Reviews > Clothing > Childrens Clothing > Molehill Mountain Hooded Fleece Jacket > Jamie DeBenedetto > Long Term Report

Molehill Mountain Equipment Hooded Jacket

Long-Term Report - March 7th, 2006

Reviewer's Information

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Product Information and Description

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Field Test Locations and Conditions over the Four Month Test Period

The Molehill Mt. Equipment Hooded Jacket was worn a few days of each week over the last four months. Most use took place during the cooler morning or evening hours when temperatures were in the 39 F to 60 F (4 C to 16 C) range. Other than regular around town use the jacket was also used a number of times on early morning day hikes in the desert mountain parks near our home. The average elevation of these trails is around 1,500 ft (500 m), give or take a few hundred feet/meters. Due to severe drought conditions in AZ the jacket was not exposed to any snow or more than a sprinkle during testing. A.J. did use it on more than one outing with high winds. Some snow and rain is in the forecast for the next few days so if I get a chance to do a little hiking with A.J. during these conditions either during this system or in the future I will make an addendum to this report with our results.

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Long Term Findings

This report is the third and final report in a series of three which began in Oct. 2005. As stated in my Initial Report my plan during testing was to have A.J. wear the Molehill Jacket as often as possible and in as many varied conditions as we could expose ourselves too while in the outdoors. As I mentioned above Mother Nature had other plans regarding any other weather than clear and cool so for the most part this is what the jacket was subjected too. While testing I made notes about the following four aspects of this garment; Fit, Function, Care and Durability.

No Need to Throw a Fit

Although I purchased a size slightly larger than A.J.'s exact size (with the inevitable growth spurt in mind) the Junior 4/5 size we received has worked very well. A.J. gets full coverage down his arms, over his head and the bottom does not ride up when he's playing. The sleeve length is a tad long but I actually prefer this since it helps A.J. keep gloves on and I know his arms are totally covered even if he's reaching up. The hood was initially a problem because it would slide down over A.J.'s eyes but we figured out that zipping the full length zipper up as far as it will go resolved this problem. There was also enough room under the hood for him to wear an additional beanie if needed. One interesting thing we noticed about the hood is even when properly worn and zipped there is a bit of extra unusable fabric at the top. This is obviously a by-product of how they sewed the two hood pieces and although it looks a little funny, I wouldn't say the extra space took away from the warmth of the hood. The only issue I had with fit was the width of the jacket. A.J. has only used it as an outer layer so the extra width around the torso area was not a problem when layering but I was always concerned it wasn't as warm as it could have been had it fit more snuggly to his body. I think it's important to note, however, the garment was always used in temperatures above 39 F (4 C) and it performed well regardless of the extra space around the torso.

Kids Put the FUN in Function

What more can I say, the Molehill Mountain Jacket works with regards to its most important function, keeping the child warm. It worked for A.J. usually with only a short or long-sleeve T-shirt underneath. He was always moving (hiking) on the mornings or just wearing the jacket between the car and his preschool class but it did the trick. At around 50 F (10 C) it became too warm to wear while he was hiking. On those occasions he asked to take it off because he was getting sweaty.

This brings us to packability. The jacket is pretty bulky. It is a nice thick jacket and I know fleece is not known for its compression properties but I think Molehill needs to improve in this area if they are marketing to parents who hike and backpack with their little ones. The extra space at the top of the hood for example would be a good place to start and I think the whole jacket could be a little slimmer all around. I'm speaking from the perspective of a parent with a slim child, however, so maybe my results are a bit different than other parents. My thought here is maybe Molehill Mountain could offer a slim fit option that is lighter in weight for the parents who are more weigh conscious or for those of us with kids that are more on the tall and thin side.

Two issues I wanted to address during this test where how the fabric dealt with moisture, and how quickly it would dry when it became wet. Unfortunately, we only experienced one very brief sprinkle during the entire test period. On this occasion the Molehill Mtn. Fleece was exposed to about ten minutes of light rain. When it stopped I felt both the outside and the inside of the garment. The outside was slightly damp but it seamed to repel the water droplets nicely. The inside was completely dry. I hung it on our clothes line where it dried in about five minutes.

I Didn't get Fleeced when it was Time to do the Wash

Taking care of the Hooded Jacket is a snap. I've really only needed to wash it once, which either means it hides odor and grime really well or it just brushes off easily. I think the latter is more realistic except when it comes to dog hair, which tends to stick to the electrically charged fleece material of the jacket like glue. Washing it was not a problem; the cleaning directions on the tag are clear and easy to follow. The jacket dries pretty quickly too. It didn't take long in our dryer on the low setting to be completely dry and ready for wear.

Our Hooded Jacket was on Short-Term Durability

After four months of use I'd say the Molehill Mountain Hooded Fleece was given a fair amount of use but a true test of durability never really came. Without a chance to play in the snow the jacket was mainly used on trails and on sidewalks, not what I would call a real strenuous workout for this type of equipment. On top of that, my son is not overwhelmingly rough on clothing. He does get dirty but he's not the type to zip through a bunch of brush just to do it so the jacket was not overly subjected to branches or other things that might create abrasions. With that said, the fabric is holding up nicely as are all the elastic parts, seams and the zipper. I haven't seen any signs of pilling or material malfunction up to this point.

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In Conclusion

The Molehill Jacket has worked well for my son. He likes how soft and warm it is and the fact that he has a hood and pockets is a big bonus too. Overall the jacket has performed as a quality fleece outer layer for day hiking and around town use. The fit is a bit more generous in the torso than I would like and I believe this could be improved resulting in a lighter and more packable garment. The fabric itself doesn't require any special care and cleaning it is very simple since it's machine washable. Although not abused it has been used lovingly and as a result all part of the jacket are still in great shape.

Positives and Negatives at a Glance

I like…
1. The thickness and softness of the fabric.
2. How warm and snuggly the jacket is.
3. How easily it is to clean and dry.

I don't like…
1. How bulky the jacket is.
2. How wide the torso and sleeves are.
3. The extra fabric at the top of the hood.

Jamie J. DeBenedetto
March 7th, 2006

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Report Addendum as of April 2006

In March of 2006 I took my kids up to Flagstaff, AZ for a little snow play. We had experienced a recent series of storms that finally brought in some precipitation to the state and we took advantage of the quickly melting snow as soon as we had a free day. The day was quite warm, reaching a high of about 55 F (13 C), and A.J. ended up wearing just a t-shirt under the Molehill Jacket. He liked this set up because he was not too hot and he could still roll around in the snow and not get wet or cold. I'm including this additional field experience not so much because of the snow outing but as a note on durability. A.J. was not overly fond of dragging his sled up and down the hill, instead he found it preferable to just slide down on his tummy or backside. This resulted in lots of smiles, silly wipeouts at the bottom and some abuse of the Molehill Jacket. Amazingly after at least two hours of regular contact with the snow, the Molehill fleece was hardly damp. The zipper did nice job keeping snow out and the fabric held of great to repeated sliding. The picture here shows A.J.'s "sledding" method.

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Reviews > Clothing > Childrens Clothing > Molehill Mountain Hooded Fleece Jacket > Jamie DeBenedetto > Long Term Report