Carhartt Sherpa Lined Hoodie Sweatshirt Review [103308 Rain Defender]


I recently tried 6 different Carhartt hoodies, including this Carhartt 103308 hoodie, to evaluate them on weight, comfort, thickness, and warmth. Here is my conclusion: This Carhartt Sherpa Lined Hoodie was the most comfortable to wear and was neck-and-neck with Carhartt hoodie 103312 for being the warmest Carhartt hoodie that I have tried.

Although I liked a lot of the Carhartt hoodies, I think this Carhartt Sherpa lined hoodie is my favorite. It is very warm and the Sherpa lining is soft and very comfortable to wear. This hoodie uses water-repellent fabric, and it zips all the way to my chin to provide weather protection up around the neck.

In this article I want to discuss this Carhartt Sherpa Lined Hooded Sweatshirt in more detail, and compare it to other Carhartt hoodies so you have an idea how this hoodie compares, and what its strengths and weaknesses are.

My Summary: Think warmth and comfort. This Carhartt Sherpa lined hoodie keeps me warm in everything but the bitter cold, and the water-repellent fabric helps keep out light precipitation. This hoodie zips to the chin and has a cuffed waist, cuffed sleeves, and a lined hood. Because it uses a Sherpa lining, this was the heaviest and bulkiest Carhartt hoodie that I tried.

Carhartt Sherpa Lined Hoodie 103308 Review

My Overview

This is my favorite insulated Carhartt hoodie. Because this hoodie has a Sherpa lining, it has a softer feel than some of the other insulated Carhartt hoodies, and, in my opinion, feels more like a hoodie/sweatshirt than a jacket.

But the Sherpa lining, although warm and comfortable, is bulkier and heavier. My size medium weighs 2.70 pounds and measured at 6.280mm thick, which made this the heaviest and thickest Carhartt hoodie that I tried. But with that weight and thickness comes warmth and comfort.

Regarding design, this hoodie is made with water-repellent fabric and features a zip-front design that zips all the way to my chin. It has a cuffed waist, cuffed sleeves, and an attached hood that is also Sherpa-lined.

This hoodie has an internal chest pocket that my iPhone fits in. It also has the two flap-covered hand-warmer pockets, and there is a small media pocket inside the right hand-warmer pocket. Overall, this is a very warm hoodie that keeps me warm in most all conditions except for the extreme bitter cold.

Warmth

When I recently tried 6 different Carhartt hoodies, I listed this Carhartt 103308 hoodie as the second warmest, but it was very close to being the warmest. This is a 1a and 1b type of situation (I thought the Carhartt 103312 quilt-lined hoodie was just slightly warmer).

Here is a look at the Sherpa lining in this hoodie:

rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-inside
rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-lining

Below is a table on how I think the six Carhartt hoodies I tried rank regarding warmth. Please understand that this is just my opinion from wearing these hoodies – I haven’t scientifically tested them and Carhartt does not assign a temperature rating to their products.

I think the Carhartt 103308 Sherpa-Lined Hoodie is the second warmest. To read more about the warmest options, visit my article about insulated Carhartt hoodies. Here is how I think they rank regarding warmth:

StyleWeight (lbs)
Carhartt 103312 Quilt Lined Zip1 (Warmest)
Carhartt 103308 Sherpa Lined Zip2
Carhartt 104078 Thermal Lined Zip3
Carhartt 100614 Unlined Zip4
Carhartt 100615 Heavyweight Pullover5
Carhartt K121 Midweight Pullover 6 (Mildest)

Fabric

This Carhartt Sherpa lined hoodie uses a midweight external fabric made with 10.5-ounce cotton/poly blend. This is a Carhartt Rain Defender Hoodie, which means the fabric is treated and is water repellent.

Don’t expect this fabric to keep you dry in a monsoon, but it is very capable of defending you against light precipitation and snow. Here’s my Carhartt Rain Defender Hoodie beading up moisture and preventing it from soaking in:

Weight

My size medium Carhartt 103308 hoodie weighed 2.70 pounds for a size medium, which made it the heaviest out of the 6 Carhartt hoodies that I tried. As I mentioned above, the Sherpa lining is very warm and comfortable, but that adds weight and bulk to the jacket.

rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-weight

Here is how the weight of this Carhartt Sherpa lined hoodie compares to the other Carhartt hoodies that I tried:

StyleWeight (lbs)
Carhartt 103308 Sherpa Lined Zip2.70
Carhartt 104078 Thermal Lined Zip2.48
Carhartt 103312 Quilt Lined Zip2.31
Carhartt 100614 Unlined Zip2.14
Carhartt 100615 Heavyweight Pullover1.98
Carhartt K121 Midweight Pullover 1.62

Thickness

Just like we discussed with weight above, because this Carhartt 103308 hoodie uses a Sherpa lining, it is heavier and bulkier than some of the other hoodies. Overall, this really didn’t bother me much at all, but it is something to consider. My size medium measured at 6.28mm thick:

rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-thickness

Here is how the thickness of this Carhartt Sherpa lined hoodie compares to the other Carhartt hoodies that I tried:

StyleThickness (mm)
Carhartt 103308 Sherpa Lined Zip6.28
Carhartt 104078 Thermal Lined Zip4.04
Carhartt 103312 Quilt Lined Zip2.01
Carhartt 100614 Unlined Zip1.63
Carhartt 100615 Heavyweight Pullover1.66
Carhartt K121 Midweight Pullover 1.29

Sizing

This Carhartt 103308 hoodie has a relaxed fit that does not fit tight against the body. Here I am wearing this hoodie:

rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-worn
rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-zipped

Here is my size medium compared to a size medium Hanes undershirt straight out of the package:

rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-sizing

My recommendation is to order your normal sizing for this Carhartt Sherpa-lined hoodie.

