Almost every complaint people have about a hoodie — it went shapeless, it pilled, it stopped being warm, the print cracked — traces back to one specification that most listings do not mention. Fabric weight.
The number and what it means
Fleece is sold by weight per unit area, given either in ounces per square yard (oz) or grams per square metre (gsm). Roughly: 1 oz/yd² is about 34 gsm. Higher number, denser fabric, more of it between you and the weather.
- Under 7 oz / 240 gsm — lightweight. Fine as a layer in spring. Goes shapeless within a season of regular wear and the cuffs stop recovering.
- 8–9 oz / 270–300 gsm — the sensible middle. Warm enough to be the outer layer in autumn, structured enough to hold its shape after repeated washing. Most well-made hoodies live here.
- 10–13 oz / 340–440 gsm — heavyweight. Genuinely warm, holds a crisp shoulder line, and takes a long time to dry. The category people mean by “built like a tank.”
- Over 14 oz / 475 gsm — specialist. Impressive in a shop, stiff in real life, and often too warm indoors.
What else actually matters
Ring-spun versus open-end cotton. Ring-spinning twists and thins the fibres before knitting, which produces a smoother, stronger yarn. Open-end is cheaper and coarser, and it is the main reason an inexpensive hoodie feels scratchy at the neck.
The cotton-polyester split. All cotton feels best and shrinks most. All polyester holds shape and pills. Somewhere around 80/20 or 50/50 is the compromise most good fleece settles on — enough polyester to keep the shape, enough cotton to feel like cloth.
Ribbing. Cuffs and hem are where a hoodie dies first. Ribbing with a little elastane recovers its shape; ribbing without it stretches out permanently and the sleeves start falling over your hands.
Loopback versus brushed. Brushed fleece is fluffy inside and warmer immediately; it also mats down with washing. Loopback leaves the knit loops unbrushed, feels less soft on day one, and looks the same after three years.
Buying without holding it
Online, you cannot feel any of this, so read for the specifications rather than the adjectives. A listing that states weight, spin and composition is telling you it has nothing to hide. A listing that says “premium” and “ultra-soft” and no numbers at all is usually mid-weight open-end cotton, and it will be a different garment after four washes.
Making it last
Wash cold, inside out. Heat is what shrinks cotton and what cracks a print. Skip the dryer if you can, and if you cannot, use low. Do not iron the print. Done properly, a good heavyweight fleece outlasts most of the cars its owners argue about.
0 comments