MEC Tace Jacket

Review by ArnieP

MEC Tace jacket

The MEC Tace jacket was provided for review purposes.



The MEC (Mountain Equipment CO-OP) Tace jacket was made primarily for running. I looks very similar to a running jacket I own, but when I stopped running, I started using my jacket for hiking and backpacking. I intend to use the Tace jacket for hiking and daily use.

zippered pocket

inside of zippered pocket with mp3 port

ventilation on back side of jacket

underarm ventilation

waist cinches

The jacket is made out of 100% nylon and weights less than 5 oz. I received a size large and it is a bit smaller than other size large jackets I own. I tried it with a first layer of silk and a second layer of Merino wool and still had enough room for a thin fleece jacket. Winter will soon be here and I will be using layers to keep warm while hiking. Running generates more heat and is usually done for shorter periods than the hikes I will be taking.

The jacket is windproof and water resistant. It has a small right side pocket to hold an mp3 player. The pocket has a port so earphones can be connected to an mp3 player from the inside of the jacket. This pocket is small and the compartment is toward the back of the jacket and slightly upward. This pocket is big enough for a light pair of liner gloves I have. The jacket has ample venting on the back and underarms. There is reflective piping on the front side of the shoulders, on the back side near the hips and on the back cape that covers the venting. There is an elastic binding on the wrist cuffs and adjustable shockcord waist which can be cinched on both the right and left side.



I am looking forward to using my multi layer approach with this windproof water resistant shell to keep warm on my hikes. This will include a silk, Merino wool and a fleece layer. Check back in a month when I will have more to say about the MEC Tace jacket.

Update

1-21-2011


This past month was very good in terms of weather, and three great hiking days to put the Tace jacket through a lot of varied conditions. The three hikes consisted of Bald Mountain/Artist bluff combination, Blueberry Mountain, and Lincoln Woods – all in New Hampshire.

Bald Mountain and Artist Bluff



I was alone on this hike and found out too late that I had not brought any traction devices for my boots. This was a very cold day at near 0 F and a 15 mph wind and about 8 inches of powder snow. For this hike I had silk for my first layer, Merino wool shirt for the second layer, a light fleece vest for the next layer and the Tace jacket for the outer layer. Near the summit the trail gets steeper and there are a lot of boulders to scramble over. I decided it was too unsafe to continue, especially since I was alone. I then proceeded to climb Artist Bluff which was a little easier but there was a lot of snow in the evergreen trees making for a very beautiful scene. I was glad to get back from this hike as the cold was starting to get to me. I think it was a combination of the wind and I was getting some snow on my face and neck. This is one time a hood would have been handy.

view of Cannon Mountain from Artist's Bluff

Blueberry Mountain



I hiked this with 2 friends of mine from the ski club. For this hike my first layer was silk followed by a Merino wool shirt. My outer layer was my Tace jacket. I decided not to use the light fleece vest unless I needed it. The temperature was about 12 F and there was a slight wind at the summit. There was about 6-10 inches of snow on this trail. Hiking up, there were several steep areas near the summit. At the summit, we made tea with my friend’s stove. The sky was slightly overcast but the views were very nice. This is very near Mt Moosilauke, but not nearly as difficult to climb. During our tea break I put on my fleece vest as there was some wind and I was beginning to cool off. I also knew going back would be a lot easier on my cardio. I put on traction devices since going downhill is always a lot harder for me. This was my first major hike in snow this season. This was a 5 mile hike which we did in about 5 hours. I was warm and comfortable. Now that I had tried the vest both inside and outside of the Tace jacket, I was more comfortable with the vest on the outside. Having more space inside the jacket was better.

trailhead Blueberry Mountain

Lincoln Woods



I again was with my 2 friends from the ski club. On this hike I wore silk as the first layer followed by my Merino wool shirt, then my Tace jacket and a fleece vest as the outer layer. It was overcast and a light snow was falling over about 6 inches of snow that was already on the ground. The weather forecast was for the light snow to turn to rain. The
temperature was 30 F and there was no wind. About an hour into the hike, the light snow turned to a light rain. It was so light it was not very noticeable. The total hike was over 3 hours and at least 2 of them were in light rain. When I got back to the ski club, I checked my Tace jacket and it was dry, even the sleeves. The fleece vest, my hat, and the bottoms of my pants were very wet. I had noticed during the hike that the rain was beading up on the sleeves of the Tace jacket and not getting it wet. Nothing got wet inside the Tace jacket. I feel this jacket does very well at keeping me dry under rainy conditions.

Lincoln Woods in light rain


Please check back in about a month when I will have more to say about the MEC Tace jacket.

A last look

2-21-2011

During this period, we have had several snow falls, temperatures down to – 10 F, winds up to 25 mph, and occasionally a warm day. I considered any day above freezing a warm day. I still wore my Tace jacket every day. Since I was not doing vigorous cardio activity like running, I needed to reduce the amount of ventilation from the back of the jacket. I accomplished this by wearing a light fleece vest over the jacket. The vest did not eliminate ventilation, but did reduce it enough for me to be comfortable, especially when the winds were strong.


In spite of the fact that I do not enjoy snow shoveling, I had a lot of snow to shovel this past month and it was easier to do with the Tace jacket. There is a similarity between running, cross country skiing, and snow shoveling in that free arm movement is beneficial in all these activities. Also, the arms are moving sufficiently to keep them warm by the flow of blood. It is nice to have the least amount of restriction possible on the arms. My face and hands did get cold and that gave me an excuse to come into the house to warm myself.

I will probably use the Tace jacket all year. In the warmer seasons it will be used for those occasions when there is a lot of wind, it is rainy, or it gets cold suddenly. Since the jacket weighs less than 5 ounces and takes a small amount of space in my backpack there is very little reason not to have it in my pack at all times.

Zipper

The zipper is small but it has functioned very well so far. The zipper tab on this jacket is on the left. This is the first men’s jacket that I have had that has the zipper tab on the left. It became noticeable when I was wearing a vest over the jacket and the vest’s zipper tab was on the right. This is not a big deal, but I felt it worthy to mention.

climbing a hill of snow

In summary, I am very pleased with the lightness of the Tace jacket and its ability to ventilate well, keep me dry in light rain, and protect me from wind. The Tace jacket has stood up well to daily use. I wish to thank MEC and 4alloutdoors.org for the opportunuty to test this jacket.

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