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Long Term Report: IBEX Outback
Long Sleeve Jersey
Reviewer Information
Name: Chad
Fike
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 10” (1.77 m)
Weight: 150 lb
(68 kg)
Email address: abnersdonkey@hotmail.com
City, State, Country:
Oakland, Maryland, USA
Date: September 29, 2006
Backpacking
Background
I have gone camping, usually very close to home,
for over 15 years, but only started seriously backpacking about 3 years ago. I
do mostly weekend trips and often take day hikes. My backpacking experience has
been mostly in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia,
including parts of the Appalachian Trail. Each
trip has been a learning experience about techniques and equipment. I try to
balance weight, durability, and cost with my gear choices.
Product
Information
Manufacturer - IBEX Outdoor Clothing, Inc.
Year of
manufacture - 2006
Website - www.ibexwear.com
MSRP - $79.00
US
Average listed weight (no size stated) - 6.9 oz (196 g)
Weight as
delivered (size medium) - 6.6 oz (187 g)
Lifetime
warranty
Product Description
The IBEX
Outback is a long sleeve jersey made of New Zealand Merino wool fiber. The
color of the shirt is described as Stone/Kona, and is one solid bluish-gray
color except for a brown racing stripe running vertically the entire length of
the rear of the shirt. The shirt is advertised as having “…superior temperature
regulation, quick-drying comfort and second skin softness”, as well as
“Supersoft Comfort; Unmatched Temperature Regulation; All Natural Stretch;
Naturally Anti-Microbial (No Stink); and Machine Washable”.
Field
information
Testing took place mostly in forested terrain
of the Appalachian Mountains of western Maryland and West Virginia where the elevation ranged from
around 2500 to 4800 ft (762 to 1463 m). Temperatures ranged from around 32 to 95
F (0 to 35 C) during the test period. The shirt was briefly tested during a
vacation in New Mexico, Utah and Colorado at elevations as high as 10,500 ft
(3200 m). Since the time of the Field Report I also tested the shirt during a
short trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. I used the shirt hiking, backpacking,
car camping, mountain biking, and for casual wear.
Testing has continued in a similar fashion since the Field Report.
The longest continuous use of the shirt came during my week spent in
Glacier. This was the only long sleeved shirt I took on this
trip. The shirt was slept in some nights and was worn almost every
morning. The shirt seemed to provide just the right amount of
warmth on cool mornings between 50 and 55 F (10 and 13 C). Most
of the temperatures during the day did not require any thing more than a tee
shirt, but the Outback was stuffed into my day pack on every hike.
The shirt seemed ideal in these conditions.
I really liked the fit and style of the shirt when it arrived.
I am glad to see the shirt has retained its original fit and has neither
shrunk nor stretched out. Repeated washings did not seem to have any negative
effects. The Outback is the first wool shirt I have owned.
While I had some initial doubts, I found the material was comfortable and
felt more like cotton than I expected. The shirt has just the right amount of
stretchiness for active uses. I think the shirt looks a little
more appropriate for casual wear than the more “sporty” look of
synthetics. The overall design is a little plain with the only
embellishments being a racing stripe and logo on the rear of the shirt but
nothing on the front. This is only a personal style preference,
but I prefer some design on the front where I can enjoy it rather than on the
back where it is often hidden by my pack. The shirt does tend to
wrinkle rather easily, especially after being stuffed into a pack all day.
The temperatures during the test period were
rather warm, so I most often used this long sleeved shirt in the mornings and
evenings around camp or at the end or beginning of a hike. The shirt did not
see as much continuous use as a short sleeved shirt in these temperatures. When
not being worn, the shirt was still subject to some abuse since it was often
carried along in a pack just in case the temperatures dropped. I
did not do much off-trail hiking and tried to care for the shirt just as if I
had paid for it. I had no problems with durability. I do not see any stains,
loose stitches, or other signs of wear. At first
glance I was a little concerned since the shirt seemed somewhat thin, but I had
no problems.
I found
the shirt to perform best in warmer temperatures or during higher energy
pursuits. When hiking or exerting myself I found the shirt to be
very comfortable layered over a tee shirt in temperatures around 50 F (10 C) and
above. The shirt seemed to breathe very well and a few times I found myself
wearing the shirt beyond the point I would normally change to a tee shirt. The
downside to this lightweight construction is that in cool windy conditions I
found myself chilled if I was not particularly active. I have
found the shirt to perform comparably with the synthetics I am used to
wearing. The shirt seems to wick moisture and dry quickly. The
Outback compressed nicely and actually weighed less than some comparably styled
synthetics I own. I appreciate when an item does not take up much
space or add much weight to my pack.
I was not able to
judge IBEX’s claim that the shirt is “naturally anti-microbial
(no-stink)”. I never really noticed the shirt smelling, but I was
not in any situations to really put it to the test such as a week long extended
trip without a shower. Most often I wore the Outback as an outer
layer, so I had usually already removed it by the time I was really starting to
sweat. Therefore I do not have any opinion about how the shirt
deals with odor.
Conclusion
I was very pleased
with the IBEX Outback. I did not really form an opinion about the
anti-microbial properties, but the rest of the description and advertisements
about the shirt seemed true. It proved to be durable and comfortable. The shirt
is lightweight and breathable and very suitable for use in warmer weather or as
a layer in colder temperatures. It did not offer much wind
protection or warmth in cool temperatures if I was not active. I
like the look and feel of the shirt more than synthetics in casual situations,
but it does seem to wrinkle easy. I look forward to continuing to wear the
Outback.
Thanks to IBEX
and BackpackGearTest.Org for the opportunity to test this shirt.
Read more reviews of Ibex gear
Read more gear reviews by Chad E. Fike
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