This hoodie was made in a Ukrainian workshop, then carried 55 km off-trail through the Canadian wilderness before we let anyone buy it. Six things that happened in between.
The Ninja Hoodie is cut and sewn in Ukraine, by teams who keep working through blackouts.
Every one you buy is work for a Ukrainian maker. Not a flag printed on something made elsewhere: the whole thing, made there.
Warmth you can rely on starts with the fabric. We cut it from Polartec 200, Polartec’s classic midweight fleece, a fabric that has served in US military cold-weather gear.
It keeps you warm on long, cold days, breathes when you work hard and dries fast when you stop.
Before launch we wore the collection for five days and 55 km off-trail in the Yukon backcountry, with nights down to −10 °C.
No trail means rock, brush, creeks and pack straps all day. If a seam or a panel is going to fail, that is where it happens.
Up on the exposed ground the wind does not let up. Zip the hoodie all the way and the hood closes around your face like a balaclava, so we never needed a separate one.
Forearms and lower sides are stretch nylon, right where pack straps, hip belts and rock rub. Fleece pills and thins there. Nylon does not.
Made in Ukraine. Tested in Canada. That is the whole idea of Defender 2026, and this hoodie is the piece that carried it.
Defender 2026 is brand new, so here is what customers say about the Defender fleeces that came before it.
“What few mention is how dense it is! … it’s going to hold heat better and resist wind more than any fleece I’ve encountered, ever.”
“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.”
“Sizing is spot on. Very warm in winter, and breathable when inside. … Best mid layer I’ve ever bought.”
“I’ve had the previous model for a year now. Great design, craftsmanship. The patch is a bit worn but everything else is still like new.”
“Better than any fleece hoodie I have purchased from name brand s in the past.”
“Washes very well - no sign of pilling or bobbling, even after numerous washes…comes up like new.”
Store-wide: 4.89★ from 5,469 reviews (Judge.me, 28 October 2026).
Journalist Christian Borys prints a sticker of a saint holding a Javelin, hoping to raise a few hundred dollars for Ukraine. Days later the full-scale invasion starts, and the saint goes around the world.
We move production into Ukraine. Military-inspired gear first, then a Defender collection every winter, each one pushing further outdoors.
Defender 2026: Polartec fleece made in Ukraine. Before launch we wore it 55 km off-trail through the Yukon backcountry, with nights down to −10 °C.
A relaxed fit with room for a base layer underneath. If you are between sizes and want to wear it over a thicker layer, size up. Full measurements are on the product page.
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. It is a midweight fleece: warm on its own on cold, dry days, and the warm layer under a shell when it rains or snows hard.
Yes. Polartec 200, 100% polyester, from Polartec. The abrasion panels are stretch nylon (91% nylon, 9% elastane).
In Ukraine, start to finish. Cut and sewn in ukraine, by teams who keep working through blackouts.
Midnight Black, Olive and Ranger Green, sizes S to XXL.
Tough gear, for tough people.
Made in Ukraine. Tested in Canada.
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