Helly Hansen Men’s Odin Breeze Hooded Fleece Review

DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.

Reviewed by Melody

Helly Hansen is well known for selling high quality sports and outdoor wear. The company was founded over 140 years ago in Norway by a Norwegian Sea Captain, Helly Juell Hansen, after whom the brand is named. Today there is a very wide range of products available to purchase for use in many sports ranging from sailing to mountaineering and skiing.

The Men’s Odin Breeze Hooded Fleece has been designed with mountain professionals and outdoor enthusiasts in mind. It is sold as a mid-layer but could also be used as a lightweight outer layer. Whilst he has no plans to go skiing or mountaineering, my partner was very pleased to try out the fleece whilst out walking and when standing on the side of football and rugby pitches cheering on our sons’ teams.

The fleece comes in a choice of two colours black and ignite orange. Having consulted the size guide on the Helly Hansen website we ordered a Large as my partner wanted to have room to wear a layer underneath the fleece. He is 6ft 3 and usually wears a medium in most clothes, he found that the large fleece was a good fit with a good length of arms. So I would suggest sizing up if you’re taller build to ensure a good length.

We were sent an orange fleece to review. This arrived in a very sturdy box and in a plastic wrapper. First impressions were, not only that the orange fleece was very bright, but that it is made of very lightweight material, and not like the material I would typically associate with being a fleece. The material is almost transparent, but still soft and cosy to wear. Checking the label I can see it’s made from polyester and machine washable.

The fleece has several features listed on the website:
Lightweight Fabric
Slick Face Fleece Fabric
Snug fit and helmet compatible hood
Packable pocket
Thumb holes
Raglan sleeve design
Inside stash pocket
Chest pocket with secure zipper closure

From wearing the fleece for a few weeks, my partner has said that it is comfortable to wear, surprisingly warm and has a good sized hood which fits snugly. The thumb holes are also a good addition as this helps to keep warm when wearing the fleece. It’s ideal to wear when mornings and evenings are a little cooler, but when a full coat isn’t needed.

Another useful feature is the zip pocket on the front of the fleece which doubles as a packing pocket so that the fleece can be packed down for storage, making it easy to pop in a bag or to attach to a rucksack as an extra layer. I did notice it was very crumpled when it came out of the pocket, however this soon dropped out when wearing the fleece.

Overall, the fleece is high quality, as you would expect from Helly Hansen, and looks great on. The orange colour is very bright so will definitely make you stand out in the crowd. The fleece retails at £140 which is fairly expensive, but it is a good quality product and I think it will last for a long time. The only negative point we found was that it would be nice to have some additional pockets but that really is personal preference.

Rating: 4/5
RRP: £140
This product can be purchased from Helly Hansen here: https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_gb/odin-breeze-hooded-fleece-48377?color=634505&qu=odin+breeze&ct=autosuggest_top_product