My short sleeved cocona shirt performed flawlessly on the AT this year. My husband and I hiked 1800 miles of the AT and I used the shirt for 1600 miles with this shirt. I wore it daily for 6 months, hiking and in town. It never had any odor despite not washing the shirt or me for up to 6 days. It dried overnite, never wrinkled, kept its shape and color. The material held up well but I did have to repair a small rip in a shoulder seam after about 1500 miles. This shirt performed better than expected and I will wear it again next year when we finish the last 370 miles of the AT. “Sue Webster” Jan, 2012

This zip base layer is a great, lightweight addition to any hiker’s backpack. It packs down small and is great for layering. It has nice holes for your thumbs to keep your hands warm, in case you forget your gloves (like I did one time on a hike towards the top of a mountain). Also, those thumb holes are better tailored than some other pullovers made by other companies that rip at the edges of the thumb holes. The zipper at the neck is a little stiff, so it doesn’t lay relaxed like my other zip base layers, but it is durable. My Cocona zip base layer kept me warm on its own, as well as a layer, under another fleece and a raincoat. This is a great product!

I’ve had the chance to wear this shirt since May during 3 different activities, a trail run, mountain biking, and backpacking. In all three cases I experience different weather and the shirt performed great. First of all, aesthetically I really like the style and the dark, almost blackish brown color. Trail Run: Outside temp was mild, about 72 degrees with low humidity. The shirt wicked sweat away just fine and felt amazingly light. In fact it’s one of the lightest long sleeve shirts I’ve run with. The fit was perfect. After a long run most shirts I’ve worn tend to irritate my skin as it rubs and comes in contact with skin during a run. Maybe it’s the material but I felt no irritation. The seems under the arm pits seem to be cut so that the fabric there is closer to the arm pits than other shirts. The first time I wore the shirt I didn’t like that because it felt constraining but on a run it’s great. It helped keep that area of my body cooler and drier and also helped to illuminate the shirt bouncing up and down on my shoulders. Mountain Biking: Outside temp was in the low 80′s, partly cloudy, humidity was around 70%. A very nice feature of this shirt is the shirt tail is longer than the front of the shirt. I noticed this before I tried it on for the first time and it reminded me of my cycling jersey’s so I really wanted to try the shirt out while on a bike. Indeed this added fabric on the back of the shirt kept my lower back covered, even when I have a hydration pack on. I had the added bonus of flying over my handle bars on to a hard dirt single track and after brushing the dust off, the shirt looked brand new. A nice way to hide my mistakes. While I had to roll up the sleeves because it was pretty hot and humid out the shirt stayed pretty dry and I remained cool. It felt very similar, although not as tightly fitted, to my jersey’s. The shirt dried very fast and didn’t smell any worse then other synthetic shirts I have. It smelled better than cheaper shirts and maybe a few steps down from marino wool. Backpacking: Day one was mostly sunny with an outside temp in the low 90′s with mid 70% humidity. I did not wear the shirt long on this day. I had the sleeves rolled up and the amount of sweat they collected started to chafe so I switched to a short sleeve shirt. However during that time I had it on my core was fairly cool, even my back beneath the pack which is typically drenched was drier than usual. The shirt dried off quick at camp which was good because it was about to rain. Day Two: It rained all night and most of the day during the hike. In the morning the temp was 72F with a very cool breeze so it felt like the mid 60′s. This shirt kept me very warm in the morning. I was very surprised since it feels so light weight. It sprinkled off and on while I was breaking down camp and in between the light rain the shirt actually dried fairly fast. It also kept me pretty warm, although I was moving around. I got a bit chilly when I stopped. Then just when I got ready to hike out it started to pour. I wore a poncho and it was humid out so I thought I’d get pretty hot with the poncho and a long sleeve shirt but it made for a great base in weather like this. After the rain stopped it was so humid I could drink the air. The shirt didn’t bother me at all. when I could catch a slight breeze wearing this shirt actually help make it feel cooler out. One of the most impressive things was that it didn’t stink. It just smelled like the shirt normally smells like. Overall so far: This is one of the best shirts I have now. I take it everywhere with me as my “just in case I need it” shirt. It goes on trips when I’m backpacking to when I just need to take a trip home and visit family. It’s very versatile and comfortable. I can’t wait to give it a try on my backpacking trip to the Tetons late August.

