i got his fleece a few days ago and really wanted to like it however its just cut wrong. i fit arcteryx and north face size large pefectly but the large size in this has the right arm and waist size but is cut too tight around the chest and torso, its even a little tight around the shoulders. i cant get it zipped up all the way around the neck as it strangles you its so tight in that area. the cuffs are also way too baggy around the wrists and let drafts in, strange considering the rest is cut too small. i have a 2006 montane superfly xt in large and that fits me well so i dont know how theyve managed to get this wrong.
the double zip is also annoying and takes several attemps to slot it in to get it zipped up...something that would be very difficult with cold hands. the top of the zip also pokes in to your chin as they havent covered it although this is a fault i see in many manufacturers.
about one third of the jacket is not polartec but a streatch material that covers the sides, underarms, and the entire length of the arms on the bottom side, this is not as warm as the fleecey lining of the polartec. the fleecy lining itself lays quite flat and doesnt trap as much heat as you would expect, polartec thermal pro (eg. mountain hardware monkey man fleece) is noticably warmer in non-windy conditions. the lining is nice and soft, its just a shame i cant zip up the collar to feel it.
its such a shame theyve messed up this fleece but the poor cut around the torso and neck, it nearly makes it unuseable for me but the stratch panels give it some give. i really wanted to like it as its windresistant, soft lined, and good looking (in black colour) but i can only rate it as maybe 4 or 5 out of 10, not worth its price (£75) until the fit is sorted out.
tim, two way zips, in my experience, are nearly always a pain when new but behave when they've worn a bit. the construction with the thinner panels is not a secret.
you have a point about the zip digging in could have been better thought out and the fit too.
Fit'd always potentially problematic and sometimes the factory simply gets it wrong, however I have a test medium Jaguar here and the fit is perfect. To put that in perspective, I'm a textbook medium - 40-inch chest, 32" waist, slightly broader than average shoulders and most things fit me well, though The North Face's classic cut is actually very loose. The XT btw, is loose for a Montane garment, it's approximately half a size up on a normal Super-Fly to allow you to layer underneath it.
The fabric is more wind resistant than the Monkey Man, which to be honest, is pretty much a casual garment and that's the point of it. On the double zip front, YKK had a duff batch oft zips that needed a bit of manipulation to break down the bonding before they'd work properly, think zip massage.
Ultimately it sounds like the jacket just doesn't fit you. Most Montane stuff is cut on the slim side and the XT is untypical of their stuff, so that may be the problem.
Oh, and the fabric is very expensive, if the entire jacket were Polartec, it would be both heavier and a lot more expensive with no significant functional benefit.
Unfortunately, all manufacturers use their own, different body models. And they may not fit your body model. Neither do we come in fixed 2" increments, unlike most clothing. I'd like to use Paramo, but their stuff simply doesn't fit me; way too baggy in the body, way too short in the sleeve. But I'd never say that the fit is wrong, just that it's not right for me.
So I'm afraid you're just unlucky, in that this particular garment doesn't fit you. If it's tight around the shoulders and collar, and the fleece pile is squashed flat, it does sound like it's too small for you; an XL may be better.
Or it may just be a duff example; production variations and errors do happen.
yes the fit is mainly the problem. im a 43inch chest and their large is for a 42inch but i was hoping it would have enough room like the xt. large. the tightness is around the chest and sholders, i wonder if montane use a smaller chest size for their large as they are a british company.
i feel i may have been a bit too negative about it, overall its not too bad if the fit was right for me although the cuffs are too big by anyones standard, theres a 4cm gap between the wrist and the cuff which may be ok for a jumper but not for something like this which should be either closerfitting or have adjustable cuffs. the zip and collar seem to be loosening up a bit after a bit of wear although its not helped byu being a fine toothed zip. the lining is similiar to modern synthetic fur not really deep pile at all, i wouldnt say its warmer than any other fleece but it is noticably more windblocking and i havent noticed getting sweaty in it. i think this may be due to the breathability of the streach panels but the trade off is heat loss in those areas which maybe isnt a bad thing under the arms. the outerface is quite smooth but soft and seems as if it will resist piling (unlike berghus fleece material).
a few other things worth mentioning: the mesh pockets act as heat vents when open, collar and hem adjucters are all one handed and something the original review didnt mention is that the back is cut longer and will cover most of the buttocks when pulled down which is good.
had to relent because i don't have enough jackets. got his'n'hers.
fit for me is fine as with the Angel. sleeves a bit long but that doesn't bother me as i have somewhere to retreat my hands into. zip ok - you must have been unlucky tim. material is soft and snuggly.
i had to swap for the extra large...much better fit and no tightness anywhere and better zipper. i still dont understand why theyve put strech material all the way down the arms and the cuffs are still too baggy but still an ok price for a decently designed polartech fleece.
i would reccommend anyone with with a 43inch chest or more or that fits arcteryx/north face large go for the extra large in this.
