Product Overview

The IBEX Shak Hoody is a semi-fitted garment with many functional features. It is made out of Shak Wool that is one-hundred percent New Zealand Merino-Dense Knit-Wool. The Shak Hoody features raglan sleeves, a neck zipper, bound-sleeve openings and thumb-holes, an interior chin-guard and flatlock seams. The manufacturer claims the product is easy to care for and is machine washable.

Product Information

Locations ranged from highly-deciduous forests to overgrown swamps and lakeshores in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Late-fall to early-winter weather varied from overcast and rain to overcast and snow. There are very few sunny days in these climes at this time of year. Temperatures ranged from 40F (4C) to 8F (-13 C) with humidity in the normal range of 60 to 95 percent for those areas. All of the trips were at low altitude ranging from 600 ft (183m) to 2000 ft (610m), with a moderate amount of elevation changes - back country climbing and descending prevailed. Trail running was done on a local mountain-bike single-track trail while cross-country skiing (classic and skating-style) was performed on a variety of courses all complete with hilly terrain.

Backpacking Trip One --
Pigeon River State Forest (December 2-5 2005)

During the last two months, I wore the IBEX Shak Hoody during a four-day backpacking-trip to the Pigeon River State Forest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The conditions were somewhat mild for early winter with temperatures mostly in the 20 F (-7 C) range with the low being 8 F (-13 C). For this test I wore a silk Capilene base-layer top with a wool base-layer shirt in reserve, if I didn't like the first combination. My goal was to stay relatively dry so that the hoody wouldn't accumulate enough moisture to have to change my shirt during the four days of backpacking. This is not an unusual goal during this time of year as the weather is cool and my body usually performs on the cool side.  However my pack load was heavy and bulky due to the insulated gear (jackets and pants) and -20 F (-29 C) sleeping bag that I was carrying. The pack weight hovered over 40 lb (18 kg).

In addition to the Shak Hoody and Capilene, I also moderated temperatures when needed with the addition of a light wind jacket with full pit-zips. It was often necessary to wear the jacket due to the wind or intermittent snow-conditions. The trip produced mostly dry or light-snow conditions that didn't over wet my clothing.  Completing my apparel were wind pants and light wool leggings.

This trip was mostly an off-trail adventure although at times I traveled section-lines or portions of bush roads. Off-trail hiking can be arduous and usually it is easy to get heated up quite easily with all the additional contortions of my body plus the very uneven terrain as I made my way through and over snow-covered dense-vegetation. During the off-trail travel, it was easy to regulate too much heat by removing my thumbs from the thumb-holes leaving my hands more exposed and removing the hoody from my head to lose some body heat. The zipper would allow additional ventilation although I never got hot enough to want to lower its position.

I was quite happy with the performance or comfort of the hoody and it never became necessary to change the silk base-layer. When I  arrived at the evening's camp, I would almost immediately put on an additional layer over the hoody. This consisted of a lightly insulated primaloft jacket. I would also don similar insulated-legwear and put on a thick wool hat over the hoody.  This kept me quite content until later in the evening when I would crawl into my sleeping bag for the night. I took off the insulated wear but kept on the other layers including the hoody and hat for sleeping purposes.

Backpacking Trip Two --
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (January 13-16 2006)

This was a four-day sledge-trip which included utilizing trails and bushwhacking in the Pictured Rocks area along Lake Superior. For this trip the temperatures were again on the mild side of winter. Daytime highs were in the low 30 F (-1 C) range during the beginning of the trip with the lows barely at 20 F (-7 C) range during the night hours. Despite these temperatures, the wind-chill was a strong factor as the winds ranged from approximately 20 MPH to 30 MPH. Rather than carrying a backpack, I  was pulling a sledge. This can be rigorous work depending on the snow depth. Because of a series of melt-downs and little fresh snow, the conditions were very compatible with wearing not only the Shak Hoody with a base-layer (silk Capilene) but I also wore my partially-lined Wintergreen Shell Parka to keep warm. I regulated temperatures by unzipping the parka and adjusting my head-coverings including the hoody.  Most of the time I wore the hoody over my wool hat so that I had some neck protection. I didn't deviate much from this arrangement during the trip as when the actual temperatures receded, the winds usually favorably declined in strength.  When wearing the hoody this way, it did not cover my whole head but it is easy to take off and on because it doesn't have to be stowed like a hat would.

I kept my thumbs in the thumb-holes during the entire trip. I hardly notice when I am wearing them in that manner as they are so comfortably finished and do not irritate my hands at all. They do not constrict my hands in any way so I am free to perform cooking chores, set up or dismantle camp and hold back country ski-poles while sledging.

Cross Country Ski Outings

For my cross-country ski outings, I have worn the Shak Hoody mostly as an outer layer. The temperatures have been mostly unusually mild this winter with most outings being in the 20 F (-7 C) range with barely-perceptible wind (5-10 MPH) in the forest. I have worn different base-layers in combination with the hoody with my favorite being a very-light wool top underneath the hoody. This does get a bit warm when skate-skiing but seems to work the best for classic skiing at those temperatures. I often start skiing with an additional layer of a wind jacket but after ten minutes, I'm ready to remove it and the hoody then becomes the outer-layer for the duration of the multi-hour outing. The dense-knit of the Shak Wool performs adequately as a light-wind protector. The hoody garment stays in place and has just enough stretch so that it moves with me and I haven't noticed any problem with it riding up during activity. It is very aerodynamic making it ideal as an outer-layer garment.

Trail Running

I used the Shak Hoody mostly as a outer-layer during my trail running outings. I would start out running with the  hoody in place but then would pull it up or down depending on whether I was getting too hot or cold. The big factor was running into the wind or descending hills which caused me to cool off so I would pull the hoody up. This again is a real advantage to the garment as I didn't need to carry an extra hat for that activity. Although I would prefer the hoody to be slightly "taller" in height, it is sufficient enough to cover my long-hair styled with two braids in it.

Everyday Wear/Care

The IBEX Shak Hoody is a good-looking garment that can also be worn for everyday wear. The warmth of the wool is comforting even when I wear it indoors on the gray-cloudy days that have prevailed so far this winter. While wearing it as a base layer, I have found the wool to be non-itchy and the seams to be non-irritating.

It is easy to care for, I do not do anything special as I wash it with my regular clothes using a regular liquid-laundry soap. The manufacturer's label does say to use Ivory Snow as the preferred detergent, but I haven't had any problems using other products. I dry it for a few minutes in the dryer to get a few wrinkles out and then hang it dry with most of my other active-wear clothing. There has been no noticeable worn spots or changes in appearance of the wool. The bright color has retained its vibrancy.

During the field-testing period, the IBEX Shak Hoody has performed well as a base-layer, mid-layer and outer-layer garment, it has been highly breathable, versatile and has been fun to wear.  In the long term phase I will be looking at a few additional issues such as the long-term durability, wearing it for extreme-cold weather use and combining the hoody with other types of layers.

Likes:

• Aerodynamic
• Thumb-holes are useful
  
• Nice appearance
• Breathable
• Versatile (base-layer, mid-layer and outer-layer)

• Hood height could be longer
  

Thanks to IBEX and BGT for this great opportunity to test such an outstanding product.
(Photo courtesy of IBEX)