i don't recall ever buying from the columbia brand, and going only by the purchase of this one hoodie-i never would again-unless i actually felt it first in a store, or from someone else. unless it was far down the line, and things greatly improved. i ordered black. black clothes traditionally have greater issues when it comes to fading & just the feel of the materials, along with this inherent negative quality which i like to refer to as being "a lint magnet". well, that is exactly what this sweatshirt is. ive washed it twice-in woolite dark mind you, and even before then i was picking things off of it. i have a very good lint eater, and even with that it took some effort to make it presentable again. while there has been minimal shrinkage-a definate plus. thats not much consolation when every little thing it comes in contact with seems to magnetically latch on, along with severe fading. in addition to that, its not very thick. fleece is just a lowsy material in my view. id say its better for someone who lives in a relatively lint free environment. if you have leather office seating (which i do) its ok with that, and leather vehicle interior & furniture at home (which i don't :), not yet anyway), w/satin or silk bedding, id say go with it. though if you have regular ole' clothy fabrique furniture & covers on ur bed, id recommend giving it a miss. this would be good for a chilly summer night & wearing around the house, or for situations where you don't care much about ur clothing being just right-like for crisp jogging days & workouts n general, or sneaking into a movie theatre...though its not heavy duty. i like southpole brand much better, nice n thick-lasts a long time, and you dont..., or at least i Used to not have the lint & fading concerns. its been a few years since ive bought one though. there were a lot of winter days that i could comfortably go outside in a southpole hoody with just a t-shirt on underneath, and i frequent northwestern pa-w/our crazy lake chills-so thats saying a lot. heck, ive said a lot here in general...so ill stop on that.