Passenger Men’s Backroads Recycled Polartec Fleece review: a cozy top for backcountry bliss

Passenger is a brand inspired by 'meaningful escapism' – time spent outdoors connecting with nature. Dig into the brand's messaging and it’s apparent that it’s slanted more towards outdoor lifestyle rather than mountain performance. Its aesthetic leans to the crackle of the campfire in the woods, the orange sun sinking beyond the waves and the tent fabric flapping in the mountain valley wind, rather than the challenge of technical peaks or the thrill of the fast descent. The photography on its website is all van life, hammocks and beaches, rather than ridges, gullies and summits.

As far has I’m concerned, this is neither a positive or a negative. To be honest, I spend more time wearing most of my mountain gear at ground level or when camping anyway. We all value stylish, comfortable clothing for our more relaxed outdoors time and Passenger fits this brief with aplomb. The brand focus on a balance of quality, sustainability and price, intending to give you everything you need and nothing you don’t.

The world also needs brands doing good things for the environment and Passenger, born from a love of the outdoors, plant a tree for every order placed. It’s a patron of the Rainforest Trust, an initiative focussed on safeguarding the planet’s rainforests, and a partner of Trees for the Future, which provides agroforestry training and resources to farming communities.

As its name suggests, the Backroads Recycled Polartec Fleece is crafted from recycled materials: 100% recycled polyester to be precise. And yes, Polartec bring their fleece expertise to bear too – in fact, the Polartec logo on the right sleeve dwarves the Passenger logo on the breast. Passenger says it’s a ‘versatile piece ready for your next roadtrip’, another nod towards this being a lifestyle piece rather than a performance garment. But then, I was intrigued to see how this collaboration between the functionality of Polartec and the backcountry chic of Passenger would fare in the hills and mountains.

Meet the expert

Alex Foxfield

Alex is a Mountain Leader and former President of the London Mountaineering Club. He has a great passion for the high places and enjoys a range of activities, whether he's mountain running the English Lake District, scaling alpine peaks on mainland Europe, getting his teeth into the Scottish Highlands during winter or camping in North Wales.

First impressions

My wife usually doesn’t take too much interest in my outdoor kit. I suspect she secretly wishes I’d dress for style more often, instead of always wearing mid layers designed for braving the Scandinavian wilderness (or similar) around the house. “But they’re so comfortable,” is my go-to defense.

However, when I walked into the room wearing the Backroads Fleece, her reaction was somewhat different. “Oh, that’s so stylish! Where did you get that?” she asked. With its bright yellow zippers and striking panels, it’s definitely a good looking top that I was immediately happy to wear. As well as being stylish (apparently), it’s also wonderfully soft against the skin, thanks to its brushed interior, and it’s lovely and toasty too.

Recycled Polartec fabrics

Polartec, the pioneers of polyester fleece in 1981, provide the main Thermal Pro fabric here. A high-quality, totally-recycled fabric, it boasts a decent warmth to weight ratio, making it a good option when wanting to pack light. It’s also breathable and remarkably fast drying, which is essential for prolonged wear in the backcountry.

High wear areas, such as the shoulders and elbows have a thin layer of fabric reinforcement, a nod towards durability. Meanwhile, it’s pretty soft on the outside, but it’s dreamily soft on the inside – it’s the kind of top that’s a bit like getting a hug when you first put it on, thanks to its brushed interior.

Features

Three zippered pockets – one breast and two hand warmers – provide plenty of space for bits and bobs. In reality, the hand warmer pockets will be used much more for exactly that, warming your hands. Meanwhile, the breast pocket is handy for stashing small items, like a headlamp. The main front zipper features fabric pull with a textured plastic tab for easy grip. The pockets also feature fabric pulls that are reinforced at the ends for extra hold and durability. 

The collar is nicely padded for additional warmth, while a fabric strip repeatedly displaying the Made to Roam slogan is stitched into the top on the inside – a nice touch. There’s a hanging loop beneath the Passenger label. As mentioned, the Polartec logo is, somewhat unsubtly, embroidered into the right sleeve.

On the trails

I’ve been wearing the Backroads Fleece for several months, donning it in a range of scenarios, from social gatherings and beach vacations to wild camping trips in the mountains.

Warm, comfortable and stylish, it’s a fleece that fits so many briefs and I found myself reaching for it time and time again. The fit is generous, baggier than it is tight and I can easily slot a thinner mid layer underneath it, so it’s fair to say it runs a little on the larger side.

I’m an advocate of hard warmer pockets and, let me tell you, these are some of the best in the business. The brushed interior and cozy warmth sees my hands scurrying in there like squirrels who've discovered a treasure trove of walnuts. The pockets are pretty low down, so a climbing harness or daypack’s hip belt covers them up. However, for reasons that I’ll get to in a mo, I don’t see the Backroads Fleece as top I’d necessarily wear for serious trekking or climbing anyway.

The fact the pockets are zippered is great for stashing valuables, while I like that there’s also the option of the zippered chest pocket – though I rarely used it. The decent size of the pull tabs mean that all the pockets are easy to manipulate when wearing hiking gloves.

I tested the Birch Marl color option, though I reckon the Blue Steel Marl option is the better choice if you’re intending to wear it often in the backcountry – the lighter tones show dirt quite readily.

Passenger state that the fleece is designed for layering under a jacket, which is fine for most applications. However, it’s a little too thick and warm to be used for more dynamic pursuits, like serious hiking or mountaineering. In these cases, it’s better to have multiple thin mid layer options than one beefy one. Otherwise, it’s a bit of an all-or-nothing approach once you start to heat up. However, the front zipper does allow you to dump heat.

My only other minor qualm is that movement is a little restricted by the lack of stretch in the fabric. Certain arm movements cause the top to tighten up around the back. This isn’t an issue most of the time but it’s not a top I’d want to wear while scrambling. I found that pushing the sleeves back past the elbow avoids this issue, but then you end up with a bunch of fleece fabric around the biceps, which isn’t ideal either.