| |
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
|
Sierra Designs Hurricane LT Jacket and Pants
- Field Report -
January 2006
1)Tester and Co-Tester Background and Contact Information
Name: Curt Peterson
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Height: 6'3" (1.91 m)
Weight: 270 (122 kg)
Email address: curt<at>boopants<dot>com
Location: North Bend, Washington, USA
I live in the Cascade
foothills, just 20 miles (32 km) from the PCT via trails leading right from my
backyard. My outdoor time in Washington is spent dayhiking, backpacking,
climbing, and skiing everywhere from the Olympic coast to rainforests to Cascade
volcanoes to dry steppe.
I played football in college and often evaluate products from a big guy
perspective. I tested gear for Seattle's biggest gear retailer in the mid-90s,
and guided backpacking tours for a few summers. My typical pack load ranges from
12 - 19 lbs (5.4 - 8.6 kg) and usually includes wet weather gear.
Name: Ethan Peterson
Age: 3
Gender: Male
Height: 3'3" (0.91 m)
Weight: 33 lbs. (15 kg)
Email address (Using Papa's): curt<at>boopants<dot>com
Location: North Bend, Washington, USA
I'm a ridiculously cute and very active 3 year old. I hike on a trail every
single day with my mommy and papa and dog. We go on the trail to the lake and
throw rocks in the water. I live in the mountains where it rains all winter long
and I need waterproofs for my hikes. My Papa got me skis and is going to teach
me how to ski this winter. I can't wait. I even skied on the grass in July just
to try it out! I should be able to use the jacket a whole bunch because I don't
sleep. Ever.
2) Sierra Designs Hurricane LT Jacket and Pants
Specifications
- Jacket and Pants Size: XS
- Jacket Weight: 7.3oz (208gm)
- Pant Weight: 3.8oz (108gm)
- Stuff Sacks: 0.4oz (11gm) each
- Jacket and Pants Material: 100%
nylon with DWR and polyurethane coating
- Jacket Color: Tiger Lily
- Pants Color: Charcoal
- Manufacturer Website:
www.sierradesigns.com
- MSRP: $39.99US for
the jacket, No listed price for the pants
3) Sierra Designs Hurricane LT Jacket and Pants Field
Report and Test Plan
Field Report
The Sierra Designs Hurricane LT
Jacket and Pants have been a great addition to our outdoor clothing closet this
fall and winter. While we have had a couple weeks of very nice dry weather,
overall we have had an incredibly wet season so far. We're just a few days
short of a record for rainfall. We've had 24 straight days of rain, and the
record is 33. We've got at least another few in the forecast, so we certainly
got lucky for winter rain gear testing this year! Even short dog walks down the
local trail have been an adventure. The Pacific Northwest is surely living up
to its reputation.
The most notable aspect of the jacket and pants so far has been the sizing. The
jacket fits great. It does run big, but not so much so that it won't work in
the suggested size range I noted in my
Initial Report. In fact, the jacket's extra room has been great in the
colder temperatures of the winter. It's allowed us layer it over a relatively
bulky fleece jacket. The pants, however, are another story entirely. I'm a bit
baffled by the length of these things. Ethan is not tall or short - in fact,
he's in about the 50th percentile for his age, and these pants are huge on him.
The butt fits well on our skinny kid, but the legs are both baggy and long.
I'm not sure I've ever met a 3 or 4 year old that has legs like that. The
solution is to roll or push them up and cinch them with the cinch cords, which
is moderately effective, but increases the bagginess and extra fabric on the
legs even more.
As far as features go, the pants and jacket are near opposites. The pants are
very spare. Nice, simple, basic rain pants. They're very easy to get on
(particularly with the big sizing) and aren't burdened with complicated or
extraneous features. The jacket, however, has almost every feature an adult
technical rain jacket has. There are no pit zips, but other than that just
about everything is there: multiple hood adjustments, storm flaps, waist
drawcords, core vents, pockets, internal pockets, and fully taped seams. Most
of these features have gone unused, as they're just not something my 3 year old
will mess with on his own, and they're definitely not something we parents are
willing to constantly adjust and tweak. If the jacket's on and the rain is
staying out, we're all pretty happy. The taped seams are obviously critical,
but most other features could be spared. I imagine this would change in the
upper ranges of the youth sizes as kids become more aware of the features and
take more control of their own comfort, but for toddlers, they're a bit
overkill.
The jacket and pants both have proven quite durable. Kids are not gentle on
gear. Seldom does a hike go by that knees and elbows don't hit the ground, and
rocks and trees are a constant attraction. Despite all that, the Hurricane LT
gear looks as good as it did when it arrived. The DWR on the fabric still beads
up nicely and no threads or fabric issues have arisen. They definitely appear
to be high quality products.
