Reviews > Clothing > Childrens Clothing > Molehill Mountain Hooded Fleece Jacket > Andre Corterier > Field Report

Molehill Mt. Equipment "Hooded Fleece" Kid's Jacket

Personal Biographical Information:
Name: André Corterier
Gender: M
Age: 33
Height: 1,85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight: 80 kg (175 lb)
Email: andreDOTcorterierATfreenetDOTde
Home: Bonn, Germany

Name: Renée Corterier
Gender: F
Age: 4
Height: 1,09 m (43 in)
Weight: 19 kg (42 lb)
Email: -
Home: Bonn, Germany

Backpacking Background:
I began backpacking in my late teens using Europe’s "InterRail"-System – weight hardly mattered, as we were on trains a lot. I recently rediscovered backpacking and have started out slowly – single-day 24 km (15 mi) jaunts by myself or even shorter hikes in the company of my little daughter. I am getting started on longer hikes, as a lightweight packer and hammock-camper. I’ve begun upgrading my old gear and am now shooting for a dry FSO weight (everything carried From the Skin Out except food, fuel and water) of about 10 kg (22 lb) for three-season camping. Not quite there yet.

Renée began "hiking" at the age of 1 1/2 years. This consisted of walking short distances between “stroller stops” to play in the snow or explore the banks of a creek with her dad pushing her in the stroller for most of the hike. Lately, she’s begun walking the entire stretch of shorter hikes (a few km/mi at most), though she insists on a break with a strung hammock and a hot meal on a camping stove (those, and the ability to drink from the water bladder’s drinking tube whenever her dad picks her up for a moment are what make hiking so cool). Her longest expedition so far was a 30 km (19 mi) overnighter on which she carried her own rain gear and insulation layer. She has spent nights in a tent and a hammock as well as underneath a tarp and the open sky.

Year of Manufacture: 2005
Manufacturer: Molehill Mountain Equipment
URL: http://www.molehillmtn.com
MSRP: 54.99 USD for size 4/5
Colour: "Red Clover" (pink, with violet accents)

Comparisons: - scale accurate to 1 g (0.04 oz)
listed weight: none given
measured weight: 235 g (8.3 oz) for size 4/5

Introduction:
This is a zippered kid's jacket with a hood. As such, it has no surprising features: A zipper down the front, two handwarmer pockets (not zippered), and the hood. It's in a two-tone colour pattern. In our case (according to the choice of my daughter) it is made mostly of pink fleece, offset by elastic hemlines at the bottom and around the hood and wrists in purple. The zipper is in purple as well, as is an insert along the sides of the jacket which extends along the lower side of the upper arms. From just above the elbow to the wrists, this is covered by a tougher fabric in the same colour. You may wish to take a look at my Initial Report, which features a more detailed description.

Field Experience:
My daughter has worn the jacket a *lot* in the recent past. During the early days of the testing period, it was worn as an outside layer come the evening, when it got colder. When the cold combined with wind and/or rain, she wore it under a waterproof/breathable jacket. Lately she has mostly worn it as a middle thermal layer though she still takes off the outer layer when playing in the sun.

The Molehill Mountain jacket has accompanied us on a Halloween overnight hike of about 30 km (19 mi). It saw wind and rain and a good bit of use on that trip, though it was warm enough for most of the first day not to wear it.

Nevertheless, she wore it in the beginning of that first day and towards the end, as the sun was coming down and temperatures dropped. Temps went down to about 10 C (50 F) or thereabouts, and she was fine wearing only a wicking T-shirt and the Molehill Jacket (with the hood up after nightfall). Of course, she was moving around a good bit during this time. For the period of our supper break (stationary, after nightfall), it appeared warranted to ask her to put on her rain jacket as well for additional insulation. During that first day, as long as temps stayed between 10 and 20 C (50 and 70 F) or thereabouts, she was wearing the hooded jacket continually and never seemed to experience cold or overheating. It also seemed to move well with her - at least she never wanted to take it off.

The next day started cold and rainy, with temps below 10 C (50 F). She wore her rain jacket over it (which is water vapor permeable) and appeared nice and cosy in it while slogging through puddles with me. Exiting the woods we had to cross an open section of a few kilometers (even fewer miles) where a chill wind was blowing. I was very happy to have the Molehill Mountain jacket with us. It provided a good insulation layer underneath her rain jacket. She walked the entire stretch, with my Buff over her neck and face and the hoods of both the Molehill fleece jacket and her rain jacket up. I was particularly happy about the well-fitting hood because heat conservation was the key factor on this stretch of our trip in keeping the experience enjoyable on the whole.

