Fleeces
Product 2019
Lady
We were taken aback by the original style of this polar fleece from Dainese. Is this a fashion item? Or a technical layer for outdoor sport? No, it was both – and even with provocative color names!
The Brand states it is for “skiing and decontracted wear”… let’s check it out!
The design and cut is very feminine, and intriguing. There is the high-technical aspect of the Polartec® High LoftTMpolar fleece (extra warmth for less bulkiness than an ordinary fleece, lighter, warmer, more breathable, packable) ….. in beautifully soft thick grey fleece, sewn together with Merino woven sections: the lower sleeves, the base and the roll neck collar and neckline. The colors are contrasting and pretty – the main question is will it do the job!?
Once on it feels very cozy warm, you can feel where the merinos wool piece is attached to the fleece section of the mid-forearms. So you have the feeling that you’ve pushed your sleeves up, but you get used to it. The Merino wool section is snug fitting and a nice length past the wrists keeping you snugly warm. The Merino is soft to the touch, and stretchy, here there is a sensation that is strange between the warmth of the looser fitting fleece and the lighter warmth of the snug-fitting merinos. This takes getting used to.
The base part of the jumper has a merinos seamless “skirt” that comes down over your bottom, and looks very elegant, chic, and keeps your nether regions toasty warm. For skiing this part you tuck inside your ski pants, and keeps you extra warm, whilst the fleece section sits neatly above the trousers waistline. It felt very nice, and in decontracted mode looks elegant worn on the outside of jeans.
The last Merino section is the neckline and roll neck collar, which has been integrated to look like it’s a top underneath the fleece. The Merino is once again snugly fitting, and keeps out any cold air.
Now for in the action : designed for skiing, it reacts well in very cold temperatures. Ski slope temperatures are perfect for this jumper, as the snug roll neck keeps the heat in, but if you have a tendency to get hot quickly when being active we found the breathability average. The Merino forearms sit neatly inside your gloves giving extra warmth too. Our only problem was what the best first layer to wear with it is: because the merinos sections act in effect as the first layer, they are snug fitting, yet the rest of the fleece is looser, like a standard mid-layer so you need to wear something underneath it. Wearing a short sleeved thermal top seems a strange idea, but wearing a long sleeved thermal top (or other) underneath creates problems because the forearms become too snug, the neckline is ok if you don’t put a high collared thermal on. But, one thing is for sure, wearing this jumper – you don’t get cold!
The jumper is lightweight 261g for size S. Very compact, dries quickly and machine washes well – you would need to see over time the resistance between the two different materials, but for now the Merino sections did not shrink.
We loved the very feminine and original design, which is refreshing, and the several possibilities of use – decontracted with the Merino “skirt” worn on the outside of your jeans, and for skiing worn inside your trousers for extra warmth. The only difficulty is knowing what to wear underneath it. We found the price quite high at 199€, but could be explained by the high-tech materials used.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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