There's a reason that this Benton Springs Sweater is the best-selling Columbia fleece style as the Benton's briefness is its greatest strength. Made with MTR (Maximum Thermal Retention) fleece, you can find the non-pilling, easy care fleece a blessing from the God. Low-profile hand-warming pockets don't snag on whatever you're layering it under. Radial sleeves make the movement quite free for any sport or activity. Whether it is Worn alone in the spring or as a perfect layering piece, the Benton Springs is just plain good Columbia fleece.

   Founded in 1938, Columbia Sportswear Company has grown from a small family-owned hat distributor to one of the largest outerwear brands in the world and also the leading seller of ski-wear in the United States. The extensive product line of Columbia includes a large variety of outerwear, sportswear, rugged footwear and accessories. Moreover, Columbia specializes in developing innovative products that are functional yet stylish and offer great value. Eighty-year-old matriarch Gert Boyle, Chairman of the Board, and her son, Tim Boyle, President and CEO, are leading the company all the way.

   Columbia's history starts with Gert's parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, when they fled Germany in 1937. They bought a small hat distributorship in Portland, Oregon, and named it Columbia Hat Company, at that time they don't produce Columbia fleece after the river bordering the city. But in a short time frustrated by poor deliveries from suppliers, the Lamfroms decided to begin manufacturing products by themselves. Afterwards, Gert married college sweetheart Neal Boyle, who joined the family business and later took the helm of the growing company.

   However, Neal suddenly died of a heart attack in 1970 and Gert enlisted help from Tim, then a college senior. After that, it wasn't long before business really started to take off. As Columbia was one of the first companies to make columbia fleece jackets from waterproof/breathable fabric and they introduced the breakthrough technology called the Columbia Interchange System, in which a shell and liner combine for multiple wearing choices, in the early 1980s, the 60-year-old Gert began her role as "Mother Boyle" in Columbia's successful and popular advertising movement.

   The company then went public in 1998 and moved into a new era as a world leader in the active outdoor apparel industry. Today, Columbia Sportswear employs more than 1,800 people around the world and distributes and sells products in more than 50 countries and to more than 12,000 retailers throughout the world.

   Columbia fleece is one of the most popular fabrics for cold weather protection because it insulates, dries quickly and requires little care. That's why Columbia Sportswear offers a broad collection of performance fleece fabrics that address the needs of every outdoor enthusiast.