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BeyondFleece Cold Fusion Jacket, Owner Review
Reviewer Information
Name: Michael Benvenuto
Age: 39
Gender: M
Height: 5’9” (1.75 m)
Weight: 179 lbs (81 kg)
Email address: geartest@sorella3.myfastmail.com
Location: Jericho, Vermont, USA
Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
I started backpacking in 1987, and have done numerous trips around the US and Canada. I have day hiked extensively in the northeast, and have also started canoe tripping as well. In the winter, I snowshoe and telemark ski. I love gear, but have to spend my own money, so I shop carefully and usually don’t replace something until it wears out.
Product Information
Manufacture: BeyondFleece
http://beyondfleece.com/
Listed Weight : 21 oz (595 g)
My Weight: 22 oz (623 g)
Size: approximately men’s large
MSRP: base model: $159, as configured: $179
Custom options: pit zips, shock cord collar, one way zipper
Purchase Date: March 2004
Jacket Overview: Fit, Material, and Design
The Cold Fusion is a soft shell jacket made from Schoeller’s WB-400 material, a sort of stretchy neoprene on the outside with a fuzzy fleece on the inside. As with all their jackets, BeyondFleece custom made the jacket for me based on the measurements that I sent to them. They also offer the ability to configure the jacket with a variety of pockets and other options. I selected the pit zips because I was concerned about overheating, and the shock cord collar, because I wanted to make sure that the collar would fit snug when necessary. I substituted a one way zipper instead of two way zipper. It took 9 days for them to ship the jacket, and then another week for it to arrive.
As may be expected with a custom fitted jacket, the fit is essentially perfect. Although I usually wear a men’s large in order for it to fit in the shoulders and chest, this often means that the sleeves are too long or that there is a lot of extra material in the body. In contrast, the BeyondFleece jacket tapers nicely to my waist. I have never had a custom made jacket before, and had never really measured myself before, but after talking with BeyondFleece, I sent them my actual skin measurements and trusted that they would fit the jacket to me. Although the jacket is the perfect length for around town and 3 season wear, it may prove to be a little short for winter use in Vermont. Since soft shell jackets are meant to be close fitting in order to minimize bulk, the custom fit is particularly important for a soft shell jacket. The jacket is trim fitting when worn over a shirt, but there is plenty of room to layer the jacket over a base layer and fleece jacket as well.
The WB-400 is itself a remarkable material. It consists of three layers: an outer surface that is smooth; an inner surface that is fleecy; and an “acrylate layer” in between, that apparently helps repel water but is not a waterproof membrane. The jacket stretches beautifully, giving a great sense of freedom of movement. With the close fit, the jacket is snugly warm and very comfortable. The material is fairly wind and water resistant, but not waterproof, and reasonably warm when wet. The material dries much more slowly than fleece, although it will dry it out with body heat if I continue to wear it damp. There is no way for me to test the jacket’s “breathability,” but subjectively the jacket seems to breath quite well, and is far more breathable than GoreTex. Compared to a typical GoreTex shell, the comfort range of the Cold Fusion seems like a paradox: it is both warmer when I am cold, and less hot when I am warm. The jacket feels substantial and moderately heavy, and the outer surface is tough and shows no sign of wear after about a year of almost daily use. The jacket can be stuffed to about 6” x 8” (15 x 20 cm), but does wrinkle after stuffing. The smooth surface resists spills and stains and dirt, and can be worn for months without picking up body odors. The jacket can be machine washed but needs to be air dried. Because of the close fit and the smooth outer surface, the jacket slides easily into shoulder straps, even when the pack is heavily loaded.
The jacket is simple and straightforward in design. The stitching is rolled and not flat, and this gives the shoulder seams a boxy look. The side hand warmer pockets are placed high enough to be above pack straps and can be opened to vent the jacket. The cord locks for the shock cords for the waist (one on each side) and for the collar are sewn inside the jacket, so they are little awkward to use. I like the waist adjustment, but the collar shock cord was a waste, since the collar fits perfectly, and adjusting the shock cord seems to make no meaningful difference. The cord locks for the waist are below my pack straps. The pits zips are very long, going from the elbow down to the middle of the jacket. They come with two zipper pulls that meet in the middle, allowing unlimited venting options, but the pulls are small, cheap, metal, and clink together sometimes. The jacket is so tight and weather proof, that I can immediately feel a draft if a pocket or pit zipper is open even a tiny crack. The wrist closure is simple elastic, and is not adjustable. The jacket lacks a loop inside for hanging the jacket. I think the jacket looks great, and I have never worn anything that has attracted so much attention. People are fascinated by the material, and by the strange BeyondFleece logo on the chest.
