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Hot Chillys Bio-Silver Bi-Ply Top
Field Report - January 6, 2004
Contents
Reviewer Information [return to top]
Name: Chuck Kime
Nickname: Fuzzy
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Height: 5'8" (1.72 m)
Weight: 229 lb (104 kg)
Chest: 46” (117 cm)
Waist: 40” (102 cm)
Hips: 46” (117 cm)
Email address: ckime AT nelsononline DOT com
City, State, Country: Norwood (Philadelphia suburb), PA, U.S.A.
Date: January 6, 2004
Product Information [return to top]
Manufacturer: Hot Chillys
Model: Bio-Silver Bi-Ply Top – Item #2233, Men's Zip-T
Year of Manufacture: 2003
URL: http://www.hotchillys.com
Listed weight: None Listed
Measured weight (size XL): 12.2 oz (346 g), scale accurate to 0.1 oz
Color: Black
Other colors available: White
MSRP: None Listed
Features (from web site) [return to top]
- FABRIC
- OUTER LAYER-100% MTF Microfiber Polyester
- INNER LAYER-75% MTF Polyester with 25% Bio-Silver
- Bi-ply knit places Bio-Silver combined with MTF Polyester next to the skin to conduct heat and rapidly transport moisture
- Inherent anti-microbial silver yarns fight bacteria and odor
- CONSTRUCTION
- Tri-component bi-ply knit for warmth and comfort
- Soft feel knit with performance features
- Anatomical cut for relaxed fit allowing freedom of movement without bagging
- Flat seam construction for seam strength and to eliminate abrasion
- IDEAL FOR...
- Mountaineering, Climbing
- Cross Country Skiing
- Back Country Expeditions
- Skating, Cycling, Running, Hunting, Fishing, Camping
Description [return to top]
The Hot Chillys Bio-Silver Bi-Ply Zip-T is a long-sleeve model made from a somewhat stretchy knit, with a hemmed bottom, banded cuffs, mock turtleneck, and a zipper. The zipper tab has a small plastic red pepper clipped to it, and the Hot Chillys logo is appliquéd above the hem in front of the left hip. Other than the pepper zipper pull and the logo, all components of the top are black.
The fabric used in the top is MTF polyester knit with a small amount of stretch. It feels, to me, like a soft cotton – not slick or shiny, and fairly warm to the touch. The fit is what I would term ‘active’, meaning not snug but not blousy. There is room to move in any way I wish, but there is no significant amount of extra material anywhere. If worn under a tight-fitting shell, like my home-made Gore-Tex rain suit, there would not be a problem with excessive wrinkling.
For a more detailed description, please see my Initial Report.
Field Testing [return to top]
My son played on a traveling soccer team, with games every Saturday from mid-September thru mid-November. I have been known to run up and down the sidelines during these games, or just kick back in a chair and watch. I wore the shirt to all games that I was able to attend. The second day I wore the shirt was sunny and very warm, the sort of weather that had most of the soccer fans in shorts and looking for shade (I had no thermometer available that day, but it was hot). The Hot Chillys shirt, even though it’s black, kept me cool and dry throughout the game. I did not notice any moisture in the fabric upon leaving the game.
Our Boy Scout troop camps monthly. Almost all of these outings include a minimum of 2 nights of camping, with temperatures expected to be from lows around 25 to 30 ºF (-4 to –1 ºC) to highs around 95 to 100 ºF (35 to 38 ºC), although I don’t expect it to be this warm during the testing period for this top. Elevations will range from sea level to approximately 2,000 ft (610 m). We have had two cold-weather trips on our schedule so far this winter: Thanksgiving weekend (last weekend in November), and a Winter Survival campout held the first weekend in January. Temperatures last year for these events were perfect for testing insulated clothing, with Thanksgiving weekend ranging from a low of 23 °F to a high of about 43 °F (-5 to 6 °C) outside – maxing out at 50 °F (10 °C) indoors – and Winter Survival ranging from a low of 21 °F to a high of about 31 °F (-6 to 0 °C). All of these events generally involve a significant amount of time spent just standing around, watching and/or supervising the boys. Temps this year were comparable (if not slightly colder) for Thanksgiving, but unseasonably warm in January, with daytime highs between 50 and 60 °F (10 – 15 °C). I spent all weekend on both of these trips, except for sleeping, in the shirt. I wore it under a lightweight poly/cotton short-sleeved shirt, adding either a wool shirt (January) or a quilted synthetic liner and heavy poly/cotton jacket (November) while outdoors. At no time while wearing the shirt did I notice any sweating that was not immediately wicked away, and the shirt was never wet when removed. I never noticed any odors emanating from the shirt, other than the lingering smell of wood smoke from the campfires.
