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Reviews > Clothing > Shirts > GoLite DriMove Longsleeve Top > Kevin Hollingsworth > Test Report by Kevin Hollingsworth
GOLITE DRIMOVE L/S TOP
CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE LONG-TERM REPORT TESTER INFORMATION
I started backpacking and camping when I was in the Scouts. I spent 20 years in the military, which curtailed my personal outdoors adventures. I have mostly gone camping and then day-hiking in the surrounding area, but have been on a few multi-day hiking trips. While day-hiking, I normally carry a light load, a waist pack with mostly food and water, with a few other things. On three to four day trips, I will carry a pack weighing about 45 to 50 lb (21 to 23 kg). I have been hiking in Colorado, Korea, Egypt, and most recently Shenandoah. INITIAL REPORT November 01, 2006 PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer: GoLite INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
I received the GoLight Drimove L/S top
on 31 Oct 06. It was packaged in a plastic bag, with a product tag
attached to the collar. The product tag lists the top's specification
(size, weight, style, and color), top's key features, GoLite contact
information, and the GoLite guarantee. The GoLite guarantee is: FIT
My chest is 45.3 in (115.0 cm) and my
neck is 17.3 in (43.8 cm). According to GoLite's fitting chart, a large
is for a chest measurement of 41.75 - 45.5 in (106 - 116 cm) and a neck
measurement of 16.13 - 17 in (41 - 43 cm). The XL is for a chest
measurement of 45.5 - 49.75 in (116 - 126 cm) and a neck measurement of
17 - 18 in (43 - 46 cm). I was right on the border between large and
XL, so based on my experience, I picked a XL. The XL fits snugly around
my shoulders and chest, without being uncomfortable. My arm length from
my armpit to my wrist is 18.25 in (46.4 cm), so the arm length is fine.
It goes just a little past my wrist. The shirt length is great, just
long enough so when I lift my arms, the shirt doesn't pull out of my
pants. After washing the top as per instructions, the top fits me the
same as it did before the washing. There does not seem to be any
shrinkage due to washing. TESTING STRATEGY
I will be testing the Drimove for use as
a base layer and as the weather conditions allows alone, or with only a
mid-weight jacket. I will be mainly in the mountains and the peninsula
areas of Virginia. I will be testing while on backpacking trips, day
hikes, ski trips, and any other situations where I will be outdoors. I
am planning on a few day hikes ranging about 7 to 12 mi (11 to 19 km) in
the Shenandoah National Park during the testing period. I am also
trying to schedule some overnight backpacking trips in the Shenandoah
National Park and a trip to Mount Rogers during this period. In
addition, I will day hiking a local wooded trail that is approximately
7 mi (11 km) each month. I also plan on taking a ski trip to Northern
Northern Virginia or West Virginia during the January or February time
frame. SUMMARY
Upon receiving the GoLite Drimove L/S
top, I like the top and GoLite's quality of workmanship. The top fits
me well and is very comfortable. I do have a concern about the fabric
snagging itself during use. I am looking forward to testing this top
out. January 08, 2007 FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS I took a couple of the multi-day trips to Shenandoah National Park. The weather was normally clear with the coldest recorded temperature being 23 F (-5 C) after sunset. The normal daytime temperature was 30 to 40 F (-1.1 to .4.4 C). The terrain was mountainous with the elevation around 3000 to 4000 ft (900 to 1200 m). During the day, I used the Drimove top as my base layer with a fleece shirt and a water/wind proof jacket as the outer layer. I used a 3930 cu in (64 L) pack weighing approximately 50 lb (22.7 kg) initially and a waist pack with food and water for some day-hiking. At night, I used the top with fleece pants and a wool hat to sleep in. My bag is rated to 20 F (-6.7 C) and I used a three season tent. At night, I changed my jacket to a slightly heaver one. I also took a few day hikes in the local parks. The temperature was usually between 45 F (8 C) to 65 F (18 C), with either clear or slightly hazy weather. The terrain is wooded, with a few small hills with elevations around sea level. I usually wore the Drimove with a lightweight jacket or when temperatures were close to 60 F (16 C), I just wore the Drimove. I carried a daypack with food and water. I also wore the Drimove at home and around town. I wore it with a lightweight jacket, with fleece jacket, and by itself, depending on weather conditions.
PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD The Drimove was comfortable to wear. The fabric feels sort of like a light sweater to the touch, but when I wore it felt like a long sleeve T-shirt. The initial “oily” feeling it had when first received it went away after the first washing. Being a long sleeve top, I would try to push the sleeves up on my arms. Even though the material is stretchy, there is not enough “spring” to keep the sleeve up. They would just slide back down. I had to roll my sleeves up. The collar area was not tight or restrictive, and after wearing it for extended periods, the collar did not elongate or stretch out of shape. It did not bunch up anywhere, even when used with a pack. I had free range of motion and it did not hinder me in any way. It was lightweight and I hardly noticed that I had it on. During hikes, I would feel myself starting to sweat especially on my back, but the moisture would move from my skin to the Drimove. During the wicking process, the Drimove did not feel wet or cling to my skin. The Drimove dried quickly after it got wet. When used as a base layer or just as a shirt, the Drimove kept me warm and dry. When temperatures were around 25 F (-3.8 C) and calm, I wore the Drimove with a fleece top and when it got windy, I added a wind proof jacket. At temperatures around 55F (13 C), I would wear the Drimove by itself and as long as there was no wind, I would be comfortable. I normally wear long underwear at night when I sleep and I have a tendency to overheat and sweat at some point during the night. I wore the Drimove at night in the tent and in my sleeping bag. It kept me warm and comfortable all night. I wanted to see how it handles
odor. I normally sweat a lot, and depending on the severity of the trip, my
shirts will start to smell after a couple of days straight. The only shirt or
base layer I wore on all my trips and day hikes was the Drimove. I also wore it
every evening and through the night at home for 10 days straight (without
washing the shirt). Normally, I will start
noticing an odor within a few days. Throughout my multi day trips and day hikes,
and after ten consecutive evenings and nights, I did not notice any real smell
coming from the shirt. It did
exceptional well on controlling odors.