Field Assessment
I have worn the Cold Fusion almost every day, to work, around town, walking the dogs, sitting out by the lake, in all kinds of weather, for almost a year. Vermont is notable for cool summer nights and frigidly cold winters. The mountains in Vermont are steep, rugged, and range up to 4393’ (1339 m); treeline is around 4000’ (1219 m). In addition to dayhikes and snowshoeing in Vermont and the Adirondacks of New York, I used the Cold Fusion for a 5 day canoe and hiking trip in Killarney, Ontario in May. For around town general use, the jacket works great, sheds all kinds of weather, and is just warm enough to get by most of the time, in conditions ranging from summer evenings to quick walks in the snow at 10 F (-12 C).
One of the reasons I wanted a soft shell jacket was for canoeing, figuring that it would be difficult to change layers while in the boat, particularly when wearing a life jacket over cold water in a storm. I was also concerned about how the jacket would feel if I was forced to swim and it got soaking wet. So wearing my life jacket and the Cold Fusion jacket and nylon pants, I waded into Lake Champlain. The water temp was in the 40s F (4-9 C), the air temperature was in the high 50s (12-15 C), with sunshine and a cool breeze. Although my hands were immediately frozen and very uncomfortable without any protection, I was surprised by how warm my body core was under the jacket. I only stayed in the water for a few minutes, so I do not believe that the Cold Fusion would actually provide cold water immersion protection, but I was reassured that I could at least swim in the jacket, and have a fighting chance to make it to a near shore. When I got out of the water, I was still surprisingly warm. It was much warmer to wear the soaked jacket then to take it off.
During the Killarney trip, in addition to time paddling, we also had several portages that were long, steep, and rocky, where we had to haul the canoe and our portage packs, and we did a couple of day hikes. Except for a few hours when we had torrential rain and I put on my hard shell, I wore the Cold Fusion jacket almost continuously on the trip, including all of one day when we paddled and then day hiked a long ridge for several hours, in a steady cool drizzle. I was warm, dry, and comfortable throughout, and never seriously considered changing layers that day.
During the summer, the jacket was too warm to wear on day hikes during the climb, but was nice to wear on windy summits. In a fall climb of Mt. Mansfield, Vermont, in a steady rain in the 60s F (16-20 C), the jacket wetted out, but my body temp remained comfortable. I would have ordinarily worn a hard shell in these conditions, but wanted to test the Cold Fusion in a steady, sustained rain. When the Cold Fusion jacket wets out, the inner fleece does get damp, but the jacket continues to shed most of the rain. When soaked, water accumulates in the sleeves, presumably due to gravity, which can be uncomfortable around the wrists. The rain stopped after about 2 hours as I gained the summit ridge, but there was a strong cool wind. The WB-400 material was damp from the rain but remained warm enough to continue on to the summit. While resting on the summit in the wind, I was a little cold and put on my hard shell over the Cold Fusion jacket. I removed the hard shell for the descent, and although I was damp, I was reasonably comfortable, and by the time I had climbed back down my body heat had dried the jacket pretty well (except for the sleeves at the wrists).
The jacket is ideally suited for use in the winter, and is warm enough to wear over a light base layer in subzero temperatures when I am snowshoeing or skiing. In warmer winter temperatures (20 to 35 F, -6 to 2 C), I find that I need the pit zips in order to avoid overheating when climbing. The jacket sheds snow easily, but lacking a hood, I need to bring additional facial protection for winter use. In retrospect, I should have ordered the “future zipoff hood” as an option, which I assume means that I would have the zipper for the hood, but no hood (this option costs $5). Snowshoeing often involves bushwacking, and the tough, smooth, close fitting jacket seems ideal for this purpose as it resists snags.
For summer backpacking, I don’t think the Cold Fusion would make the cut into my pack. It is too heavy to carry, and too warm to wear in the summer with a pack. For backpacking in areas or conditions when a jacket is required for the hike, say above treeline, or in the far north, or for winter trips, the Cold Fusion is a pretty good choice. It is warm enough to be used as insulation and replace a fleece layer, while providing significant protection from the elements when in use. My concern about depending on the Cold Fusion as my sole insulation layer is that I then risk getting that wet or damp by wearing it as outerwear, so I would probably still bring a light fleece pullover to layer underneath the Cold Fusion. I think a lighter weight soft shell jacket (made out of Schoeller Dryskin for example) would be a better choice for backpacking generally, since it would be less weight to carry and would allow more layering options in variable conditions.
Summary
The Cold Fusion is an extremely comfortable and versatile jacket that is perfectly suited for winter use and cold, windy or damp conditions. It is too warm to wear for summer hiking, and would be heavy and bulky to carry in the pack.
Things I like:
1) Perfect fit
2) Stretchy, warm, weather resistant material
3) Wide comfort range
Things I don’t like:
1) Water accumulates in sleeves when soaked
2) Wrist cuffs are not adjustable
3) No loop for hanging
4) Strange chemical company logo on chest
Read more reviews of BeyondFleece gear
Read more gear reviews by Michael Benvenuto
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