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Long Term Report: Big Sky Products
Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket
Date: May 28, 2006
Tester
Information:
Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in
(1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77
kg)
E-mail address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western
West Virginia, U.S.A.
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Backpacking Background:
Finally pursuing a
long-time interest, I started backpacking 3 years
ago. I've progressed from day-hiking
and single overnights my first year, to weekend trips the second, and
finally
to a 7-night trip on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia this year.
I
hike and backpack mainly in the hills and valleys of West
Virginia,
and generally use a hammock sleeping system.
For a two-day trip my typical pack weighs 22-30 lb (10-14 kg) including
consumables, and I’m still trying to lighten that a bit. |
Product
Information
-
Manufacturer: Big Sky Products
Year of manufacture: 2005
Date of Delivery: October 21, 2005
Size: Large
Length of back
(measured from base of hood to bottom of hem): 29.5 in
(75 cm)
Circumference (just below arms): 54 in (137 cm)
Circumference (at waist and hem): 50 in (127 cm)
Advertised Weight: 9.4 oz (266 g)
Weight as delivered: 9.0 oz (255 g)
Color: Grey
Manufacturer Website: http://www.bigskyproducts.com
MSRP: $99.95
US |
Features -
Water/wind
resistant, breathable Epic fabric
Hideaway hood with elastic draw cord
Water resistant YKK zippers
Elastic waist draw cord
Underarm ventilation zippers
Mesh hand warmer pockets
Adjustable wrist cuffs
Stores into its own pocket
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 General
description:
The Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket is made from a soft, thin, and silky
feeling fabric, which makes a light rustling
sound when worn or handled. The semi-opaque fabric reminds me a
bit of nylon tent fabric, but
softer and very lightweight. The jacket features water resistant
zippers, mesh lined front pockets, pit-zips, a waist cinch, and a hood
that stores into the jacket collar. For a more complete
description and photos, please see my Initial
Report. For test details during the early part of the test,
please see my Field
Report.
Field
Information:
In January, Big Sky Products recalled my Warm-n-Cozy Epic
Jacket for replacement of the zippers due to problems we were
experiencing in our tests. I received the repaired Jacket back at
the end of March. Since that time, I have used it extensively
(several times a week) as an everyday jacket in areas near my home and
for several weekends at Girl Scout camp in western West Virginia, at
elevations from around 600 to 1000 ft (200 to 300 m). I
have also used the jacket for several day-hikes at similar elevations
in western West Virginia, for an outdoor workshop in the eastern
mountains of West Virginia at elevations around 2500 ft (750 m), and on
a 7 day trip on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail from
Springer Mountain to Unicoi Gap, where elevations ranged from around
2500 ft to
close to 4500 ft (750 to 1200 m), and on Snowshoe Mountain at elevation
up to 4800 ft (1450 m). Trip temperatures have ranged
from around 30 F (0 C) to around 90 F (30 C), with the jacket being
worn up to about 75 F (25 C). Conditions have ranged from sunny
to rainy, and from calm to breezy. Weight carried has varied from
little more than a half liter of water up to 37 lb (17 kg).
Use:
The best thing I've noticed about testing the Big Sky Products
Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket is that it's a great insurance policy against
rain. It seemed nearly every time I thought I would give this
jacket a good test in rainy conditions, the weather decided to behave,
and I rarely had the chance to wear it in much precipitation.
The most rain I experienced while using the Jacket was at Becoming an
Outdoor Woman, an outdoor workshop weekend where I helped teach
Leave-No-Trace and canoeing. The rain was off and
on most of the day. "On" when we were teaching a workshop under a
shelter and
moving between workshops, "off" when we were canoeing. In spite
of
this, I did get to wear it in some fairly steady rain, and it
performed well - I didn't notice any rain leaking through the jacket.
During one Girl Scout camp weekend, we experienced a day of rain, but
again, I spent most of it teaching under a shelter. The jacket
again performed well during the limited times I wasn't under the
shelter.
The longest trip I took the Warm-n-Cozy Jacket on was on the
Appalachian Trail in Northern Georgia. Testing rain gear really
paid off here. Instead of the normal expected conditions of cool
rainy weather, Northern Georgia experienced an unusually warm dry
spell, and we experienced nearly perfect hiking conditions. About
the only use the jacket had on this trip was to ward of wind and
provide minor warmth, and it spent most of the week tucked away inside
my pack.