I’ve had a great opportunity to test the Xcelerator jacket this spring. I spent the early part of the season snow-shoeing the hills above Heber Utah. We have had an unusually long spring with snowshoe-able snow remaining until late in May. For short hikes the Xcelerator jacket has performed exceptionally. I found it a little stiff at first but with use and washing it has softened up. It is comfortable for hiking but even with wear it is a little stiff for bicycling. For early spring it may have been good as a warm rain shell but the fabric was just too stiff for bicycling comfort. The jacket is great as an outer shell and fits comfortable over two layers of fleece. The hood was sufficiently large to wear over a climbing helmet however the hood draw-strings are positioned in an awkward location under the shoulder straps of all my backpacks. Hood adjustment requires either reaching under the shoulder straps (on light packs) or removing the pack all together for hood adjustment. I used the jacket on dozens of snowshoeing trips in early spring. The jacket fits nicely in a backpack and is warmer than most shell jackets I have used. We experienced a late spring this year that made for some very unpredictable weather. I started out one morning in early may with blue skies and beautiful weather. The snow on the east side of the valley had melted so I was hiking on mostly dry ground. I thought it was time to put away the cocona but I had carried it in my pack so many times that I decided to carry it just to fill some space in my backpack. As I reached the crest of the five mile ridge I noticed some low clouds rolling over the mountains in the south of the valley. Within thirty minutes I was in a blizzard. The Xcelerator kept me warm and dry until the storm blew over. I decided that I wouldn’t hike without it. Last week was the long anticipated Rainier climb. The jacket performed flawlessly from base-camp to summit. Midnight temperatures were well below freezing but the Xcelerator allowed for comfortable layering and temperature adjustment. When the sun came out the light fabric and breathability prevented the jacket from becoming an oven. The summit winds switched the mountain oven to an ice box with wind chill in the 40’s. The Xcelerator performed well under every condition the mountain threw at me. I’m still scheduled to make a solo trek across the Uintah Mountain Highline Trail. Over one hundred miles with an average elevation above nine thousand feet, seven major passes, cold nights, mild days, and a high probability of snow. The Xcelerator will definitely be on the packing list.

First look at the Xcelerator jacket and I knew it would probably handle any abuse I could give it. Even after months of use, it still looked sharp enough to wear for protection from the cold windy weather during my son’s wedding. I’m not sure that the designers had this type of event in mind when they scoped the product requirements – but it looked nice and kept me warm. This jacket has become part of my life; I take it everywhere and wear it whenever the weather looks marginal. We have had a record wet spring in Northwest and it has kept me dry through torrential down pours and drizzly afternoons. I have carried and used it when we were rock climbing, in the backcountry on several trips in which we did not gain the summit because of weather and around town – in every case it has performed beyond expectations. After several months of heavy use, being packed in bags, carried to the base of climbs and used while belaying it still looks crisp and nice. I keep asking myself if this thing is really made from natural fibers or not? The front pocket zipper design looked a little odd at first, but after using it climbing I really like their position in venting and regulating how hot I get. The zippers are positioned in such a way that I can have a pack or harness on and still use them. It is light enough that I have replaced my rain jacket/ windbreaker with the Xcelerator, eliminating a layer that I’ve been carrying – so it saves about 12 oz.

This product performs excellently. I have several other non-cotton base layers, that look good, But do not perform or feel the same quality as the Cocona fabric Base layer. I recently visited Fruita and my main garment the entire time was the Cocona base layer. I was able to maintain warmth against my skin with the sleeves pulled down, and when I pulled the sleeves up over my elbows, I cooled down. The fabric is extremely comfortable.

