The Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece is our best budget buy pick, and we rate it 70 out of 100.
A budget polar fleece that is genuinely soft, warm enough for a chairlift, and inconsistent enough that you should check the zip the day it arrives.
It was scored beside jackets costing seven times more, on Breathability, Warmth, Layering and Fit, Weight and Value for Money, by the same five testers.
Best Budget Buy
Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece
- Weight: 445g (men's M)
- Fabric: 100% polyester polar fleece
- Weight class: Midweight
- Pockets: 2 zippered
- Hood: No
Pros
- The cheapest jacket ranked here
- Warmer than several premium jackets
- Genuinely soft against the skin
- Thick pockets keep the core warm
Cons
- Quality control varies between units
- You will sweat in it under load
- Boxy cut bunches at the waist
The Verdict on the Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece
About the price of a burger and a drink, and it still scored 70.
The risk is which unit you get, not the design.
That performance put it at 70 out of 100 and earned it our best budget buy spot.
The lowest price in this guide, and that is the whole case for it.
You pay for that somewhere.
Quality control varies between units.
It suits anyone who wants a warm layer and refuses to spend three figures on one best.
I stopped apologising for this jacket. It kept me warm on a chairlift in the twenties under a ski shell. Then a mate's zip split in a month, so treat the first week as a test period.
Shaun, Top-Notch test team
How It Performed
It leads on value for money and gives ground on breathability.
Metric by metric, against the same nine panels.
Breathability
5.8 out of 10, the second worst in this ranking.
There is no grid, no channel structure and no venting, so you will sweat in it on a climb.
Fine on a dog walk, wrong for anything with a sustained heart rate.
| Breathability | Rating |
|---|---|
| Highest in this guide | 8.5/10 |
| Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece | 5.8/10 |
| Guide average | 7/10 |
| Lowest in this guide | 5.6/10 |
Warmth
7.3 out of 10, which beats several jackets costing six times as much. Our testers wore it under a ski jacket and stayed comfortable on a cold chairlift.
Workable into the 20s Fahrenheit with a base layer under it and a rain shell over the top. The thick pockets add real warmth across the core.
| Warmth | Rating |
|---|---|
| Highest in this guide | 9/10 |
| Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece | 7.3/10 |
| Guide average | 7.1/10 |
| Lowest in this guide | 6/10 |
Layering and Fit
The cut is boxy and loose at the waist, and excess fabric bunches from armpit to hem.
It layers better than the price suggests as long as your shell has room.
No hood, no hem adjustment, no features of any kind.
| Layering and Fit | Rating |
|---|---|
| Highest in this guide | 8/10 |
| Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece | 7.2/10 |
| Guide average | 6.7/10 |
| Lowest in this guide | 5.5/10 |
Weight
445g on our scale in a men's medium.
Listings for this jacket quote lighter figures, which points at a different size or an older version of the same product.
Check the listing weight for the size you are ordering.
| Weight | Rating |
|---|---|
| Highest in this guide | 9.1/10 |
| Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece | 6.8/10 |
| Guide average | 7.2/10 |
| Lowest in this guide | 3/10 |
Value for Money
A fleece that scores 70 at this money is the best value in this guide.
The honest catch is quality control, which varies unit to unit.
Zips snag and split and stitching runs uneven on some units, so unbox and test it while a return is still simple.
| Value for Money | Rating |
|---|---|
| Highest in this guide | 9.5/10 |
| Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece | 9.5/10 |
| Guide average | 7.5/10 |
| Lowest in this guide | 5.5/10 |
What Other Fleece Jackets Should You Consider?
Not sold on this one? Three others in this guide are worth a look.
Columbia Steens Mountain 2.0 Full Zip, our longest lasting. Owners report 10 to 15 years out of this jacket, which no scoring model built around performance can see.
Wrangler Authentics 1/4 Zip, our cheapest that still breathes. Finished last overall and still out-breathed jackets costing five times more, for an unglamorous reason.
Mountain Hardwear Summit Grid Hoody, our best value. A fully featured grid fleece at half the premium money, and the one our testers had to be talked out of keeping.
Also from this test: the The North Face Retro Denali, our warmest for standing still pick, if you mostly stand still in the cold.
Specifications
| Weight | 445g (men's M) |
| Fabric | 100% polyester polar fleece |
| Weight class | Midweight |
| Pockets | 2 zippered |
| Hood | No |
The Bottom Line
After the full round of testing, the Amazon Essentials Full-Zip Polar Fleece holds our best budget buy spot on 70 out of 100.
The lowest price here. That is what you are buying.
Quality control varies between units. Decide if that matters for how you camp.
Buy it if that describes you: anyone who wants a warm layer and refuses to spend three figures on one.
Want the head to head? The full field sits in our 10 Best Fleece Jackets for Hiking, Tested and Ranked guide.