Details

This Carhartt 103308 hoodie zips all the way to the chin to give you extra weather protection around the neck. It has the small zipper pocket at the top so the zipper doesn’t bother my chin. Here’s a look at mine:

rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-zipped
rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-zip

This hoodie also has external hand-warmer pockets that have a flap that covers the top to help keep rain out of the pockets. The right hand-warmer pocket has a small media pocket hidden inside. This hoodie also has an internal pocket that is large enough to fit my iPhone.

rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie
rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-pocket
rain-defender-carhartt-sherpa-hoodie-inside

This hoodie has a standard zip-front design with a cuffed waist and cuffed sleeves. The attached hood is also Sherpa-lined for warmth.

Carhartt 103308 Hoodie Alternatives

If you want to browse through a wide variety of options, visit our article about the best work hooded sweatshirts. In the next few sections, I will briefly discuss other Carhartt options to compare and contrast to this Carhartt 103308 hoodie.

What Carhartt Hoodie Has Similar Warmth?

The Carhartt Quilt-Lined Hoodie style 103312 is what I consider to be the warmest Carhartt hoodie. It is a quilt-lined hoodie that has Poly-fil insulation that is very good at trapping heat, but is also lightweight and non-bulky. This Carhartt quilt-lined hoodie weighs less and is thinner than the Sherpa-lined hoodie, but I think the Sherpa-lined hoodie is more comfortable.

Please understand that Carhartt doesn’t offer a temperature rating, and I am just basing this off my own opinion from wearing these hoodies. These two hoodies are both very warm, and it’s honestly difficult to judge which is warmer.

Here’s a look at my Quilt-Lined hoodie in case you are interested in that:

This Carhartt Quilt-Lined hoodie has the same water-repellent fabric, and also zips all the way to the chin. One design difference is this Carhartt Quilt-Lined hoodie has an external zip-close chest pocket. To read more, visit my Carhartt 103312 Quilt Lined Hoodie Review.

What is the Best Mild Weather Carhartt Hoodie?

For mild spring and fall temperatures, I like to use my Carhartt Midweight Pullover Hoodie style K121. I’ve been using this hoodie for years. I think it is that perfect hoodie to keep in your truck to wear on days that turn unexpectedly cool during the fall and spring months.

This midweight hoodie has a very standard pullover design. It weighs less than the Carhartt Sherpa Lined Hoodie, and is not lined. Here’s what mine looks like:

This K121 hoodie is my choice for the best mild weather Carhartt hoodie. If you prefer a zip-front design, I’d recommend the Carhartt 100614 Rain Defender Hoodie which is unlined, and another nice option for mild weather.

Which Carhartt Hoodie Fits Looser?

This Carhartt Sherpa Lined hoodie has a relaxed fit, that is honestly pretty loose and will not fit tight. That said, there are looser options also.

A comparable hoodie that has a looser fit is the Carhartt 104078 Thermal-Lined Hoodie. This Carhartt Thermal-Lined hoodie is also very warm and is designed very similarly to the Carhartt 103308 hoodie. Both zip all the way to the chin and have water-repellent fabric.

Here’s what my Carhartt 104078 Thermal-Lined Hoodie looks like:

This thermal lined hoodie has a loose fit. Here is my size medium compared to a size medium Hanes undershirt straight out of the package:

rain-defender-carhartt-thermal-hoodie-sizing

If you want something that fits very loose and gives you plenty of space to move around without feeling restricted on the job, this Carhartt Thermal Lined Hoodie will be your best option. To read more, visit my article about this Carhartt thermal lined hoodie.

What’s the Warmest Carhartt Pullover Option?

If you prefer a pullover hoodie, and want the warmest option, in my experience that is the Carhartt 100614 Heavyweight Hoodie. This hoodie is not lined, but it is water-repellent, and uses a heavyweight 13-ounce fabric blend that keeps me warm even on days that get down near freezing.

Here’s what mine looks like:

I’ve been using this Carhartt Heavyweight Pullover for years as a nice base layer under my work jacket during brutally cold winter days. This hoodie fits true to size with a loose fit.

Conclusion for my Carhartt Sherpa Lined Hoodie 103308 Review

My Summary: Think warmth and comfort. The Sherpa lining keeps me warm in everything but the bitter cold, and the water-repellent fabric helps keep out light precipitation. This hoodie zips to the chin and has a cuffed waist, cuffed sleeves, and a lined hood. Because it uses a Sherpa lining, this was the heaviest and bulkiest Carhartt hoodie that I tried.

Paul Johnson

Paul is a lead content creator for Workwear Command. He has had several blue-collar jobs which have provided him a wide range of experience with tools and gear. He also has a business degree and has spent time in business casual office settings.

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