ARES Men's Tactical Fleece Zip-up Hoodie

This is a fairly heavy fleece jacket which I wore several times into 20-degree weather for various chores lasting under an hour and I have to say the jacket kept me reasonably warm without getting me overheated. The fit is roomy and the sleeves are long enough (covering my hands to the base of the thumb) that I usually fold them back a bit. I like the very large side pockets which are certainly large enough for any size hands, gloved or not, and which you could use, for example, to keep the day's mail delivery out of the rain on your walk back to your front door. The lone inside pocket is big enough to accommodate even a very well-endowed wallet, though I would avoid storing anything there which is heavy or pointed, as the fabric of the pocket seems a bit thin. The zippered pocket on the left wrist could fit a small wallet or even a flip phone.

The reason I give the jacket four stars instead of five is because 1) I don't understand the "Free Soldier" branding, what it's supposed to mean or imply, but it seems kind of related to 2) the description of this product on the Amazon page as "tactical," and truthfully I don't see anything tactical about the product. It's a nice jacket. I don't see any particular reason why this jacket would appeal to members of SEAL Team 6, unless they just like a nice jacket.

I like this jacket and recommend it, despite minor quibbles about marketing.

Recent retired from LE after 35 years. Spent years T&E just about every type of LE and military gear. Brands from condor, fox, vertex, 5.11, etc. All are great products, but I must say that I am very impressed with this jacket. It checks all the boxes for me. Hood is great, in light mist it will keep you dry, it blocks the wind pretty good too. It appears well built, zippers work every time, unlike 2 condor jackets I have with pain in the a_s zippers. Dont hesitate to buy this. Im 5'9 and 200, fits as it should.

This is a really nice jacket. It looks great and it's really comfortable. The material is really soft and also really warm. There are a lot of pockets and several are concealed. It has the hook and loop attachments on each upper arm if you have any patches you want to stick on.

A few critiques: The two main pockets on the front are really tall, they go from your stomach area almost to the armpit. That's great except to open, it zips from the top to the bottom. So if you just want to put your hands in the pockets you have to zip it all the way down from the top and then the entire pocket is open. It would have been better if it zipped open from the bottom up or had two zippers installed.
The hood is really, really big. I have a large head and this hood is so big that I can put it over my head and almost completely cover my face with it. I'm not sure if it's a design flaw or if it was intended to go over a helmet or what but it wasn't made very well in my opinion.
The drawstring to cinch up the bottom of the waist is not very easy to operate. I suppose that's good on one hand so it can't easily get loosened inadvertently, but it also seems more difficult to use than it should be.

Overall I really like this jacket. The critiques I listed aren't major but they are all things that I think should have been done differently so I wanted to mention them in the review. This is a very soft, very comfortable, warm jacket. I do recommend this jacket, just keep the critiques in mind in case something in that list would be a deal breaker for you.

Not the most fashionable for throwing on and running and errand, but definitely filled lots of features probably mods appreciated in the bush than in public.

The hood is huge and seems designed for wearing a ball cap. It looks a bit goofy on its own.

There are a lot of pockets - and pockets in pockets, and a D-ring in a pocket, and a feed-through eye for a wire. Did I mention there are a lot of pockets??

Didn’t much like that the zipper is plastic. Also the big front pockets (which are useful for warming hands and are the main storage pockets in the jacket) open top-down only. I bet that’s great for making sure things don’t fall out. It just seems a bit odd to me to have a wide open zipper if all you want to do is rest hands inside. So again, probably a jacket best for carrying stuff.

Warmer than Columbia fleece jackets.

Came on time no problem. Made very good no bad stitches, quality material, snaps, and zipper work good. I just got it so I can vouch for fall wear and in the beginning of winter for the first two months that I’ve had it I can say it’s worth trying.

