Reviews > Clothing > Jackets > Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket > Thomas Vickers > Field Report

Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket  Field Test Report

January 7, 2006

Tester Background:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the house. My style has evolved and over the last 4 or 5 years, I have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and tents, just lighter versions). While I have flirted with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid-weight hiker now. My philosophy is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible.

Additional Tester Measurements:
Chest girth: 39 in (99 cm)
Arm length (shoulder to wrist): 23 in (58 cm)
Torso length (base of neck to waist): 23 in (58 cm)

Fit:
After wearing the Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket on several occasions I can honestly say that the fit is BIG.  It is a bit bigger than I would have expected for a size large jacket, but one thing the generous fit does mean is that I can layer under it in a variety of ways.  I have gone so far as to see just what I can wear under this jacket and I discovered that there is nothing in my hiking closet that the Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket cannot cover.  This includes my heaviest coat or my weirdest layering of long shirt, fleece jacket and fleece vest.  Not only does it cover my heaviest underlayers, it still leaves me with plenty of freedom of movement.  The  Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket does not bind or get tight when I pile the clothes on underneath it. 

The one thing I am not that fond of in the fit department is the location of the drawstring on the jacket.  I would much prefer it be located in the hem/base of the jacket instead of its current location higher up. It isn't a real problem, but it can lead to the lower part of the jacket flapping a bit in a high wind. 

Comfort:
I really like this jacket.  I have worn it over several different types of base layers and no matter how I wear it, the  Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket is comfortable.  I have had the pleasure of wearing nothing but a tee shirt under the jacket while standing in rather gusty winds.  The Epic jacket really cut the wind out a great deal more than I would have expected.  Being so thin and light weight I also figured that the  Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket would have a hard time keeping me warm as my only outer layer, but the outcome of my nightly forays in the jacket was a pleasant surprise.  I was more than comfortable in the  Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket and a tee shirt in temperatures down to about 40 F (4 C).   

For a few nights I even used the jacket while jogging.  It kept the wind off of me and allowed me to heat up rather nicely in temperatures below 40 F (4 C).  When I got too hot while jogging, it was easy to unzip the pit zips on the  Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket and vent myself without breaking stride.  Sometimes I opened the zippers too much and I couldn't quite rezip them on the move, but it was still nice to be able to keep the jacket on and make adjustments without stopping.  I can also say that the jacket doesn't bind while being worn with a daypack or shoulder bag.  Now I did tend to get sweaty with a daypack on my back, but that is pretty common no matter what type of clothing I am wearing, so this is not an issue exclusive to the  Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket. 

There is one last thing that I want to add to about the comfort of the  Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket.  I have not used the hood yet, mainly because I don't like most built in jacket hoods.  Because of this preference, I have kept the hood stowed away in the collar of the jacket. In my past experiences, stowing jacket hoods in the collars doesn't make the collar work very well.  I first noticed how well the collar stayed upright with the hood stowed when I was day hiking. There was stiff breeze and I realized that the collar on the jacket was not only protecting my neck, but actually keeping it quite warm.  I also began to notice how well the collar stayed up and kept my neck warm and protected when I jogged using the Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket. I probably didn't do the collar/hood combo much justice, but I will conclude by saying that the collar/hood combo works really well in keeping my neck warm-n-cozy.

Overall, I would have to give this jacket a pretty good comfort rating. It can seem rather cavernous when not wearing too much underneath it, but this generous cut is more than welcome when I start adding on the underlayers.  

Construction:
The Epic fabric of this jacket has always seemed very fragile.  At this point though, I can say this is an appearance that may be a bit deceiving.  I can be very rough on my outer layers, but the Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket has stood up to every activity I have participated in.  There are no wear spots on the back or shoulders from my daypacks and my off trail activities have not created any snags or tears.   While I won't say it is a tough jacket, I will say that the Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket is sturdier than I had expected.

One thing I am a bit worried about are the zippers.  They all work well, but they seem to be very stiff at times.  I have taken the time to unzip and rezip the arm vents, main zipper and pocket zippers on several occasions just to see if they loosen up a bit.  So far they remain smooth, but not that easy to work.  I am wondering if I shouldn't try and find some sort of zipper lubricant and see if this makes them work just a bit more smoothly. 

Other notes:
My main complaint about this portion of the test is far beyond my control.  I have only been able to wear the Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket in the rain on one occasion for a few minutes.  It kept me dry and I can even report that when I bent over to pick something up, the collar (with hood stowed inside) kept the water from running down my back and getting my head wet.  At this point, I am really impressed by how the collar on this jacket works. It keeps my neck warm and in the right circumstances keeps the water off of my head, both of which are plusses in my book.

I was also not too impressed with the way the Big Sky Products Warm-N-Cozy Epic Jacket packs into one of its pockets.  This was an advertised feature, but I have yet to get it work in a manner that I find satisfactory.  While I am pleasantly happy with the jacket so far, I am still a bit surprise that Big Sky Products didn't include any cleaning or care instructions for the Epic fabric.  I will do my best to find out just how to clean/care for the jacket by my next report, but it would have been nice for this information to have come with the jacket. 

Reviews > Clothing > Jackets > Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket > Thomas Vickers > Field Report