I think the side panels are partly down to cost. The fabric is very expensive, if the entire jacket were made from Polartec, I doubt it would be commercially viable because no-one would stump up for it
Stretch side panels are often used in items intended for climbers. The stretch material allows good arm reach without getting cuff or hem pull, allowing good freedom of movement. Good arm raise is usually a feature of the cut of the armscye; a shallow scye and spare fabric make for better arm raise, but can cause problems with fabric bulk when the arm is lowered. So using a thinner fabric reduces the problem of bulk.
A thinner fabric at the sides also allows heat to escape from the armpits. It might seem that a lot of heat will escape from the sides in normal use, but, if you're walking, the arms provide some protection from wind. I can't recall the exact details of the fabric that Montane use on the Jaguar, but I recall that it's a thin, hard-faced fleece. In which case, the hard face will provide some wind resistance, too.
I have a Sprayway Zone 2 which uses a thin, stretch, hard-faced fleece at the sides too, but I don't find that I notice feeling cold at the sides.
i find the cuffs baggy in the way that the kinetic top's aren't. no where near as wide as some other tops i have. if they had no movement in them you wouldn't be able to raise your arms and have the cuff return to "normal".
Just bought one of these in XL and the fit is brilliant. I normally take a north face large and an xl in everything else (although berghaus is a bit hit and miss for me, I'm kind of halfway between their large and XL).
Anyway back to the jacket, it fits wonderfully, its dead snuggly, and the arms are the perfect length for me, the cuffs don't feel baggy at all, they sit just on the top on my hands like a normal jacket would.
No problems with the zip and there's a solid windproof baffle behind it. I have it zipped right up to the top now while I'm leaning forward to type (the laptop is on the coffee table!) and it doesn't dig in at all, and I have a 17" neck.
The stretch side panels and arms are there for a reason, to help the jacket move, but I guess this also cuts down on the cost & weight.
I was a bit worried about the weight of it, but it feels lovely on, and it weighs just a bit more than my photon hoody, so not a great penalty for a snuggle jacket.
My XL Montane featherlite smock fits over it nicely to help out with the windproofing if I need it.
Well that's the "sat in the living room, warm and comfy, watching the rain through the window" test done, I'll take it to Snowdon the weekend after next to give it a more thorough shakedown.
well this is quite a blast from the past, i cant believe ive had it for two years. anyway long term i have to say like u panda the xl is a good fit (i too am normally a north face large) and i have to say its my favourite fleece despite my initial impressions although the uncovered top of the zip still pokes in the chin occasionally. theres been no pilling yet either and it still looks like new. if they were a bit cheaper id definately have a second one but at 30 degress celsius today fleeces are the last thing on my shopping list.
Hey Tim, glad to hear yours is still going strong after two years - got mine for my kili trip as I want to keep warm, especially in the wind up at 4,000m plus, hence why I was testing combining it with the windproof smock - must admit they look tops together and they also give more options for layering than a single top.
I got it new for a ridiculously cheap price and was a bit worried it would be a bit mankie or damaged when it arrived, but its in perfect condition and i really lucked out!
A little late, but managed to get this out at the weekend. It was a balmy 22 degrees on the coast and I was just wearing a thin helly hansen lifa longsleeve crew - its great when its hot as its cools down nicely.
Anyway, we climbed from the coast up to the top of snaefell where it was 10 gecrees and 25 mph winds, I run quite warm so still just had my lifa on, but at the summit we stopped for a quick bite to eat so I was cooling down quickly, so put my Jaguar fleece on and I was instantly snuggled - couldn't feel cold, so much so that I was darting about the summit taking pictures whilst the missus was huddled up sheltered from the wind.
I felt really comfy, not to hot and not too cold. Started off down the mountain and was still nice and comfy, and the clouds came in and chased us down the mountainside.
When we'd decended around 200m the temperature was rising to 13 degrees and I was destinctly hot and was sweating so much that had to take the jaguar off again - which was a pain as I hadn't bought a lighter windproof (doh!), so after a few minutes I was chilled from the evaporating sweat, so I stuck the jaguar back on and left it wide open and decided to live with being too hot, rather than being too cold.
So, my view is, if you run cold, then this is a great jacket for when the weather changes, but if you run hot (like me) then maybe its best to keep this for the winter (or for Kili!).
Just bought my montane jaguar fleece and im really dissapionted to be honest.
It fits me perfectly in a large but it's just not very warm or windproof come to that.
I use it on the beach walking the dog and find the wind just cuts through the parts with the stretchy panels on thus leaving you cold and uncomfortable.
My monkey man jacket just makes this item look poor in terms of heat retention.
The jaguar looks smart feels comfy to wear but don't be fooled into thinking this is a performance item as it's not. Would be ok on a chilly summers evening but so would a £10 fleece from Asda.
Not worth the money!