I did notice that after washing the top in a washer and hang drying, that there were a few snags in the top. There was also a small hole on the inside of the shirt from one of the snags. I do not remember snagging it on anything, and it is possible that it snagged on something in the washer. Besides the small hole, I found, the Drimove has worn well. All the seams are still tight, the material edges have not frayed or curl up, and the cuffs and neck are not deformed or elongated. SUMMARY
Overall I am quit satisfied with the GoLite Drimove top. The top seems
to do what GoLite says it will do. The shirt is well made, with the
only problem I can see is some snags and a small hole I found after
washing. This
concludes my Field Report. The Long-Term Report should be completed by
13 March 2007. Please check back then for further information. LONG-TERM REPORT
7 March 2007 LONG-TERM TEST CONDITIONS I took a ski trip to a resort in West Virginia. The weather was clear and gusty with temperatures around 20 F (-7 C). The elevation was 4900 ft (1500 m). The resort was producing snow during the day, so there was blowing ice/snow all over the trails. I took a trip to Maryland. The weather started out with light snow but then cleared to sunny skies, with a slight breeze. The temperature was around 25 F (-4 C) during the day, and about 10 F (-12 C) at night. The elevation was 450 ft (137 m) and the terrain was wooded with some clearings. I completed five day hikes. The weather was normally clear or with a slight cloud cover. The temperatures were around 55 to 60 F (13 to 16 C); with the last two days the temperatures were close to 68 F (20 C). The elevation was at sea level and the terrain was wooded. PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD There was not much difference in the performance of the Drimove shirt from the field report. On my ski trip, I initially had to spend some time inside the lodge getting skis and stuff. The area was really crowded and I started to get hot and sweaty. I was wearing a daypack with food and water, and I could feel myself starting to sweat on my back and in my arm pit area. The Drimove moved the moisture away from my skin. I did not experience that wet and clammy feeling that I would get with other shirts and the shirt dried quickly. When I did start sweating again, I did not feel it at all; it was wicked away from my skin. The fitting of the top was great; the length was just long enough so that it stayed tucked in all through the day to include when I had some nastier falls. The top perform well throughout the day, keeping me warm and allowing me full range of motion. During the hiking portion of my trips, I either carried a 3930 cu in (64 L) pack or a small day pack (on the day hikes). During the warmer weather, around 45 F (8 C) or higher, I normally wore a light windproof jacket over the Drimove or just the top. On colder days, I added a fleece top. When I did wear the top by itself on a windy day, the wind cut right through the top. It was not too uncomfortable and I just add a lightweight jacket. The top did keep the moisture away from my skin and kept me generally warm. Over the four months of the test, the top was washed at least 30 times. It was washed with clothes of like colors. It was machined dried approximately 25 times. After all this, there was no noticeable shrinkage or distortion from the washing and drying process. The top fitted me the same as the first day I wore it. It still feels soft and slinky. The colors did not fade, there was no staining and all of the reflective stencils remained intact. There was no fraying around the collar, on the bottom of the shirt or at the wrist.
There is one loose string at the collar, but the collar stitching has not started to unravel and still appears tight. There are no other loose threads showing at any of the other stitching. The only problem that I did notice throughout the testing process was that the top was always snagging on something. It wasn’t a real problem when I wore it as a base layer or with something over top the shirt. The problem occurred when the only thing I was wearing was only the Drimove, and going through wooded areas. SUMMARY Overall, I am very satisfied with the performance of the Drimove top. It performed as advertised by the manufacturer. The top fitted well, was comfortable to wear and gave me full range of motion. It kept me warm while using it as a base layer and by itself. When I did sweat it, the moisture was moved to the top of the shirt and evaporates quickly. During prolong wear, the Drimove handles odors extremely well; it did not give off any foul odors. I did not see any problems with durability, with the only down side of the top was that it was extremely easy to snag. I plan to continue to wear the Drimove top for my backpacking and other outdoor activities. I would like to thank both, BackpackGearTest and GoLite, for the opportunity to test the Drimove L/S top.
This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1. Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Read more reviews of GoLite gear Read more gear reviews by Kevin Hollingsworth Reviews > Clothing > Shirts > GoLite DriMove Longsleeve Top > Kevin Hollingsworth > Test Report by Kevin Hollingsworth | ||||||||||||||||||