This last weekend the wife, w/baby on board, and the two pups went backpacking for three days to Lone Eagle Peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The first day the weather was nice and did not need to wear the Xcelerator Jacket. However, this is the ideal backpacking jacket given it’s so lightweight and compact-able. The second day we were not so fortunate with the weather and waited out the rain in the tent for a couple of hours before we became bored and decided to hike up to Crater Lake. As always, the Xcelerator Jacket is very comfortable and snug, and more importantly kept me dry. The temperature with the jacket was just right, and to this date still has no oder, even after multiple running and biking outings. This is my new three-season and sometimes four-season shell, and has put my Mountain Hardware Gore-tex out of business unless it’s extremely cold, as the MH does keep me a little bit warmer, but it is much heavier and bulkier. If some minor changes are made to the Xcelerator this jacket, it will be the cream of the crop! I have posted a few pics from our trip with the jacket on, and must say it’s a nice looking jacket! And I was stoked to see I made new photo collage on the website. Very cool!!!

For my husband Dan’s 37th birthday we hiked the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone; with a taste of Rescue Creek to cap off the trip. The shirt performed very well despite the wet dog odor. It was mostly when I actually found myself wishing for a distraction from either a grueling uphill or swarming mosquitoes that the dog smell factor came into play. When things heated up the shirt was a champ, it gulped in every breath of fresh air thrown it’s way. The doubled over cuffs got a little sweaty at times. The zipper runs smoothly with a cut deep enough to get my head through, but not so extreme that I feel like I’m trying to show something off when upzipped. The piling I noticed on the back of the shirt where my pack comes in contact with my lower back is holding up well. I have been impressed with the stain resistance of the fabric and how well it has held up in general. I wore this shirt for three hard days of hiking and felt perfectly comfortable having my ritual cheeseburger in the dining room of the fancy-pants Roosevelt Lodge before heading out once more into the backcountry.

My second test of the Xcelerator jacket was to run in the cold spring rain to test both the water repellence and breathability of the jacket. I wore light long sleeve fleece underneath the jacket, and a baseball cap under the hood. The jacket is incredibly light and moves great with the body. The hood stayed in place, even in the wind, and at times I couldn’t tell it was on even though it was! Given it was cold outside the beginning of the run was chilly but as my body warmed my temperature stayed very regulated as I ran and I did not get too hot, meaning it breathes really well. After 25 minutes running in the rain, my upper body temperature was great and dry. My legs and feet on the other-hand were cold and wet as my shoes are not waterproof and the pants I own, which I thought were water repellant, are not. The jacket performed almost flawlessly. In regards to my base layer it was completely dry! No rain leaked through, and no sweat spots built up due to the great breathability of the jacket.  After the run I hung up the jacket in my cool basement to simulate the temperature of being in a tent, to see how long it took the jacket to dry. It took about 3.5 hours for the jacket to dry, and my pants are still dripping wet.

I received the Cocona gear on saturday and promptly took it out for a test hike sunday morning. The hike was approximately 6 miles round trip, gaining 1500 ft in elevation. It was a rather warm, sunny day with temperatures reaching 80 degrees and high winds in the open areas. I wore the Cocona jacket over a tank top and was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was on my skin. Throughout the hike the jacket protected me from the winds and sun, as well as kept me cool. Although I got a little sweaty though some of the more strenuous areas of the hike, the jacket did not stick to my skin and dried rather quickly. Also, the jacket did not ride up or pull down when worn with my backpack (usually happens with all of my other clothing). And the best thing is, after a long hike, a short run, and a ton of dog slobber, the fabric still smells brand new! The only downfall of the day was when I had to run back to collect my boyfriends missing sun glasses. The jacket became a little stifling while running up a trail in 80 degree weather. So far, I am very pleased with the product.