Artilect is a pretty young brand. They only launched their first lineup in 2021, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the quality materials and design of their products. In the company’s short lifespan so far, they’ve already caught an editor’s choice award from Backcountry Magazine for their Flatiron 185 baselayer line. So, is the Artilect Supermoon Bio Hoodie a future award winner? Perhaps not, but it sure is a fine fleece.
Artilect Supermoon Bio Hoodie Features:
- Made from 100% recycled material
- Primaloft BIO pocket lining
- Bluesign approved Primaloft BIO Fleece
- Under the helmet hood
- 2 zippered hand pockets & 1 zippered chest pocket
- Lycra cuffs
- Weight: 500g
- MSRP: $180
High-End Traditional Fleece
I should establish off the bat that the Supermoon Bio Hoodie isn’t a part of the outdoor industry’s current race for greatest grid fleece. It’s really more of a traditional, mid-weight fleece with some modern elements. It’s too warm to mistake for a high-output layer, too weighty to misname as a light and fast go-to, and too sizable to pitch as a backpacker’s best friend. The Supermoon Bio Hoodie isn’t trying to be these things. It’s just trying to be a warm, comfortable, and eco friendly midlayer. And it is.
Artilect’s insistence on eco friendliness is easy to pin down as my favorite thing about the brand. Every product they make utilizes eco friendly materials, whether they be biodegradable merino, Bluesign approved waterproof membranes, or various other forms of eco tech. The Supermoon Bio Hoodie holds up to that sustainability standard, and is itself made entirely of recycled materials. Among those recycled materials is Primaloft’s Bluesign approved BIO Fleece, a synthetic material designed to biodegrade at an accelerated rate.
I’m pleased to report that the fleece is quite warm too. I’ve taken it out on many a freezing walk and minor mountaineering outing this winter, and I’ve yet to be cold while active with it. If anything, it’s too-warm for high-output activities. On one deep, snowy day where avalanche danger was too high for much else, I donned the Supermoon for a long forest road post hole. It was too warm for my slogging, but I kept it on for the sake of testing Artilect’s claim that it’s warm when wet. By the end of the hike, it was quite wet, and I was still quite warm.
Its real purpose isn’t hard hiking or endless switchbacks on the skin track (unless it’s wretchedly cold out). It’s more of a casual outing layer. Bouldering with some buddies in the forest? Perfect. Riding lifts on an especially cold resort day? Great. Strolling downtown to “support your local brewery”? It’ll play. For any relatively casual, close to home outing, the Supermoon fits the bill. It’s a bit too heavy (500 grams by my scale) and too bulky when packed (~2.5 Nalgenes size) to be a real multi-day or backcountry go-to. Since the activities I like are a bit more on the high-output, weight and space-conscious side, I can’t say that the Supermoon is really designed for me, but I will say that it’s a great everyday fleece for folks with a little less nitro in their circus.
Some of the things that make it good on the day-to-day stem back to quality of design. Two zippered hand pockets and one zippered chest pocket provide more than adequate storage. All the zippers are high quality and also have easy-to-use pulls. The lycra cuffs constrict enough to keep out drafts, and the elastic waistband cinches nicely to keep the warmth in. The hood fits and tracks with my head well, although an elastic cinch would’ve been a welcome addition for some of my windier outings.
On the whole, the Supermoon Bio Hoodie is quite well-made, and there’s very little I’d change about it. That makes it a little easier to stomach the price. Still, $180 for a traditional mid-weight fleece is on the very top end of market prices. I have to wonder if it’s worth it… maybe with a discount.
Fit and Wash: I’m 5’11” and 170lbs, and I tested a size Large, which fit well across the board. I washed and dried the Supermoon Bio according to instructions many times and still haven’t noticed any pilling, clumping, or other weirdness that sometimes comes with fleece fabrics.
The Good
- Made entirely of recycled materials
- Primaloft BIO Fleece is warm when wet (and dry)
- Ample storage
- Quality zippers and easy pulls
- Waist cinch and lycra cuffs help keep warmth in
- Good aesthetics
The Bad
- Too warm for most high-output activities
- A hood cinch could make it more wind-friendly
- Pretty expensive
The Bottom Line: Artilect Supermoon Bio Hoodie
As a traditional midweight fleece, the Supermoon Bio Hoodie keeps a person warm, looks great, and is also made with environmental friendliness in mind. It may not be the lightest or most packable fleece out there, but it’s very well-made and perfectly suited for casual, lower-output outings. If you can get past the price tag, it’s certainly worth consideration.
Buy Now: Available at REI
