bean and others incorporated fleece in everything. “In the late ’90s, Gap had it to the max,” explains Ingrid Johnson, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. According to Nate Simmons, director of marketing at Polartec, the successor company to Malden Mills, “It completely changed the way the world dresses for cold weather.”

COMING IN FROM THE COLD

Ever since its early days, fleece has been continuously improved. The yarn — now about as fine as cashmere — was honed to prevent the fabric from pilling and wind from blowing through. As a result, the unmistakable fuzzy material is unusually lightweight and warm — an unreasonable expectation only a synthetic could fulfill. In 1993, Patagonia and Polartec began exploring how to make fleece from recycled content. The first iterations, however, were fraught with issues; they were also scratchy. By 2006, though, they were able to make recycled fabrics at costs comparable to the original.

Beyond embracing environmental issues, fleece’s greatest impact has probably been on the eco-chic fashion industry that blossomed around it. No longer does a man, come winter, have to hide his svelte figure beneath dowdy layers of down and wool. And no longer does he have to wear it outdoors. Lands’ End, for instance, uses fleece for monogrammable dog jackets with reflective trim, beanbag covers and Christmas stockings. Of course, for $10 anyone can enjoy the Snuggie, a fleece blanket cum smock that no mountain climber ever could have imagined.

Polartec® Power Dry® FR boasts a patented bi-component knit construction which dramatically improves comfort by transporting moisture away from the skin and pulling it to the outer surface where is can dry faster.  Thus, keeping you warmer and drier while in the field.

Polartec® is the market leader and biggest supplier of American-made FR knits.  Polartec’s full-layering FR system has been protecting workers in the oil, gas, petrochemical, electrical utility, power generation, mining and industrial industries for over 10 years.  For more information, see Polartec FR.

For the 11 world-class climbers, skiers, mountaineers, runners, explorers and adventure racers on the Polartec Athlete Advisory Board, there’s perhaps nothing as painful as sitting under the fluorescent bulbs of a conference room for an eight-hour meeting. But, if that meeting will result in warmer, drier and lighter fabrics that help them perform faster, longer and more efficiently, they’re happy to put in the time. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if that meeting takes place in the international capital of mountain sports – Chamonix, France.

This past week, the Polartec Advisory Board members traveled from around the world to Chamonix, carrying stacks of prototype baselayers, insulating layers and weather protection jackets they’ve been testing for past 6-12 months. The athletes joined a team of Polartec product developers and company leaders, including Polartec president Andy Vecchione and VP Jon Adelman, for a marathon meeting to discuss the latest in fabric technologies.

The athlete group, which was instrumental in the development of both Polartec Power Shield Pro and Polartec NeoShell fabrics, has been testing a wide variety of exciting new (and top-secret) Polartec innovations. The group has put those fabrics through the proverbial ringer, evaluating them for warmth, breathability, waterproofness and overall comfort. The athletes shared their opinions on their test garments and talked about what they would like to see in the next iteration of prototypes.

We can’t share exactly what innovations are coming from Polartec in the future, but based upon the enthusiasm at the end of the Athlete Advisory Board meeting, we can assure you that there are some really exciting, ground-breaking fabrics in the pipeline.

Did you know Polartec is a major supplier to the US Military? Well, out of the company’s Lawrence, MA headquarters, Polartec has worked with the US Military for over a decade – developing new fabric technologies that protect our troops. No melt, no drip fleece that protects soldiers from skin burns during IED explosions? That was us, and we couldn’t drive this innovation without all the dedicated people who work with us everyday.

Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown recently toured Polartec’s headquarters in Lawrence, MA, where he met with executives and some of the several hundred employees that work there. The Senator even held a short Q&A with employees.

Polartec President Andy Vecchione shows Senator Brown a garment made from Polartec® Power Dry® FR, a flame resistant, highly breathable and quick drying fabric designed for high speed tactical operations.

Senator Brown can't get over how soft the fleece feels.

And it goes a little somethin’ like this- “For 35 years, Gore-Tex has dominated the market for waterproof, breathable fabrics, but this spring it has some competition. Textile maker, Polartec, has developed its own waterproof, breathable fabric that threatens to trump Gore-Tex’s latest. We put both through the wringer to see which stands out.”

The Rab Stretch Neo Jacket with Polartec NeoShell went head to head with Millet’s Trilogy Limited GTX with Gore-Tex Active Shell.

The Results: (drum roll please)-”All four testers consistently felt more comfortable in the 17oz Polartec shell, despite the Gore-Tex jacket being 3oz heavier. Testers had to physically air out the Gore-Tex jacket by unzipping its armit vents, whereas sweat evaporated quickly out of the ventless Polartec.”

Needless to say, we are thrilled at the review and it’s a great Monday at Polartec.