Fleece and microfleece: warmth without the weight

Fleece is a 100% polyester knit, brushed on both sides to raise a nap that traps air and insulates against the cold without adding weight. Microfleece is its finer, lighter variant, knitted more tightly, worn alone or as a light layer under a jacket. Both dominate team gear worn outdoors from autumn onward.

The essentials in 4 points:

• The material: polyester (sometimes recycled) knitted then brushed on both faces, trapping air to insulate without the weight of wool.
• Fleece or microfleece: the difference comes down to weight. Microfleece is finer and lighter, classic fleece thicker and warmer.
• Marking: embroidery and digital transfer work on every fleece, screen printing does not, depending on the reference.
• Budget: from 9 to 45 euros per marked piece in the catalog, depending on the brand and weight.

Fleece, microfleece: one family, two weights

The principle stays the same from one reference to the next: polyethylene terephthalate fibers (the same polymer as recycled plastic bottles) are spun, knitted into loops, then mechanically brushed to raise a dense nap on both faces. That nap traps a thin layer of air between the fibers, and it is that still air that insulates, not the material itself.

What separates a fleece from a microfleece is the weight and knit density. A classic fleece runs around 280 to 320 grams per square meter, with a thick nap you can see and feel. A microfleece often drops under 200 grams, with a tighter knit and a short nap: it packs smaller, works as well worn alone as as a mid-layer, and dries faster.

Fleece or microfleece: choosing by use case

For gear worn outdoors most of the year (field teams, outdoor event staff, open-air reception), classic fleece remains the warmest choice at a controlled budget. For a piece the team packs in a bag, layers under a jacket, or wears in a heated indoor space, microfleece wins: it insulates almost as well per gram, takes up less room, and washes more easily.

The real trade-off isn't warmth alone, it's use: a fleece worn outdoors all day, a microfleece worn intermittently or as a layer.

Fleece, sweatshirt fleece: two different materials

The two materials feel similar to the touch, but nothing connects them in how they're made. Sweatshirt fleece is a mostly cotton knit, the one used for hoodies and sweatshirts: softer, more absorbent, less insulating per gram. Fleece is a 100% synthetic knit, more technical, more insulating and faster to dry, but less breathable during activity. A team hoodie is made in sweatshirt fleece; a jacket worn outdoors all winter is made in fleece.

Marking on fleece: what works, what doesn't

This is the point most guides skip, and it genuinely changes the quote. In our catalog, Stanley/Stella and Sol's fleeces accept screen printing alongside embroidery and digital transfer. JHK, Tee Jays, and Pen Duick fleeces only offer embroidery, digital transfer, and patches: no screen printing.

The reason comes down to texture. Screen printing deposits ink on the surface, through a screen pressed flat against the fabric: on a brushed, napped knit, the ink struggles to adhere cleanly and the print can crack with wear. Embroidery, by contrast, anchors directly into the thickness of the knit, which makes it the reference technique on this material: an embroidered logo on fleece holds up over time, whichever reference you pick.

What's in the catalog

Nine fleece references in the catalog, across five brands, from 9.19 euros per marked piece (Baltic Men, Pen Duick) to 44.79 euros (Outdoor Fleece, Tee Jays, the most technical of the range). In between, Stanley/Stella (Trekker, Stanley Quester) and Sol's cover the mid-range with the widest choice of marking techniques.

What to remember

Fleece and microfleece are the same family of synthetic knit, distinguished by their weight: thicker and warmer for one, finer and more versatile for the other. The real point of caution for a team order isn't the material itself, it's the marking: not every fleece accepts screen printing, embroidery remains the safest choice whatever the reference.