Reviews > Clothing > Shirts > Ex Officio Give-n-Go Skivvy Top > Thomas Vickers > Initial Report

Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvy Top L/S Initial Report

November 16, 2004

Thomas Vickers
36 years old
Male
5 ft 11 in tall (1.8 m)
170 lb  (77 kg)
redroach@pobox.com
Southeast Texas, Houston Area

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 Information:
Chest: 38 in (97 cm)
Arm Length (wrist to shoulder): 23 in (58 cm)

Information from the Manufacturer:
Website: http://www.exoffico.com/
Colors available: charcoal and black
Sizes available: S, M, L, XL, XXL
Weight: 4 oz (113 gm)
MSRP:  $ 40.00 US

FEATURES:
· High-performance Give-N-Go Stretch™ —    94% Nylon/6% Spandex
· The same fabric you love in our underwear, ideal for highly aerobic activity
· Extremely breathable and moisture-wicking for comfort; air-dries in hours
· Odor resistant finish keeps you feeling fresh
· Thumb slot with extended sleeves to make layering easier
· Crew neck

Website Impressions:
When I first saw the test call, I was off to the Ex Officio website to see just what the ruckus was about.  A quick run through the main page took me to the details that I was looking for.  One thing I can say about this website is that it is easy to navigate, provides a large amount of information about all the products' attributes, and shows very reliable pictures of how something is going to look.  Overall, visiting the Ex Officio website has always been a good experience for me and it has always left me with a fairly accurate idea of what is coming in the mail from this company.  The Ex Officio website also has what I consider to be very accurate colors.  I have never been surprised by the color of an item shown on the website when it arrived.  The website matches reality in the color department.

Arrival:
After work one day I found a medium sized brown box on the porch. Due to the size and shape (not to mention the markings) I knew that it was from Ex Officio.  Once inside, I got the box open and found two plastic pouches.  Each one of the pouches contained a charcoal colored Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvy Top L/S.

The insert in the plastic pouch that the shirt came in had listed this item as being "silk weight", but I didn't have a clue as to what this really meant. Silkweight in my mind was thin, fragile and very light.  When I pulled one of the tops out of its pouch, the raised pattern (checkered? cross-stitched?) of threads in the fabric gives it a heavier appearance and the 'rough' texture made me think it was not as light as it was described as being.  The Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvy Top L/S is light, but thin and fragile does not describe it in any way. 

"1 small cabin. 17 days. And one long underwear shirt"
Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvy Top L/S package insert

Initial Description:
The Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvy Top L/S is a long sleeved, collarless undershirt.   It is not a smooth fabric, but it has a crisscrossing pattern of threads that covers the entire garment.  It is fairly light and appeared to be a very comfortable base layer.  One thing that I have noticed after an initial observation is that each sleeve has a nicely stitched "hole" on the inside of each sleeve near the cuff.  These appear to be (and function very well as)  thumb holes. The charcoal color is also pleasant. I consider gray a neutral color that is more pleasing to me than white, black, or navy blue, which seem to be the main color of most of my existing base layer garments.

The care/washing tag is located along the side seam, on the inside of the shirt, near the bottom hem.  It is not in a spot where it is going to rub or annoy me too much. Nothing is worse than a tag that causes the back of my neck to itch or even worse, makes me think there is flesh eating bug crawling on my neck.  

Initial Impression:
Of course I had to put it on and I can only describe the fit and feel as luxurious. Oh, this shirt feels like pure heaven when it slides on my body.  I can pull the sleeves up so they are at wrist level or I can pull them down, insert my thumbs through the thumb holes and have the sleeves cover my hands up to the knuckles.  It may not seem like much, but I know how much of a hassle it can be to pull a long sleeve shirt or jacket on over a base layer that crawls up to my armpits.  The thumb holes mean that I can quickly and easily pull a layer on over the the Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvy Top L/S   without any problems. No more sleeve bunching up. No more turning into a human pretzel while trying to prevent the bunching or undo the bunching. I have the strange feeling that with this shirt I can be a hiker instead of a circus performer.

I was also happy about one other thing about this shirt.  The insert that came with the shirt advised the purchaser/user to use the plastic pouch which the shirt arrived in as a stuff bag of some sort. The basic idea was to use the pouch on the trail rather than throw it away.  I haven't tried to test the functionality of the pouch yet, but I do appreciate the fact that Ex Officio feels that the packaging can be reused successfully rather than trashed.  Just one of those extra little things that impresses me.

Test Plan

Location:
I will test the Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvy Top L/S  in South East and Central Texas during the winter months. This means temperatures between 40 F and 75 F (7 C to 24 C) as well as varied levels of precipitation. This will range from rain all the way to dense fog and everything in between.

Above and beyond the items listed above, I will basically be wearing this item as often as possible during the fall/winter months here in South Texas. If I can do it outdoors during this time period and it is cool enough, I will try and wear these garments.

Reviews > Clothing > Shirts > Ex Officio Give-n-Go Skivvy Top > Thomas Vickers > Initial Report