400 GSM vs 500 GSM Hoodies: What Is the Difference?
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A hundred grams per square metre reads like a rounding error. Across a full hoodie it is closer to a different category of garment. Here is what actually changes, and where the heavier option stops being the better one.
What the numbers mean
GSM is grams per square metre of finished fabric. A 400 GSM hoodie uses cloth weighing 400 grams per square metre; a 500 GSM hoodie uses cloth weighing 500. A typical adult hoodie takes somewhere around two square metres of fabric, so the gap compounds into a noticeable difference in the hand.
If the measurement itself is new to you, start with What GSM Means in Clothing.
The comparison
Two pieces from our own range make a clean comparison, because both are 100% cotton. Fibre is held constant, so the difference you feel is weight and cut rather than material.
| Mineral Wash Crop Hoodie | Heavyweight Cotton Hoodie | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 400 GSM | 530 GSM |
| Composition | 100% cotton | 100% cotton |
| Fit | Loose, drop shoulder, cropped | Oversized, drop shoulder |
| Finish | Mineral wash | Solid colour |
| Colourways | One | Five |
| Sizes | S to 2XL | 2XS to XL |
One honest caveat. The 400 GSM piece is cropped and the 530 GSM piece is full length, so the heavier garment also uses more fabric overall. The weight gap is real, and the difference in the hand is larger than 130 GSM alone would suggest.
A note on the 500 figure specifically: we do not currently make a hoodie at exactly 500 GSM. The nearest is the 530 GSM piece above. Our only garment at exactly 500 GSM is the Heavyweight Fleece Short, in a 53.75% cotton, 46.25% polyester fleece.
Feel
At 400 GSM the cloth is dense but still pliable. It folds. You can bunch a cuff in your hand.
At 530 GSM it resists. The cloth is firm when new and holds its line rather than folding. It softens over the first several washes and keeps its density. Some people want exactly this. Others prefer the give of a lighter weight.
Structure
This is where the heavier weight earns its place. At 530 GSM the shoulder holds its position whether or not anyone is wearing the garment. A drop shoulder stays a deliberate line rather than sliding into a slouch.
At 400 GSM the structure is still there, but the garment takes more of its shape from the body underneath. In a cropped cut this works in its favour, since the shorter hem does not have enough fabric below it to collapse.
Warmth
More cotton means more trapped air. The 530 GSM piece is meaningfully warmer, and in cold weather it functions as an outer layer on its own.
The 400 GSM piece is warm without being a coat. It suits autumn and spring, and indoor winter.
Drape
Lighter cloth falls in more, smaller folds. Heavier cloth falls in fewer, larger ones and hangs straighter from the shoulder.
Neither is better. A 530 GSM hoodie reads architectural. A 400 GSM hoodie reads softer. The choice is aesthetic, not technical.
Drying
The clearest practical cost of weight. Cotton holds a great deal of water, and there is roughly a third more of it in the 530 GSM piece.
Air-dried, a 530 GSM pure cotton hoodie can take most of a day. The 400 GSM piece is appreciably quicker. If you own one hoodie and wear it often, this matters more than any other difference on this page.
Blended fleece dries faster than pure cotton at the same weight. The Vintage Wash Boxy Fleece Hoodie at 390 GSM carries 53% polyester for this reason.
Layering
At 400 GSM a hoodie will go under a roomy jacket. At 530 GSM it will not go under anything slim. Plan the outfit around it rather than through it.
Seasonal use
- 400 GSM. Autumn, spring, indoor winter. Roughly three seasons in a temperate climate.
- 500 GSM and above. Winter, and cold days either side of it. Uncomfortable above about 15 degrees Celsius.
Portability
A 530 GSM hoodie does not compress. It takes a significant share of a carry-on. A 400 GSM piece packs down meaningfully smaller. For travel, weight works against you every time.
Is 500 GSM too heavy?
For year-round use as your only hoodie, probably. For winter, no.
We would not claim 530 GSM is superior to 400 GSM. It is denser, warmer, more structured, slower to dry, harder to layer, and harder to pack. Those are trade-offs, not upgrades. Someone in a mild climate who wants one hoodie for most of the year is better served at 350 to 400 GSM.
Choosing
Pick the heavier weight if you want structure and silhouette above convenience, if you have genuine cold weather, and if the hoodie will be your outer layer.
Pick the lighter weight if you want three-season use, if you layer under jackets, if you travel, or if you prefer a softer hand from new.
Our pieces at 400 GSM and above are described as heavyweight. The 500 GSM and heavier ones are described as ultra-heavyweight. Each product page states the figure. For the wider view across every hoodie we make, see What Makes a Hoodie Heavyweight, and for why we publish these figures at all, Materials.