| |
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
|
Initial Report: Ex Officio Give-n-Go Skivvy
Top
| Personal Biographical Info: |
| Name: |
Stephanie Martin |
| Age: |
30 |
| Gender: |
Female |
| Height: |
5'5" (1.65 meters) |
| Bust: |
37" (94 cm) |
| Weight: |
145 lbs (65 kg) |
| Email Address: |
syoong "at" alum "dot" mit
"dot" edu |
| Location: |
Phoenix, AZ USA |
| Date: |
November 7, 2004 |
| Background: |
Having always enjoyed spending time outdoors,
I got serious about it in 1996. Since then, I've been actively day hiking
most weekends. In addition to day hikes, my husband and I generally take a
couple of week long trips to the Grand Canyon annually, in addition to short
weekend backpacking trips. Our backpacking philosophy has been rapidly
moving towards ultra-light gear. My target base pack weight is 10 lbs (4.5
kg), and my typical shelter is a single wall tarp/tent. In general, we
average 12 to 15 miles (20 to 24 km) per day. See
http://www.ToddsHikingGuide.com
for trip reports and a better sense of our hiking style. |
| Other base layers used: |
I've used everything from the old polypro
layers to some of the newer synthetics from GoLite's C-Thru to Patagonia
Capiline to Duofold. |
|
|
It's Here! The Ex Officio Give-n-Go Skivvy Arrives!
The Ex Officio Give-n-Go Skivvy arrived safely via FedEx Home Delivery nicely
packaged inside a 5 1/2 x 9 inch (14.0 x 22.9 cm) reusable plastic pouch.
The pouch is closed by two small plastic snaps on a plastic flap on the back of
the pouch. Folded around the shirt was a cardboard hangtag with an image
of the Give-N-Go Skivvy in use. Across the top, the hangtag reads "1 small
cabin. 17 days. And one long underwear shirt." Below the product image, the
product features are listed as: "speed dry | anti-bacterial | lightweight |
moisture-wicking | breathable." Underneath the product feature listing,
the Skivvy is described as follows: "Designed for highly aerobic activities,
this silk weight long underwear is made from our proven Give-n-Go fabric.
The anti-bacterial finish fights odor. And they efficiently wick moisture,
dry quickly and stretch with your movement for a comfortable fit." The
back of the product tag includes sizing information and some additional
information about the moisture management features of the Give-n-Go Skivvy.
My favorite portion states that "they dry a lot faster than a wet dog" while
providing instructions on how to dry the Skivvy if no dryer is available.
(For the curious, the instructions are: "After washing simply wring them out,
lay them flat on a dry towel, roll them up like a burrito and stomp away.
Then hang them in a well-ventilated location." The skivvy is expected to
dry in two to four hours according to the product information on the hangtag.
[back to Table of Contents]
Words on the Web
The Ex Officio website is cleanly designed and well presented. The site is easy
to navigate and the images display the product nicely. Each product page
provides a quick overview of the product features in addition to suggesting some
ideal uses for the product. My only complaint is that not all pages provide
easy to reference sizing information - on some pages, the sizing information is
provided directly on the page, on others, it is provided by way of a link
labeled "View Size Chart" directly above the "To Purchase" box. The
remaining pages, on initial inspection, have no sizing information provided at
all, however closer inspection indicates a small link at the bottom of the page
(in the region that I would refer to as a footer or lower navigation bar) for
the size chart. I would prefer that that each product page have the size
information presented in the same manner consistently.
[back to Table of Contents]
Product Features and Construction
 The
Ex Officio Give-n-Go Skivvy Top is a silk weight long underwear shirt with a
slim athletic fit. The fabric has a waffled texture, is soft and silky to
the touch and is very stretchy. Interestingly, the fabric seems to stretch
equally well in multiple directions. The Give-n-Go fabric is touted as
being ideal for highly aerobic activities, due to its highly breathable,
moisture wicking and quick drying properties. In addition, the Give-n-Go
skivvy features AEGIS Microbe Shield protection to keep those odor-causing
microbes at bay. Some quick Googling on AEGIS Microbe Shield provides some
information regarding the product. In short, the AEGIS microbe shield is a
non-leaching bonded treatment on the fabric that does not dissipate during
washing.
The shirt itself is nicely constructed and close fitting. The shirt
sports a slightly rounded tail and a round neck. The Give-n-Go Skivvy has
flat seam construction on the shoulder and armholes, and standard seams for the
sides and sleeves. Just before the end of the sleeve, the sleeve seam is
opened and closed by bar-tacks to form a 2 1/2 inch (6.4 cm) thumb slot.
On the inside back of the shirt, where a neck tag is usually sewn, Ex Officio
has simply printed their name, the material content (94% nylon 6% spandex), the
shirt size, and some icons corresponding to the key features for this shirt:
Antibacterial, Moisture Wicking and Quick Drying. The easy care
instructions for the shirt: "machine wash cold, no bleach, tumble dry low, iron
low setting, wash with like colors," can be found on a tag sewn into the inside
side seam of the Skivvy. The Women's Give-n-Go Skivvy is available in various
colors: light blue, espresso (brown), black, and boysenberry (burgundy).
[back to Table of Contents]
Initial Impressions
I found the Give-n-Go Skivvy top to be as expected based on my visits to the Ex
Officio website. The shirt is sewn well, with clean and straight
stitching with no dangling threads. The fabric is very soft, and is a lot
more stretchy than I had anticipated. The fit is definitely close, with
not much room to spare. I suspect this is exactly how the shirt was
designed to fit, based on the photo on the product packaging. Personally,
I prefer a more relaxed fit, but the phenomenal stretch in this shirt, I
suspect, will make up for its close fit. Other than the close fit, the
sleeves are just right, and I'm able to put my thumbs in the thumb slots without
having to stretch out the shirt at all. The hem hits right above my hips
when I initially pull on the shirt - the shirt does shrink back a little after
pulling it on, and the hem eventually creeps up a bit. Due to the close
fit of the shirt, I'm not certain I'd wear it as a shirt for around-town use.
[back to Table of Contents]
Test Strategy
Overall, I'm quite pleased with the design and materials of the Ex Officio
Give-n-Go Skivvy top. I'll be taking it with me on all of my adventures
during the test period, including trips to the Grand Canyon, Southern Utah and
desert country of California. The terrain will range from lowland desert
hills and slot canyons, to grassy meadows and pine forest. Temperatures
tend to be moderate with daytime highs up to the mid 80's F (30 C) and night
time lows near freezing.
I'll be evaluating the the Skivvy on its overall fit, comfort and ease of
use and care in the field with a focus on its breathability, moisture wicking
performance and quick drying time. In addition, I'll be evaluating the
shirt for wrinkle and stain resistance, durability and its ability to remain
true to size. Finally, I'll attempt to evaluate its odor-resistance over
multiple days of use.
[back to Table of Contents]
My thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Ex Officio for this testing opportunity.
Read more reviews of Ex Officio gear
Read more gear reviews by Stephanie Martin
|
