REASONS TO BUY
Stylish
Warm
High-quality
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Lacks breathability
Updated fit is off
Difficult to layer
Arc'teryx Covert Cardigan - Women's Review
This high quality, non-technical fleece jacket is perfect for staying warm and stylish at the change of season
Credit: Trish Matheny
By Trish Matheny ⋅ Review Editor ⋅ October 31, 2025
RELATED: The Best Fleece Jackets for Women
Our Verdict
The Arc'teryx Covert Cardigan is a fleece jacket masquerading as a wool sweater. The fibers are densely knit and look very much like wool; however, the inside is brushed fleece, featuring a much softer interface than most wools. This jacket offers excellent standalone warmth and is very stylish, but also comes with an expensive price tag. Arc'teryx also might have botched the latest fit, featuring a barrel waist, tight arms, and an even tighter neckline. This jacket also isn't our top pick for cold-weather mountain pursuits due to its lack of breathability and difficulty layering within a system. That said, it provides a high-quality design that looks great on and is a perfect choice for those after a casual lifestyle fleece to combat the cold. It's our top choice when we're heading out on the town, but one we leave at home when we need a fleece that will showcase technical performance.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Arc'teryx Covert Cardigan is made with “Alpenex II” fleece, which is a recycled knit polyester designed to mimic the appearance of wool. It has two zippered hand pockets with taped seams as well as a small pocket on the upper left bicep. While not our top choice for mountain adventures, it makes a great casual jacket, so long as the cut fits your body comfortably.
If the Covert fits you as well as it does Rhaude Dahlinghaus, you're gonna love the densely woven design that keeps you warm and stylish when the temperatures drop.
Credit: Trish Matheny
Warmth
The Covert is constructed from a thick fleece fabric that provides excellent standalone warmth for cooler days. Weighing nearly a pound, it is one of the heaviest and bulkiest designs that we tested, even without a hood included in the construction.
The densely woven fabric effectively traps body heat, but it limits breathability. The sleeve tightness and shorter arm length also prevented our testers from pulling the material over the hand when caught without gloves on a walk. Overall, though, the Covert is quite warm thanks to its thicker construction.
Even though the Covert doesn't feature a hood, the tightly woven polyester fibers lock in body heat while the long fit in the torso provides extra coverage.
Credit: Trish Matheny
Comfort
We'll be the first to admit that the Covert isn't the coziest fleece in our award-winning lineup. The jacket features a perforated interior front lining, while the arms and back are lined with a soft, brushed fleece fabric that feels comfortable next to the skin. The neck sports a soft micro fleece lining along the collar, which helps combat the ill-fitting neckline when fully zipped. The jacket also includes handwarmer pockets with soft fleece on one side and a stiffer, perforated fabric on the other.
The latest iteration of the Covert disappointed our testing team on multiple fronts. To be fair, most of our testing team is comprised of avid rock climbers with broader shoulders; that said, they found the jacket to feature a very large waist, tight arms of a shorter length, and a very tight and uncomfortable neckline. Perhaps this could be mitigated by sizing up, although that would leave even more material and draft in the waist. If you fit the dimensions, this could be a great casual fleece.
The Covert has a unique fit that most of our testing team found to be tight in the tight and shoulders. The sleeves hit right at the wrist, providing excellent coverage during cold days.
Breathability
The material is quite thick and densely woven, without many venting options or grid patterns for heat to escape. The perforated fabric on the front interior lining helps, but the Covert's design is quite limited when it comes to breathability, especially when compared side by side to the more technical fleece jackets we tested.
When hiking and biking in this layer, we quickly overheated, got sweaty, and then became uncomfortable as the sweat pooled between our skin and the fleece material. The tightness of the arms also made the jacket difficult to remove once sweaty. For this reason, we think this layer will perform best as a casual layer that provides standalone warmth due to the thickness of the polyester material.
The thick fabric doesn't provide a ton of breathability. However, you can open the zippered pockets to reveal a perforated fabric that lines the front of the interior.
Layering Ability
Our testing team also found the Covert difficult to layer. The fit runs tight in the shoulders, which is fine for a casual fleece but not the best if you intend to wear the jacket during mountain objectives.
During testing, we couldn't fit much more than a crop or tank top underneath due to the tightness of the arms and shoulders, and the Covert didn't quite feel comfortable when we layered a jacket over top. The material doesn't have that much stretch to it, and we didn't have great range of motion in the shoulders or arms.
The layering ability of the Covert depends entirely on how the jacket fits your body. Our lead tester found it difficult to layer much more than the thinnest base layer due to the tight fit on her arms and neck.
Credit: Trish Matheny
Weight
The flat and non-porous material does a better job of blocking the wind than the gridded or hi-loft fleeces, but water still absorbs right into it. As a result, like most fleeces, we'd recommend using a shell to provide better protection from the weather.
Weighing 15 ounces for a size Small, the midweight design is one of the heaviest that we tested. The thick fabric also requires more space in your suitcase and backpack, limiting packability overall. We recommend this fleece for standalone warmth during casual outings at the change of season.
At 15 ounces for a women's size small, the Covert is one of the heaviest and bulkiest designs that we tested.
Credit: Trish Matheny
Should You Buy the Arc'teryx Covert Cardigan?
This jacket retails for a pretty penny. Since wool is notoriously expensive, you would think a synthetic polyester design would cut the cost in half. However, the Covert and a wool sweater will cost about the same. That said, this is one of the highest-quality designs that we tested, featuring solid construction and materials that aren't susceptible to rips or snags, even during heavy use. The major caveat is the lack of technical performance and the updated fit. If you find that the Covert fits your body shape and you're just after a casual fleece jacket to get you through spring and fall, it may be a great choice for you.
The deep and zippered pockets will hold your valuables, whether you're running errands around town or out on the local trails.
What Other Women's Fleece Jackets Should You Consider?
The Arc'teryx Covert Cardigan provides a sleek and stylish design that is perfect for casual use, so long as the updated fit works for your body. If you're after a more affordable casual fleece, we recommend options the REI Co-op Trailmade Fleece and the Cotopaxi Abrazo Full-Zip. Our favorite fleece overall is the Arc'teryx Kyanite Hoody, which boasts a high-quality design and an excellent range of motion. Those looking for a fleece built for athletic performance without losing that soft and cozy feel next to skin should check out the Patagonia R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare Arc'teryx Covert Cardigan - Women's versus top competing products:
—Trish Matheny
You Might Also Like
