Defender 2026 · Ninja Hoodie

Hours behind the glass, and the cold creeps in?

5 reasons it’s the hoodie for first light

Man in an Olive Ninja Hoodie with the hood up, glassing with binoculars beside a frozen lake

Review of our 2023 1/4 Zip

★★★★★
“Second purchase from Saint Javelin. Over the moon with this fleece. … Just what I need for up on the hills.”
Steven P.Verified buyer · United Kingdom

By Saint Javelin · 100% Made in Ukraine

At a glance

Meet the Ninja Hoodie

Olive Ninja Hoodie from the front, hood downHalf-zip runs up into the hoodPolartec 200 Midweight fleeceTwo zips, one kangaroo pocket
Hood down
Olive Ninja Hoodie with the hood zipped up into a balaclavaZip up: the hood closes into a balaclavaStorm guard behind the zip
Hood zipped up
Olive Ninja Hoodie from the back, black nylon on the forearmsStretch nylon on the forearmsBungee hem with a cord lock
From the back

Ninja Hoodie vs a regular fleece

Why it beats the fleece you already own.

Ninja HoodieRegular fleece
Face out of the wind while you glass
Polartec, the fleece used by the US military
Reinforced where rock and branches tear fleece
100% Made in Ukraine

Sit still for hours. The heat stays in.

Glassing means hours without moving, and that’s when the cold gets in. Polartec 200 Midweight holds the heat when you stop.

It breathes on the hike in, so you don’t sit down soaked.

Man in a Ranger Green Ninja Hoodie, hood up, holding a mug by a frozen lake at dawn

Wind at first light? Zip your face out of it.

Zip all the way up and the hood closes into a balaclava, with an opening for your eyes. No balaclava to dig out of the pack with cold hands.

A storm guard keeps the wind out of the zip.

Hood up and open over a beanie, face showing, by a grey river
Open
The same spot, hood zipped up into a balaclava
Zipped

200 Midweight

Made with Polartec, the fleece used by the US military.

Polartec 200, the fleece in your hoodie, was the fleece in the US Army’s Gen II cold-weather kit. Polartec says it made the first synthetic fleece in 1981.

Warm when you stop. Dry when you move.

Man in a Ninja Hoodie zipped into a balaclava on a frosty morning, frosted shrubs in front

Push through brush to your spot without shredding the sleeves.

Brush and rock shred plain fleece at the forearms and sides. Here those spots are reinforced with stretch nylon, so the rough stuff hits nylon, not fleece. And it still moves with you.

Man in a Ranger Green Ninja Hoodie zipped into a balaclava, standing in a rocky riverbed at dusk

Good enough to jump out of a helicopter in.

That’s the Ninja Hoodie leaving a helicopter above Lauterbrunnen, in the Swiss Alps.

Your season has fewer helicopters. Same hoodie, and it moves with you.

A jumper in an Olive Ninja Hoodie leaping from a helicopter above the clouds in the Swiss Alps

The Defender 2026 collection

Made for where the weather turns.

First light, long sit, face out of the wind.

Midnight Black, Olive or Ranger Green · S to XXL

Shop the Ninja Hoodie

₴5,580 · 100% Made in Ukraine

Reviews

People loved the last one. It sold out.

Heads up: these reviews are for a different product, our 2023 Defender 1/4 Zip Fleece. The Ninja Hoodie is brand new, so it has no reviews yet.

Defender Polar 1/4 Zip Fleece - Saint JavelinSold out

Defender Polar 1/4 Zip Fleece (2023)

5.0 from 31 reviews

  • Review of the 2023 1/4 Zip

    ★★★★★
    “I wore it while hiking the alps in summer, going out with friends on a fall evening and now in the winter - it always performs and keeps you warm, when you need it to.”

    NielsVerified buyerGermany

    See it on Judge.me ↗
  • Review of the 2023 1/4 Zip

    ★★★★★
    “Perfect quality, extra warm and coazy. I really like the pockets, they're very spacious. 10/10”

    ErikasVerified buyer

    See it on Judge.me ↗
  • Review of the 2023 1/4 Zip

    ★★★★★
    “great for walks in the forest, but also for warming up while sitting at the computer”

    Petr T.Verified buyerCzechia

    See it on Judge.me ↗
  • Review of the 2023 1/4 Zip

    ★★★★★
    “Bought one for my dad first, then my bf. They’re both raving about how warm and great it is. Now hoping they restock the S so I can get one for myself”

    AnastassiaCanada

    See it on Judge.me ↗

The Ninja Hoodie is even better

  • Warm through the long sit: Polartec 200 Midweight
  • Your face out of the wind in one zip: the hood closes into a balaclava
  • Goes through brush without shredding: stretch nylon on the forearms and lower sides

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

  • Warm through the long sitPolartec 200 Midweight fleece.
  • Your face out of the wind in one zipThe hood closes into a balaclava.
  • Push through brush without shredding the sleevesStretch nylon on the forearms and lower sides.
  • No draught, no cold metal on your chinA storm guard behind the zip and a zipper garage.

Warm through the long sit · Face covered in one zip

Get the Ninja Hoodie

Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, front, worn by a man
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, hood zipped up over the face, worn by a man
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, zipping the hood up over the face
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, stretch nylon abrasion panel on the forearm
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, angled zip hand pocket and velcro logo patch
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, adjustable hem with bungee cord and cord lock
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, side, full length, worn by a man
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, back, worn by a man
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, three-quarter view, worn by a woman
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, hood zipped over the face, facing forward, worn by a woman
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, full length, worn by a man
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, three-quarter view, hood zipped over the face, worn by a man
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, hood zipped up over the face, worn by a woman
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, side, worn by a woman
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, back with the hood up, worn by a woman
Olive — Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie, hands in the kangaroo pocket

1 / 16

Polartec 200 Midweight Ninja Hoodie

₴5,580

Warm when you stop, dry when you sweat: Polartec 200 Midweight. 100% Made in Ukraine.

Color: Olive
Size: S
  • Face covered in one zip: the hood closes into a balaclava
  • No draught, no cold metal on your chin: storm guard and zipper garage
  • Goes off-trail without shredding: stretch nylon on the forearms and lower sides
  • Midnight Black, Olive or Ranger Green · S–XXL
Full details and size chart

Questions we get

How warm is it?

It's a midweight fleece, warm enough for most of the winter. In real cold, wear it under a shell; on cool, dry days it works on its own. It isn't a substitute for a shell.

Can I wear the hood open?

Yes. Unzipped, it's a normal fitted hood. Zip it up when the wind picks up.

Is it a quarter-zip?

It's a half-zip. The zip runs from mid-chest up into the hood.

What colours and sizes are there?

Midnight Black, Olive and Ranger Green, in 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 hoodie is cut and sewn in Ukraine.

Tough gear,
for tough people.

Glassing for elk at first light? We made a hoodie for that.

Shop the Ninja Hoodie

The Defender Collection 2026 · 100% Made in Ukraine