I have several fleece jackets, some thinner, others thicker. This is the thickest, but it is still soft. It arrived today, and I just took a walk in it. The temperature was 56, and I was wearing only a shirt underneath. It was mostly comfortable. I say mostly because the neck is a little too loose. There is a drawstring around the hood, but it is too high. So when you pull the hood close, the neck is still exposed. You can slip the drawstring cords inside of each other to get a seal, but it's the same problem: there is a gap underneath that leave the neck exposed. Ok, this is not such a big deal: wear a turtle neck or a scarf underneath. I have a medium, my normal size. I can fit a thin fleece underneath this jacket. With a thin fleece underneath, I am comfortable with temperatures in the 40's. Other aspects of the design are weird--they may be standard for "tactical jackets" for all I know. First there are 4 pockets, not the 6 that the Amazon page claims. All have zippers. Two are outside on the front sides. You can put your hands into them, but they aren't kangaroo pockets as I think of the latter. The zipper extends much of the length of the jacket and the pockets are quite large. I imagine that they are designed for you to keep a pistol in each one, though my experience is limited in this area. A third zippered pocket is on the sleeve. Is this one for your switch-blade? The fourth pocket is an inside vest pocket--for your id when your body is discovered? Maybe I should have given it more thought before ordering a "tactical jacket." But except for the issue with the neck, this fleece works fine for normal people.
Update: I finally figured out how to use the drawstrings. They work like drawstrings around the waist. You push the clip so that you can pull out the cord and, thereby, close the opening. Doing this the gap around the neck lessens. But the hood also tightens on the head. So, it's not perfect, but it does work and makes this fleece more usable.

Note: Not for inclement weather especially rain/snow.
I sized up and ordered an XL so it will fit over my vest. It fits as expected so for most people, order your normal size. For reference, I am about 6’ and 215lbs and use 5.11 gear for work (to include jackets). I’ve been wearing this jacket for a couple of weeks now and hear are my observations:

It’s weightier than I expected but this isn’t a bad thing. The jacket appears to be of good construction and durable, but only more time will tell. It is comfortable and warm, but I wouldn’t use this jacket in sub-freezing temps without really good base layers. The jacket is a sponge but takes some time to soak through, so have a waterproof windbreaker type jacket to throw over it.

This jacket is not tactical. The only strategically placed feature I found is the small pocket on the left arm which would hold a department ID, concealed carry permit, etc. The two side pockets are large, nearly going from the waist to armpit. Within those pockets are an additional nylon pocket (oriented vertical) which I can only assume are intended to carry magazines. This is where I don’t find the jacket very tactical. Those magazine holders should be angled and not vertical to allow quick access.

Overall, it is a nice ‘tacticool’ jacket and the price is what makes it very attractive (about $46 at time of review). I do recommend this jacket but not for the purpose this company advertises.

At first I wasn't sure I liked this jacket very much but its functionality, durability and suberb preformace have steadily won me over. It is now among my most trusted fleece jackets. Among its best features I would have say are the size of its epic pockets All jackets should have such sizeable well thought out pockets, the two cavernous exterior pockets able to secured by means of easy high quality zippers which inside conceal two breast pockets which are surpisingly useful to keep items frequently used items close but also safe and separate from the traffic the large hand warmer/cargo pockets are likely to see. The additional two pockets are equally well thought out, practical and provide some signifigant extra space, either inside the jacket or on the left sleeve, to stash a variety of additional items securly and discreetly. The fit was what sort of took me a bit to get used to, being more of a chunky boxy military fatigue fit thana close tight form fit that alot of modern outdoor gear has. It is constructed from a thick heavyweight fleece that is not only warm but also a extremly effective wind blocker. It's just a bit bulkier than is used in modern outdoor gear, so at first I found it hard to get used to. But with the right layering it can really offer a cocoon like wind proof outerlayer of great warmth. The deep hood adds even more practicality, warmth and protection from frigid temps. However I think the hood could be designed much more ergonomically and considerably less oversized and bulky. As it is i find the hood gets sort of weird and bunched together along the brim when cynced down, not only giving it strange bunched up look but a uncomfortable and unnatural feel. I really like the grey colorway although it is sort almost closer to a very dark military green.