The Ninja Hoodie. Zip it to your chest and it's a hoodie. To your chin, a neck gaiter. To your nose, and the hood closes into a balaclava. American-made Polartec fleece, built from Ukrainian soldiers' feedback.
Polartec: the original fleeceHood zips into a balaclavaProven in the YukonMade in the same factories that supply the Ukrainian military4.9 ★ from 5,400+ reviewsPolartec: the original fleeceHood zips into a balaclavaProven in the YukonMade in the same factories that supply the Ukrainian military4.9 ★ from 5,400+ reviews
See it work · scroll to zip
One zip. Hood to balaclava.
Open, it's a Polartec fleece hoodie. Keep zipping and the half-zip runs up through the hood and closes around your face. A storm guard behind the zip keeps the wind out and the metal off your skin.
Open · hoodieZipped · balaclava
Do the math
3 pieces of kit. 1 zip.
Cold gets in at your neck and face first. Most people fix that with two more things to carry: a neck gaiter and a balaclava. The Ninja Hoodie builds both into the hood, and the zip decides which one you're wearing.
01
Hoodie
Zip at your chest
Warm-up, the drive, the coffee. Hood down, zip open, just a Polartec fleece hoodie.
02
Neck gaiter
Zip to your chin
When the wind picks up, keep zipping. The collar closes over your neck and chin.
03
Balaclava
Zip to your nose
Zip all the way up through the hood and it closes around your face. Only your eyes are left out.
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= One hoodie. Nothing to forget.
No gaiter at the bottom of a pocket. No balaclava left in the truck. If you're wearing the hoodie, you've got all three.
★★★★★ “Can tell from the feel it will last forever. Super nice and warm.”Harrison P. · review of our earlier Defender Polartec fleece
Built like gear
Every part has a job.
01 · The hood
Zip up. Face covered.
The half-zip runs up through the hood. Fully zipped, an elastic-bound face opening closes around your face like a balaclava. A storm guard keeps wind out and metal off skin; a zipper garage keeps the pull off your chin.
Elastic-bound face openingStorm guardZipper garage
★★★★★
“Very warm in winter, and breathable when inside.”
Kieran · earlier Defender Polartec fleece
Stretch nylon
02 · The panels
Nylon where it wears.
Stretch-nylon panels on the forearms and lower sides take the elbows, the pack straps and the brush, so the Polartec fleece doesn't have to. They stretch with you, so they don't hold you back.
91% nylon · 9% elastaneForearms + lower sides
★★★★★
“Can tell from the feel it will last forever.”
Harrison P. · earlier Defender Polartec fleece
03 · The fleece
Polartec 200 Midweight.
Polartec's original midweight fleece, from the mill that invented fleece. It holds warmth when you stop, breathes when you work, dries fast and resists pilling. Under a shell in real weather, on its own on cool, dry days.
251 gsmMade in USADries fast
★★★★★
“Washes very well - no sign of pilling or bobbling, even after numerous washes…comes up like new.”
Jon F. · earlier Polartec fleece hoodie
04 · Pockets + hem
Stuff stays put.
Two angled zips open into one big kangaroo pocket, with the fleece side turned in against your hands and room for gloves, plus a bungee hem with a cord lock to seal the cold out.
2 angled zips1 big kangaroo pocketBungee hem
★★★★★
“Possibly the best fleece I've had, warm, light, practical (pockets in the right places), excellent quality.”
Simon B. · earlier Defender Polartec fleece
Kluane National Park, Yukon
Proven in the Yukon backcountry.
Before we sold a single one, we took the Defender Collection off-trail through the mountains of Kluane National Park. No trail to follow, freezing nights, snow on the passes, and grizzly country the whole way. It wasn't a photo shoot. It was where gear made for people who go where it's hard had to prove itself.
Off-trail
Freezing nights
Mountain passes
Grizzly country
Crossing the snow below the peaksHood zipped, wind off the ridgeFrozen-lake morningHeavy packs, no trail
Who we are
Built from soldiers' feedback.
Saint Javelin started in 2022 to raise money for Ukraine. Then we started sending gear to Ukrainian soldiers, and they told us what failed in their winter. That feedback became the Defender Collection. We still build it to that standard, in Ukraine, in the same factories that supply the Ukrainian military.
2022
A sticker
A saint holding a Javelin, printed to raise a few hundred dollars for Ukraine. It went around the world.
2023
Soldiers' feedback
We sent winter gear to the front and listened. That became the first Defender Collection.
2026
Proven in the Yukon
American-made Polartec, cut and sewn in Ukraine, taken off-trail through the Yukon before launch.
Proven in the Yukon. Worn on your street.
5-star reviews
People who wore the last ones.
Defender 2026 is brand new, so these are real, unedited reviews of the Saint Javelin fleeces and caps that came before it.
4.9
★★★★★ 5,400+ reviews
Before you buy
Straight answers.
Do I need to be a soldier or a mountaineer?
No. It's built to a standard soldiers asked for, and most people wear it hiking, hunting, on the job site or walking the dog. If you go outside when it's cold, it's for you.
Why Polartec?
Polartec's mill invented synthetic fleece, and its fabrics are used in US Army and US Special Operations cold-weather clothing. It's a better fleece than the unbranded kind most hoodies use, and it costs more. We think it's worth it.
How warm is it?
It's a midweight fleece: the warm layer in a layering system. We don't give it a temperature rating, because how warm you stay depends on what's under it, what's over it and how hard you're moving. With the hood zipped, your neck and face are covered too.
Is it waterproof?
No. It's fleece. It breathes and dries fast, but in rain or wet snow, wear a shell over it.
Can I breathe through the hood when it's zipped?
Yes, it's fleece. For hard efforts like running or skinning uphill, the Breathe-Easy Balaklava has a Power Grid face panel built for heavy breathing.
Why does it cost more than a regular hoodie?
American-made Polartec instead of unbranded fleece, stretch-nylon panels where it wears, a built-in balaclava, and it's cut and sewn in Ukraine rather than mass-produced. It's built to take a beating.
How does it fit?
Relaxed, with room for a base layer underneath. Sizes S to XXL. Check the size chart on the product page against a hoodie you already own.
Where is it made?
The Polartec fleece is made in the USA. We cut and sew it in Ukraine, in the same factories that supply the Ukrainian military.
How do I wash it?
Machine wash cold on a normal cycle, tumble dry low. No bleach, no dry cleaning.
The Defender Collection 2026
Tough gear, for tough people.
American-made Polartec. A balaclava built in. Proven in the Yukon, made in Ukraine.
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Stretch nylon
Stretch nylon
