Fleece vs Wool Midlayer: Which One Should You Actually Buy?

Fleece or wool. Both sit in the same slot in a layering system, both get called a "midlayer," and both turn up in our own Midlayers collection. So which one should you actually reach for? The honest answer is that they're not interchangeable, they're just good at different things. Here's where each one wins.

What Each One Actually Is

A wool midlayer, like our Torr Wool Gilet, is built from a wool-rich fabric blend: dense, structured, and designed to hold its shape and warmth over years of wear rather than one season. A fleece midlayer, like our Kinloch Recycled Fleece Shirt, is brushed recycled polyester: lighter, softer against the skin, and built to move with you rather than sit as a structured layer.

Neither is a "better" fabric in the abstract. They're built for different jobs, and most of the confusion around fleece vs wool comes from expecting one to do the other's work.

Which Is Actually Warmer

Wool wins on raw warmth for a given weight. It traps air more effectively at rest and keeps performing when the air is damp, which matters more in a British winter than most fabric copy admits. Fleece is the lighter option: warm enough for most days, quick to warm up once you're moving, but it won't match a proper wool midlayer once you're standing still in genuinely cold, wet conditions, like the school touchline or a static point on a shoot.

Where fleece pulls ahead is breathability during activity. Push the pace on a hill or a long dog walk and a wool gilet can start to feel like too much, where a fleece sheds heat as you go rather than trapping it all.

Which Is Easier to Live With

This is the practical difference that actually decides most purchases. The Kinloch Fleece takes a 30 degree or cold machine wash and dries naturally, which suits a piece that's going to get muddy on a regular basis. The Torr Wool Gilet is dry clean only, which is the trade-off for the density and structure that make it warmer in the first place. If you want something you can sling in the wash after every walk without thinking about it, that alone may decide the question before warmth even enters into it.

How Our Own Two Compare

Put side by side, the Torr Wool Gilet is the considered piece: worn over a flannel shirt on a proper cold day, doing the job of core insulation while your arms stay free. The Kinloch Fleece is the piece you reach for more often without thinking: over a base layer on a cool morning, on for the school run, in the bag for later. Most people who wear both end up using the fleece for volume and the wool gilet for the days that actually need it.

Both sit in the same Midlayers collection, and there's a reasonable case for owning one of each rather than picking a side permanently.

The Field Notes Verdict

Buy wool if you spend real time standing still outdoors in the cold and want a midlayer that lasts years rather than seasons. Buy fleece if you want something lighter, easier to wash, and better suited to moving around rather than standing still. If you're only building one layering system and can't decide, start with the fleece; it's the more forgiving piece to wear on more days of the year, and you can add the wool gilet later for the days that genuinely need it.

See both in the full Midlayers range, or browse the complete Ghillie collection for what pairs with either one.