At the very end of the test period, I finally had a chance to test the
jacket in a good hard rain lasting about an hour while camping at a
Girl Scout event on Snowshoe Mountain. Most of the other
participants probably thought I was nuts standing outside in the rain
when I could have been under my hammock tarp, but I was able to get in
a pretty good test. Again, I noticed no rain leaking through the
jacket.
Conclusions:
The Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket has become my favorite
light-weight jacket. I particularly like the way it packs into
its own
pocket for storage, and that the Big
Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Epic
Pants will pack into the storage pocket as well. This makes
it
very
easy to grab the set on my way out the door any time I might need light
weight wind or rain protection, or just a little extra warmth. My
one small complaint here is that the zipper pull isn't reversible,
making it difficult to easily and completely zip the stored jacket into
its pocket. The packed jacket is very easy to fit inside a pack,
taking up less room than my old rain gear. If rolled, it's about
the size of a half liter bottle of water.
I like the fabric the jacket is made of. It's very light, soft,
pliable, and breathable, and hasn't shown any sign of wear so far,
other than the slight fraying of the
unfinished area of fabric along the zipper, noted on receiving the
jacket. Even against bare skin, the fabric feels
comfortable. It makes a slight rustling noise when being worn,
but the sound is so slight it isn't annoying. It seems to be
fairly odor resistant, and light soil wipes off with a little
water. I've washed it twice so far, in warm water, with my normal
liquid detergent, hanging it to dry, and it looks and performs like
new.
Overall the jacket seems to be well constructed. I have not had
any problems with zipper failure after they were replaced, and the new
zippers seem to operate more easily and smoothly. Due to a
general lack of rainy conditions to test the jacket in, I did repeat
the shower test described in my Field
Report, and was a little disappointed to find the beating water
still leaked through in the zipper area. However, in normal
outdoor conditions, I didn't notice any leaking either through the
zippers or through the fabric, even during the steady rain experienced
at Snowshoe.
The Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket has a generous fit, loose enough to wear
over a base layer and one or more insulating layers. I'm also
currently testing the Warm-n-Cozy
Better-than-Fleece Convertible
Sweater and Jacket, and the Epic Jacket layers well over these two
insulating pieces, allowing normal range of motion, and not
compressing the insulation. It works well under a pack, feeling
soft and comfortable. The pockets are generously sized, and
positioned well to be useful for hand warmers, for storing small items
I want to keep handy, or for stashing gloves and hat if I get too
warm. I try to avoid carrying heavy things in the pockets since
the light fabric the jacket is made of doesn't provide a lot of support
or structure, and
heavy items will make the jacket sag and pull. Unzipping the "pit
zips" and the pockets does help ventilate the jacket, but if weather
conditions permit, my favorite way to wear the jacket for maximum
ventilation is with the full front zipper unzipped. The hood can
sometimes be slightly irritating when cinched tight, because it will
draw the brim in at the sides near my eyes. This can be somewhat
overcome by tucking the brim backwards inside the hood, but that
results in giving up the rain protection the brim otherwise provides
over my upper face.
The jacket adds moderate warmth, just right for when temperatures are
too cool for a base layer alone but too warm for a heavy jacket, or for
pulling on during a rest break while backpacking to keep me from
getting chilled when I quit moving for a while. One thing I
really enjoy about this jacket is that it's versatile. If I only
need a little warmth, I can leave it loose and unzipped, but if I need
more, I can zip it up, fasten the collar tight, and cinch the waist
cord
to keep out stray breezes. In the past, I used my previous rain
gear for rain only, leaving it packed most of the time due to the
feel of the fabric and a somewhat bulky fit. This meant bringing
another light jacket,
adding bulk and weight to my pack. The Big Sky Products
Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket helps me be more efficient in my packing since
I feel comfortable using it both for warmth and for rain protection in
all but a downright monsoon. I plan to make it my sole rain gear
for summer trips, and likely for most fall/spring trips unless further
testing reveals weaknesses not apparent at this point in time.
Likes –
Light weight
Comfortable
Versatile
Dislikes –
Not 100% "waterproof" in my "shower test"
Lacks a reversible zipper pull, making it difficult to zip the storage
pocket shut when the jacket is packed inside it.
Thanks to Big Sky Products and BackpackGearTest
for
the
opportunity to test the Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket.
Read more reviews of Big Sky International gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant
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