Men's Skien Valley Hoodie

★★★★★

BEST LIGHT WT HOODIE EVER!

This is an amazing product. Very light, almost feels like nothing is on me. Love the thumb holes and elastic at the sleeves and waste. I bought this on sale at the Columbia store and liked it so much, I bought 2 more online! Would highly recommend.

★★★★★

Nice hood

The shirt seem real nice. It should be interesting see if build in misquote repel works

★★★★

Boxy fit, ginormous hood

So the secret is out. It's Permethrin. I'm not sure why Columbia can't state that on the website instead of the mysterious "treated with insect shield!" designations, without no clue as to what, exactly insect shield is. I've been using Permethrin for a long time. You spray it on your clothes and wait for them to dry instead of oily, smelly repellent on your skin. Big fan! The problem is, Permethrin usually only lasts 6 washes or 6 months, after which the clothing has to be re-treated. I have no idea how Columbia treats the clothing to last over the life of the product (70+ washes listed), but it would be interesting to find out. The label lists 0.52% Permethrin, which is a tad higher than the 0.50% you buy commercially. On to the hoodie itself. I'm 6' and 180lbs (usually haha), with a 42L jacket size. I usually fall between a M and a L, despite what the size chart might say. I gambled on a L for the Skien Valley Hoodie, and was disappointed. I realize this is "regular fit", but it is very boxy, almost baggy. I purchased a Men's Tech Trail Utility Hoodie along with the Skien, and the Tech Trail Hoodie fit was about perfect, even though I like the feel of the Skein material better. For design, the hood is so large (is this helmet compatible??) that it's almost not worth using. For me, putting the hood up leaves a big gap on my neck and upper chest, which isn't ideal for a sun hoodie. Maybe a Medium would have helped with this, but I think this is more of a design flaw. Also, some pockets would be great. I have kangaroo pockets on a few hoodies from other brands, and they make life so much easier. The material itself feels great on the skin. I've taken it on a couple of short 2-3 mile hikes in 90+ degree weather and I felt like the Omni Freeze MIGHT have kept me a tad cooler. It was breezy out, and I think the omni wick feature did what it was supposed to do. I didn't feel overly sweaty any time I've used it. In short, an above average sun hoodie that could be EPIC with a different hood design and a pocket or two. It was a good value for the Labor Day sale I bought it from, but might have returned it if I paid full price.