Men's Pullover Hoodie

An unbroken front panel holds heat that a zip lets out, which is why pullovers run warmest.

Also called: hooded sweatshirt, hoodie, pullover hooded sweatshirt

At a glance
Product type	Men's Sweatshirts & Hoodies
Category	Men's Clothing
Synonyms	hooded sweatshirt, hoodie, pullover hooded sweatshirt

Watch out

Nothing vents on a pullover short of taking it off over your head. It gets abandoned in overheated buildings and worn hard everywhere else.

The basics

What to know about Men's Pullover Hoodie

A pullover hoodie runs as one continuous panel of fleece from hem to shoulder, with a hood attached at the neck and a pouch pocket sewn across the belly. No opening means no cold line up your chest, and it also means the whole garment has to come off over your head.

The hood is the part worth understanding. Cut from a single layer, it flops onto your shoulders within a season; lined with the same fleece, it stands. Height matters as much as lining, since a hood shorter than about 13 inches from neck seam to crown will not clear the back of your skull and pulls off in wind. Drawcords exit through the front edge, and metal grommets keep those holes from tearing the way stitched eyelets slowly do. The pocket carries its own detail: bar tacks, dense blocks of stitching, at both top corners of the opening, because every hand going in pries that corner apart.

Splitting this front down the middle gives you the Full-Zip Hoodie, which gains a vent, loses unbroken warmth and adds the one part most likely to break outright. The Crewneck Sweatshirt drops the hood entirely and slips under a coat. Quarter-Zip Sweatshirts sit between the two, with a short opening and a standing collar. Of the four, this one runs warmest at any given weight, since a solid front holds heat that a zip line leaks.

Cold commutes, weekend errands and evenings that start warm and end cold suit it. At 320 gsm a pullover covers roughly 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit on its own. Anyone who overheats indoors should think twice, because venting means taking the whole thing off over your head. Under a suit coat or an overcoat it is the wrong layer, since the hood balls up behind your neck and pushes the coat collar off your shoulders.

Grip the hood at the crown and shake it, because a doubled hood keeps its shape while a single-layer one folds over. Stretch the waistband rib and release it, since a band that stays open lets the whole body ride up your back. Bar tacks at the pocket opening deserve a look before the price does. Wash it inside out in cold water, dry it low, and even out the drawcord after every wash, since one cycle is all it takes for one side to vanish into the channel.

Best for

When to choose this style

Cold commutes are its natural ground, since a solid front stops the wind line a zip creates.
Layering under a hip-length shell works at 320 gsm and below, where the fleece stays thin enough for the sleeve.
Evenings that start warm and end cold are covered, as one 320 gsm layer handles roughly 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
First hoodie purchases belong here, because nothing needs to go over or under it to look intentional.

Style comparison