Test Plan
We will test the Sierra Designs Hurricane LT
Jacket and Pants in the remaining winter months here in Washington State – the
test timing is perfect for rain gear. As of this writing, the Puget Sound has
seen 24 days of consecutive precipitation ... and counting. We will undoubtedly
use it in snowy conditions while skiing, but most use will be on local trails
accessible and exciting enough for a 3 year old. Typical use will range from
1500 feet (460 meters) on valley trails to over 4,000 feet (1220 meters) on ski
slopes. Temperatures will likely range from the mid teens F (-11 to -8 C) to the
mid 50s F (11 to 14 C).
The rain gear will go on every trip Ethan goes on - dayhikes, backpacking trips,
and ski days. We will test the jacket and pants in various conditions and
continue to report on the following questions,
posed in my Initial
Report,
many of which can be answered at this point. Here they are, noted in
italics below the questions:
Fit: Obviously this is crucial. Do the
chart specifications translate to a good fit for little ones?
** For the jacket, I'd say it fits loose, but
not ridiculous. The pants, however, are pretty huge. We'd size down at least
one size range if it were available.
Safety: Are the jacket and pants safe
for little people?
** There are drawcords that can be cinched and
small toggles that could potentially be chewed on or swallowed, but this is not
a real fear at this time. The Hurricane LT rain gear doesn't come in sizes for
1 or 2 year olds, where this would be more of concern, so it's not quite as
critical. Still, elastic where cord and toggle are now would be just as
effective without any risk.
Comfort: Are they comfortable? Does
Ethan like to wear them or are they scratchy or binding, etc.?
** Ethan loves the jacket. He's happy to head
out in the rain wearing it, which makes nasty weather much more tolerable for
all of us. He's not too fond of the pants, primarily due to fit. At this point
he's willing to wear them because loose and baggy is more comfortable than cold
and wet.
Ease of Use: This is primarily for the
parents – are they easy to zip up on a squirmy kid?
** All closures are top-notch materials and
easy to use. Even with 2 storm flaps the main zipper is snag-free and smooth.
Features: How do they function?
Are they all useful and easy to use? Do the vents stay open, for example? Are
the pockets accessible when wearing a pack? Do zippers run smoothly?
** As noted above, most features are not
particularly necesary in my opinion. At least in the toddler sizes, they could
easily be eliminated.
Durability: Does it last? My kid is hard on clothing – are the Hurricane
items built for the abuse he can dish out? Do threads unravel? Are there any
reinforcements?
** No problems so far - they look good as new.
Water Resistance: How do the Jacket and
Pants handle drizzle and light precipitation? Does water bead up on the surface
or does it wet out?
** We haven't had a saturated jacket or pants
yet. Some hikes have lasted a couple hours in near-constant rain, yet surface
water still ran off the rain gear nicely.
Water Proofing: Obviously a vital
feature of a waterproof- breathable clothing. Simply, do they keep precipitation
from entering the jacket?
** We've not seen any evidence of a leak. Both
the jacket and pants are living up to their fully waterproof claims.
Water Accumulation / Drying Time: Do
the jacket and pants wet out significantly? Do they get heavy with accumulated
water, and how long do they take to dry if they do get saturated? Can body heat
dry them out?
** As noted above, we've not noted any wetting
out or saturation to date.
Breathability: How wet do the jacket
and pants get on the inside? Does even the relatively small amount of sweat a
toddler produces overwhelm the material's ability to breathe?
** This is a difficult one to measure in a
toddler. Temperatures have been cool and my experience is that ittle kids don't
sweat much anyway, but there has been no noticeable condensation on the interior
of the jacket, so I imagine it's breathing to some degree. It's certainly
plenty breathable for our purposes.
Active Use: How do they perform
in real-world use? Do they bind? Can they easily be packed and unpacked?
** Both the jacket and pants pack easily. The
active use is primarily limited only by fit. The jacket provides little
hindrance to Ethan's 3 year old play, but the pants definitely do because of the
sizing issue.
Venting: How do the vents work? Can
they be opened and closed to significantly increase airflow or do the vents add
little real venting?
** With temperatures just above freezing most
of the time, there hasn't been a real need for venting. We've kept most venting
possibilities closed to date as our main concern has been staying dry from the
outside.
Thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and
Sierra Designs for the opportunity to test the Hurricane LT Jacket and Pants!
Read more reviews of Sierra Designs gear
Read more gear reviews by Curt Peterson
|
