Whether prepping for a backcountry ski trip or simply looking to get extra cozy at home, having warm, comfortable clothing to rely on is key to survival durin the cold winter months. We've long evangelized about down pants, for adventure lovers and home bodies alike. But what about fleece pants? Well, they're great too!
In this article we will outline the most stylish, best fleece pants for men and women, many of which we've tested ourselves, others from brands we know well and trust.
Field Mag's Top Picks
- Patagonia Synchilla Fleece Pants
- Backcountry GOAT Fleece Belted Pant
- Outerknown Hightide Sweatpants
- Topo Designs Mountain Fleece Pants
- Mountain Hardwear Polartec Fleece Pants
- Cotpaxi Abrazo Fleece Jogger
- Fly Project Heater Pant
- Parks Project Acadia Waves High Pile Fleece Jogger
- REI Co-op Hyperaxis Fleece Pants
- Montbell Chameece Pants
- Senchi Designs Alpha Leggings
- The North Face Denali Pant
- Gramicci Sherpa Pants
What should you look for in fleece pants?
One thing to look out for when considering fleece, whether worn on top or bottom, is that many "high pile" fleece is made from polyester (aka plastic) that sheds fibers when worn and washed. That means little fuzzy fleece fibers stuck to your seatbelt, in the velcro of your rain jacket, maybe even on the couch. Besides being a little annoying, it's polluting. High pile fleece looks great but these shed microfibers often end up polluting waterways, which is obviously not good.
For this very reason, we suggest identifying if a material is recycled or recyclable, or made of a natural material like cotton or wool that can biodegrade if it winds up in the natural environment.
With this in mind, read on for our top picks. Stay cozy ya'll!
Best Fleece Pants for Keeping Cozy This Fall & Winter
Patagonia Synchilla Fleece Pants
If you’ve never worn Patagonia's Synchilla on your body, have you ever truly even experienced fleece? Dramatics aside, the Fitzroy brand’s legendary recycled fleece fabric makes its way into this conventional sweatpant pattern with a pair of zip-up front pockets and a single rear zip pocket that echoes the design of the well-loved Classic Retro-X Jacket ($229), which is a longtime best seller for good reason. Though the pants only appear in the men’s clothing section of the site, a size range of XXS-3XL strongly suggest unisex intentions.
Women’s Option: Unisex Sizing
Size Range: XXS-3XL
Material: 95-100% Recycled polyester double-sided fleece
Backcountry GOAT Fleece Belted Pant
Named after their horned mascot, the heavyweight Goat fleece pants complement a matching GOAT Full Zip Fleece Jacket ($127) with a wide leg, loungey cut and nylon-reinforced knees, just in case your aprés at the chalet turns up.
Women’s Option: Yes
Size Range: S-XXL
Material: 100% polyester and nylon
Outerknown Hightide Sweatpants
With sustainability at the brand’s core, Outerknown weaves a blend of cotton and 100% recycled cotton into a terrycloth that makes for a wildly comfortable, slim fit sweatpant. This one is our top pick for warm pants to pull on after peeling off a cold wetsuit.
Women's Option: YES
Size Range: S-XXL
Material: Cotton-nylon terry toweling
Topo Designs Mountain Fleece Pants
With an adjustable waist and cuffs and zippered pockets for security and accessibility, and made with recycled Polartec fleece for the body with DWR-coated nylon reinforcements on the knees and bum, this pair makes a great base layer or outer layer to chill in anywhere.
Women's Option: Yes
Size Range: S-XXL
Material: Polartec fleece
Mountain Hardwear Polartec Fleece Pants
Mountain Hardwear's iconic Monkey Fleece is back, and now built for your bottom half. Made with Polartec fleece for maximum warmth and breathability, AND Polartec Power Stretch panels strategically placed for added durability and strength, these mid layer pants are the real deal. Zippered cargo pockets means you can boulder in them without losing your lunch money, too.
Women's Option: YES
Size Range: S-XXL
Material: Polartec high loft fleece
Cotopaxi Abrazo Fleece Jogger
The llama-logo outdoor lifestyle brand is up to bat with a slim and sporty fleece jogger outfitted with stretch nylon panels on the knees to reduce wear as you traverse from your sofa to the fridge. Bet your old sweatpants wish they could do that. Complete the swathed-in-fleece look with the matching Abrazo fleece jacket. Walk, don’t jog, to your future coziest self.
