Defender 2026 · Crewneck

Hit brush, hit rock, and your fleece gives up first?

5 reasons this one holds up

A hiker in an Oatmeal crewneck and pack moving up a rock ridge in the Swiss Alps

Review of last year’s Barracks Crewneck

★★★★★
“Incredibly warm, very well made like the rest of the gear. Thanks again!”
frankoVerified buyer · United States

By Saint Javelin · 100% Made in Ukraine

Crewneck vs a regular crewneck

Why it beats the crewneck you already own.

Our CrewneckRegular crewneck
Reinforced where rock and brush shred fleece
Polartec fleece, not cotton
Dry by the time you stop
100% Made in Ukraine

Hit brush. Hit rock. The fleece doesn’t notice.

Elbows hit rock first and branches drag down your sides, so that’s where plain fleece shreds. Here those spots, plus the shoulders, are reinforced with stretch nylon. The rough stuff hits nylon, not fleece.

“I wore the crew neck literally every day… really, really heavy bush… having the abrasion pad… you can just be confident it's not going to tear up the fleece.”Luke, on our team, after the Yukon trek
Hiking with a heavy pack and poles across autumn tundra, forearm panels visible

Micro 100

Sweat on the way up. Dry by the top.

Polartec says it made the first synthetic fleece in 1981. Micro 100 is the lightest in its classic range, so it breathes while you work and dries fast when you sweat.

A hiker in an Oatmeal crewneck stepping up wet rock beside a waterfall in the Swiss Alps

Warm on its own. Slim under a shell.

It’s a lightweight Polartec fleece. On the move, it’s warm enough on its own. When the wind turns, it slides under a shell with almost no bulk.

A hiker in an Oatmeal crewneck and beanie on a frosty lakeshore at dawn

Reinforced like workwear. Moves like a fleece.

The nylon panels stretch with you, so the reinforcement never feels stiff or boxy. Reach, kneel, hop a log: it moves like any fleece.

Oatmeal crewneck and a balaklava on a grey riverbed below snowy peaks

Made in Ukraine. Not “designed in.” Made.

We ship the Polartec fleece into Ukraine and work with manufacturers across the country to make it. Every crewneck is cut and sewn there.

Close-up of the stretch-nylon chest panel stitched to the fleece, a pack sternum strap across it

The Defender 2026 collection

Made for where the weather turns.

Hit brush. Hit rock. Still holding up.

Midnight Black or Oatmeal · S to XXL

Shop the Crewneck

$104 · 100% Made in Ukraine

Reviews

People loved the last one. Most sizes are gone.

Heads up: these reviews are for a different product, our 2025 Barracks Crewneck. The 2026 Crewneck is brand new, so it has no reviews yet.

Polartec Microfleece Barracks - CrewneckAlmost sold out

Polartec Microfleece Barracks Crewneck (2025)

5.0 from 7 reviews

  • Review of the 2025 Barracks Crewneck

    ★★★★★
    “Super soft and the fit is spot on.”

    CollyVerified buyerIreland

    See it on Judge.me ↗

  • Review of the 2025 Barracks Crewneck

    ★★★★★
    “This fleece crewneck offers exceptional comfort. … Depending on the weather, it can be worn on its own or layered as a warm mid-layer.”

    CarstenVerified buyerGermany

    See it on Judge.me ↗

  • Review of the 2025 Barracks Crewneck

    ★★★★★
    “Really Good, well made, I'm using it right now on the inside of a large hoodie, but was good as late sunny autumn sweater too.”

    BriosafreakVerified buyerPortugal

    See it on Judge.me ↗

  • Review of the 2025 Barracks Crewneck

    ★★★★★
    “Great, warm fleece. Washes well and you don’t need to iron it!”

    MaxVerified buyerUnited Kingdom

    See it on Judge.me ↗

The new Crewneck is even better

  • Reinforced where fleece rips first: stretch nylon on the shoulders, upper back, elbows and sides
  • Reinforced, yet it moves like a fleece: the panels stretch with you
  • Still warm for its weight and quick to dry: Polartec Micro 100

Too nice to be real? Fair. Our mums didn’t write these, promise. They all live on Judge.me, and “Verified” means Judge.me matched the review to a real order.

Check our homework on Judge.me →

Who's behind it

The Saint Javelin story

  1. The original Saint Javelin sticker: a saint holding a Javelin missile
    February 2022

    The million-dollar sticker

    On February 16, 2022, former journalist Christian Borys printed 100 stickers of a saint holding a Javelin missile to raise money for Ukrainian charities. He sold over 10,000 and raised over $1M.

  2. Ukrainian soldiers holding a Saint Javelin flag
    Late 2022

    From meme to maker

    We started making our gear in Ukraine. In late 2022, we built and donated military winter gear to Ukrainian soldiers, which went on to inspire the Defender collection.

  3. Our team in the Yukon backcountry
    Since then

    Proving our gear

    Our gear has been proven around the world: in the hardest conditions in Ukraine, high in the Alps and even in the Yukon backcountry.

  4. A seamstress sewing Saint Javelin gear in a Ukrainian factory
    Today

    100% Made in Ukraine

    We built our production from the ground up. We bring the best materials we can find, like Polartec fleece, into Ukraine and work with manufacturers across the country to make our gear.

As seen in

  • The New York Times
  • BBC News
  • NBC News
  • The Washington Post
  • Forbes Ukraine

Rated 4.9 out of 5 across 5,400+ customer reviews

Everything you get

  • Reinforced where fleece rips firstStretch nylon on the shoulders, upper back, elbows and sides.
  • Dry by the time you stopPolartec Micro 100 breathes and dries fast.
  • Warm with almost no bulkLayers under any jacket.
  • 100% Made in UkraineCut and sewn in Ukraine.

Reinforced where fleece rips first · 100% Made in Ukraine

Get the Crewneck

Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, front, worn by a man
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, three-quarter view showing the abrasion panels, worn by a man
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, zip chest pocket holding a phone
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, back, worn by a man
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, ribbed cuff and sleeve panel
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, full length, worn by a man
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, side, worn by a man
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, front, worn by a woman
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, full length, worn by a woman
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, back three-quarter view, worn by a man
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, side, worn by a woman
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, back, worn by a woman
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, velcro logo patch on the front right hem
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, velcro logo patch and ribbed cuff
Oatmeal — Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck, Polartec Micro 100 fleece close-up

1 / 15

Polartec 100 Lightweight Abrasion-Resistant Crewneck

$104

Warm for its weight, dry when you stop: Polartec 100 Lightweight. 100% Made in Ukraine.

Color: Oatmeal
Size: S
  • Reinforced where fleece rips first: stretch nylon at the shoulders, upper back, elbows and sides
  • Dry by the time you stop: breathable, fast-drying Polartec Micro 100
  • Warm with almost no bulk: layers under anything
  • Reinforced, yet it moves like a fleece: the panels stretch with you
  • Midnight Black or Oatmeal · S–XXL
Full details and size chart

Questions we get

Will the panels feel stiff?

No. They're stretch nylon, so they move with you like the fleece does.

How warm is it?

It's a lightweight layer: warm for its weight and made for moving. On cold days, wear something warmer over it.

Which colour shows the panels?

On Oatmeal the darker panels stand out. On Midnight Black they’re tonal and quieter.

What sizes are there?

S to XXL. The size chart is on the product page.

Where is it made?

100% Made in Ukraine. We ship the Polartec fabric in, and the crewneck is cut and sewn in Ukraine.

Tough gear,
for tough people.

Hit brush. Hit rock. Crewneck holds up.

Shop the Crewneck

The Defender Collection 2026 · 100% Made in Ukraine