~ Chuck
(picture courtesy of Columbia)
Not all Hoodies are created equal, especially the Columbia Prouty Glacier II. It might look like an ordinary hoodie, but Columbia (http://www.columbia.com/) has added their own style to the everyday hoodie. (The hoodie is being provided by Columbia for review)
Here is what Columbia has to say about the Prouty Glaceir II Hoodie:
Whether you’re checking the surf at sunrise or gathering wood for an evening campfire, nothing’s better than a zip-hoodie to keep you toasty. Our popular Prouty Glacier II takes the classic hooded sweatshirt to the next level by incorporating a shearling-style liner into the hood for an added layer of warmth and blending polyester into the mix for its durability, drying, and wicking properties. The heavyweight 80% cotton/20% polyester shell is thick and super-soft inside, a quality that has made this one an all-time favorite. For this season, the style factor has been revved up with contrast stitching on the hood and hand pockets and metal rivets on the waistband for an urban touch. Relaxed Fit.
Features:
Draw string hood
Full Frontal Zip
Front hand warming pockets
Elastic waist hem and cuffs
After receiving the hoodie, I was excited to see the quality that is put into this jacket. I’ve had several hoodies over the years. I even had one as a kid and I think everyone has had one at some point in their life. There is just something about the weight and comfort of a hoodie. Columbia has, as they say, taken a classic hoodie to the next level. The interior of the hood is a 53% polyester/47% acrylic pile blend. Which to me, is a great combination in keeping my head and ears perfectly toasty without breaking a sweat.
Columbia has added their own style and touch to a normal classic hoodie with contrasting stitching on the front of the hood and at the outside hand pockets.
I’ve worn this hoodie on a couple of days so far when the temperature has been on the cool side for me (mid 50’s F). I was very warm wearing the hoodie while outside in this temperature. The ‘Relax Fit’ fits me great. I normally wear a size Large in jackets and that is the size of this hoodie. The relax fit is loose enough to wear possibly a sweatshirt or sweater underneath if need be but also tight enough that I could wear a larger jacket over it, using it as a mid-layer.
So far I really like the Prouty Glacier II hoodie and I look forward to cold days so that I can truly test the warmth of this jacket. Stay tuned for more….
UPADTE: 04/22/11
The Prouty is unbelievably warm. I’ve worn it on a lot of cold days and downright frigid days. Now for me as a southern boy, a cold day is in the 40′s(F), but a downright frigid day is in the lower 30′s(F) and even into the 20′s(F). Now it’s clear what cold means to me.
From the day I received the jacket, I made it my all time all day jacket on cold days. For me, I stayed very warm any day that I wore the jacket. And that’s a big accomplishment for me because I really don’t like winter very much so usually I spend most of the winter months, just trying to stay warm. The Prouty has been an excellent companion keeping me warm and that’s what gets me through the day.
The fabric on the inside just feels like that old worn out sweat shirt that is worn over and over until it just basically falls apart. It’s a very soft, warm feel and it truly kept me warm even though it’s not a heavy weight type jacket. The outside fabric is also soft but it actually repelled a very light rain that I got caught in one day; which brings me to the hood. The hood is nice and deep and it protects the face somewhat when the wind blows that cold air.
I got to liking it so much that I wore it everywhere. Not just to work or outside while I worked in the yard but even in the house when I didn’t want to turn the heat up. It was also the perfect jacket that I took along with me on our family camp outs. It was just the right weight to wear on a cool night once the sun went down, sitting by the fire. The bad part is that I had a spark fly up and land on the sleeve and burnt a hole in it. So now I have this nice dime size whole on the top of the sleeve. Oh well…it just adds character. I’ll continue to keep this as my all time jacket. Stay tuned for more….
UPDATE: 01/18/12
Wow….this jacket just won’t give up. The Prouty has certainly won it’s way to the top of my jacket list. I really never thought wearing a hoodie could be so much fun and warm at the same time.
I’ve been seeing construction workers in the ice cold winter months, outside working and man do they look warm. And it dawned on me, it’s the hoodie coupled with a heavier weight jacket on top. So of course I had to try this, not like it was just invented yesterday, but it was new to me. I tried it one cold morning when we had a serious frost freeze and I could not believe how toasty I was. I think what made it the best was the hoodie sort of rides high on the neck since it has to flop over the collar of the outer jacket. But this truly made me warm, not just a little warm, but very warm. And I know this is all due to the layering affect but the Prouty is what made this possible. Because I had worn the heavier type jacket before by itself and it wasn’t this warm.
The Prouty has unbelievable durability qualities. I have washed it over and over and over and it still looks as good as new. It has drawn up some because I accidentally dried it on HOT and it shrank a little bit but it didn’t affect the quality. I just can’t say enough about it…it’s my favorite jacket and will be for a long time. Thank you Columbia and 4AllOutdoors for allowing me to test this awesome jacket.
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