Women's Option: No
Size Range: S-XXL
Material: 100% recycled polyester fleece
Fly Project Heater Pant
Keep it cozy under your waders with these fleece pants made from SeaWool, a sustainable fabric made from recycled oyster shells and plastic bottles. Stirrups keep pant legs from riding up as you pull waders on and reinforced knees combat piling caused by friction.
Women’s Option: No
Size Range: S-2XL
Material: Recycled SeaWool fleece
Parks Project Acadia Waves High Pile Fleece Jogger
Nothing says “I like fun” quite like these wave pattern-inspired, deep-pile fleece jogger pants from outdoor lifestyle apparel brand Parks Project. Not only will you bring sweater-like comfort to your legs, but help the brand give funds back to the parklands we all love. To date, they’ve raised over 2.5-million bucks since their founding in 2014. Fleece joggers with a purpose–how can you beat that?
Women’s Option: Unisex Sizing
Size Range: XS-XXL
Material: Recycled polyester sherpa fleece
REI Co-op Hyperaxis Fleece Pants
These slim leg pants use a super stretchy fleece for unparalleled mobility for gym fit completed by a short sleeve under armour t-shirt, or just worn as casual sportswear; it’s hard to beat a hoodie and fleece jogger sweatpant. Women’s styles introduce a high waist and a wide range of standard fit and women’s plus sizes.
Women’s Option: Yes & Plus-sizes
Size Range: S-XXXL
Material: Polartec Power Stretch Pro fleece
Montbell Chameece Pants
We’re not sure exactly where the name Chameece comes from, but it’s what they’ve decided to call their own brand of breathable, two-way stretch microfleece that makes up the minimally-styled straight leg sweatpants. The wallet-friendly fleece bottoms come in any color you want, just as long as it’s black.
Women’s Option: Yes
Size Range: S-XL
Material: Chameece fleece
Senchi Designs Alpha Leggings
Using the same Polartec fleece from the brand’s popular long sleeve hoodies, Senchi released these ultralight leggings suitable for home lounging or layering under your favorite trail-worthy cargo pants. While stored, the magical layer adds just 2-3 ounces to your backpack’s weight. We hope to see more fleece goods in-store from Senchi; hats, vests, who knows?!
Women’s Option: Unisex Sizing
Size Range: XS-2XL
Material: Polartec Direct 60 or 90
Gramicci Sherpa Pant
Not every single pant Gramicci puts out is intended for climbing, and surely this loose-cut deep pile sherpa fleece pant is one of them. But, they’d probably be pretty dang comfortable a cool-weather bouldering sesh–add a pair of thermal tights underneath and you should be solid for near-freezing temps.
Women’s Option: Unisex
Size Range: XS-XL
Material: Sherpa fleece
The North Face Denali Pant
The North Face’s iconic fleece jacket, but now in a wonderfully comfortable pair of pull-on pants for the couch or (remote) office. And, much like the iconic Denali Jacket counterpart, the mid-rise fleece trousers feature panels of nylon at the seat and knees to provide protection to otherwise vulnerable areas of at-risk Polartec fleece with gathered cuffs for a jogger-like style. These fleece pants earn extra marks for offering an impressive range of standard and plus sizes ranging from small to XXL and even 3XL with three inseams for shorter folks in addition to the big & tall.
Women’s Option: Yes
Size Range: XS-3XL, Short-Long
Material: Polartec fleece
Where should you wear fleece pants?
There are many activities where fleece pants make sense. They’re literally just a more socially-acceptable version of pajama pants/track pants (which we all agree you should never leave the house in, right?), though some are nothing more than fleece sweatpants. Fleece pants are the perfect uniform for car camping, vanlife, and chilling in rustic cabins or a drafty apartment.
They also can work well for use as a baselayer while skiing, climbing, or doing any of the other fun things we like to do outside (especially in the Northeast). Once the adventure is through, they're especially suitable for the post-workout cool down, or even just a comfy WFH uniform completed by your favorite sweatshirt or hoodie.
What kind of features should fleece pants have?
A few other things to consider are knee and butt panels, which increase durability and weather resistance when used in outdoor environments. An elastic waistband or integrated belt is another useful design element to look out for; even a drawstring/drawcord helps.