I am currently trying to talk the troop into attending the Valley Forge Pilgrimage and Encampment in February, where conditions are historically (pun only slightly intended) as bad as when George Washington was there over 200 years ago, generally with a fair amount of snow on the ground, if not actually falling during the event. This will be a good test of the shirt as a base layer, as well as odor prevention, since there will not likely be any exposure of the shirt to outside air during the weekend.
Things I am/will be looking for:
- Durability. Does it stand up to wear and washing? Does it pill, pull, or otherwise abrade significantly under normal circumstances? If not, how long does it take for this to happen?
- Ease of washing. The package indicates machine wash and machine dry. How well does it hand-wash if necessary? Does it dry quickly?
- Wicking. I tend to generate a lot of heat when moving, due both to large muscle mass and plenty of – ahem – ‘natural insulation’, so I will be especially interested in the capability of the top to keep me dry. Where does the moisture go? Can it escape if I wear a wind layer over the top? If it gets wet, will it dry on my body?
- Looks/fit. Does the top retain its shape when worn for consecutive days without washing? Does it fit under my normal cold-weather layers?
- Wind. Does the top protect from the wind at all, or do I need a shell on windy days? The weave suggests I will need a shell.
- Last, but not least – smell. Does it stink? Can anybody besides me smell it? Do I… gasp… offend? Let’s face it… the only way to test this is to wear it for multiple days without washing, and, for maximum effect, without deodorant. I will do my best to truly determine the accuracy of the manufacturer’s claims.
My findings so far:
- Durability. Following washing (yes, only once since I got it) I found some minor pilling inside the collar and cuffs. The rest of the shirt looks like new.
- Ease of washing. The package indicates machine wash and machine dry. It does both of these with no noticeable problems. I did remove the decorative pepper for washing.
- Wicking. Seems to work very well so far. It has been dry every time I have taken it off.
- Looks/fit. The top retains its shape when worn for consecutive days without washing, even continuing to look new. It also fits under my other layers, including my rain suit, with no problems. I have actually worn the shirt to the office, with no negative comments – it’s a fairly good looking item.
- Wind. As I suspected from the weave, there is not much wind protection available from this shirt. It does, however, prove to be a pretty fair base layer.
- Last, but not least – smell. Umm... well... according to my girlfriend, it doesn’t hold down the smell as much as I would hope. After 10 days of wearing, most of which I started out clean, she wouldn’t put up with me any more. She does have a higher than average sensitivity, though.
Things I like [return to top]
- Lightweight.
- Compact.
- Comfortable.
Things I don't like [return to top]
- The zipper pull, which is easily removable, may rattle around more than I care to deal with. I may remove it and file it away for safekeeping, although those who have seen it think it’s “adorable”. In practice, I left it on most of the time, with no physical issues. I did, however, remove it upon my girlfriend’s request for fashion reasons once or twice when I wore it while out with her.
Backpacking Background [return to top]
I started car/trailer camping with the family when I was about 5. I enlisted in the Army Reserve during my first year of college and spent 17 years fine-tuning my packing methodology - by the time I separated from the service, I was down to what I thought was a respectable 75-80 lb (34-36 kg) load. When my son started Cub Scouts, I brought my 60 lb (27 kg) ALICE pack for a weekend. We got to Boy Scouts in the Spring of 2002 and now camp monthly in locations ranging from the Chesapeake Bay area (flat and lightly wooded) to the Pocono Mts (flat spots hard to find and very wooded), in all seasons.
Lightweight (and ultralightweight) sites, along with a day hike up Pikes Peak in July 2003, have led me to seriously rethink my gear choices. I plan to start doing more hiking/backpacking on our monthly scout trips, taking along as many scouts as are willing, to a) get in shape (yeah, yeah, I know… round IS a shape), and b) determine what I really need to take along. I am relatively confident that I will be able to reduce my 3-season pack to 20 lb (9 kg), before food, fuel and water, by the time this season is over.
Thank you for your time.
Chuck Kime
a.k.a. Fuzzy
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