She has also been wearing it to her daycare center, where she usually wore it when playing outside and took it off when coming inside. During a long and beautiful fall with temps often between 10 and 20 C (50 and 70 F), she just put the Molehill Mountain jacket on over whatever she was wearing inside, added shoes and was good to go. She did the same when at home (often accompanied by me). Whenever I felt that it was getting a wee bit cold, I asked her to put on the hood and that seemed to do the trick.

Now that the outside temperatures hover around freezing, the hooded fleece is her main insulation layer, which she wears along with her rain jacket over whatever she was wearing indoors. We add gloves, of course, and sometimes her own Buff (mostly for protecting her face, particularly when I take her to her daycare center on my bicycle, which creates a lot of headwind).

Wind Protection:
On its own, the jacket provides very little wind protection. This is also my experience with my own fleece layers - wind seems to penetrate rather well. I have confirmed this with holding my own hand into the fleece jacket in a wind (at which point I was still able to feel the wind). So it appears that while the jacket opens up a broad temperature spectrum in which my daughter is comfy with it, a strong wind narrows that window severely, effectively requiring a windproof shell over it. As I tend to have this along in case of rain anyway, that does not create a problem for me or her.

Warmth:
The first time my daughter wore this jacket as an insulation layer under her waterproof/breathable shell, she complained that she was getting too warm under it. This was in late October, on a 20 minute bike ride at maybe 15 C (60 F). Since then, she's mostly been wearing it as an insulation layer in temperatures just above freezing. As such, the Hooded Fleece jacket has proven quite effective. I am particularly enamored of the hood, which frames my daughter's face well, does not slide over her face when she turns her head and provides that extra warmth where it counts the most. While my daughter agrees that the hood fits very well, she still often takes it off under circumstances where I would prefer her to leave it on. Kids...

When it gets really cold and windy, I have been able to use a Buff with the hood of the Hooded Jacket in a way which masked most of her face without generating too much discomfort (with everything held in place by her bicycle helmet). The last time we did the trip to her daycare center on my bicycle in sub-freezing temperatures, she was still freezing on her face (she spent much of the ride with her gloved hands in her face). But when asked, upon arrival, she stated that she'd been warm everywhere else. And when asked by the people at the daycare center wether we'd truly come by bicycle, she said: "Yes, and I almost didn't freeze at all!".

Wicking Ability:
Sweat buildup has never been a problem. In fact, I have never noticed her sweating in the jacket.

Comfort:
The jacket's material, after several washings, is still soft to the touch. The jacket remains one of my daughter's favourite pieces of outdoor apparel. It is also my favourite piece of her outdoor apparel, as I regard its functionality superior to the rest of her clothes. When testing a winter sleeping bag for her under circumstances which were unlikely to push the envelope, she used the rolled up jacket as her pillow. The temperature range in which wearing this jacket (with the zipper up) is comfortable for her seems large, also: While I have seen her take off her hood without prompting, she's not using the zipper much for temperature control. I have noted that wearing the jacket with the zipper entirely open does not seem to work well as the weight of the hood drags the jacket over her shoulders, causing the jacket to slide.

Durability:
The jacket has seen a good bit of use and shows literally no signs of wear. While my daughter may not be the hardest of kids on clothes, she does run around, climb and generally behave wildly with the rest of them, so I consider this praiseworthy. It's been washed several times (at 40 C / 104 F) without having shrunken one bit (the size of the jacket in relation to the size of my daughter is such that I would notice even very minor shrinkage). Stains of various kinds of food and ground cover have washed out easily. I also note that the jacket exits the washing machine (after a 1200 rpm spinning cycle) almost dry. The reinforced elbow areas seem to be doing their work. I remember noticing her rubbing those across edges made of concrete when climbing, but this does not seem to have had any effect on the jacket.

Pros/Cons:
Pros: Warms well without causing overheating, still soft, durable, good fit (particularly the hood).
Cons: None so far (still).

Reviews > Clothing > Childrens Clothing > Molehill Mountain Hooded Fleece Jacket > Andre Corterier > Field Report