Personal Data:

Name: Gail Staisil
Age: 53
Gender: Female
Height: 5'9" (1.75 m)
Weight: 132 lbs (60 kg)

Chest: 36 in (91 cm)

Waist: 27 in (69 cm)

Hips: 37 in (94 cm)
Location: Marquette, Michigan USA
Email: woodswoman2001@yahoo.com

Photo Album Website: http://community.webshots.com/user/isleroyalegirl

 

Backpacking Background:

For the last 16 years, backpacking has become a passion. I am a four-season backpacker and an off-trail navigator. Although I do take yearly trips to the American West or Southwest, the majority of my trips are in Michigan and Canada. My pack weight varies considerably, but my base weight is below 20 lbs (9.1 kg). I am primarily a tarp camper, who averages over 50 nights a year backpacking in a huge variety of weather conditions, including relentless rain, wet snow and sub zero temps.

Product Information:

Manufacturer:  IBEX Outdoor Clothing, LLC

Website: http://www.ibexwear.com 

Phone: 1.800.773.9647

Model: Women's Hooded Shak # 621

Model Year: 2005

Manufacturer's Weight: 15.2 oz (431 g)

Actual Weight: 14.1 oz (400 g)

Color: Red Pepper

Material: Shak Wool - 100% New Zealand Merino Dense Knit

Size:  Medium

MSRP: $140 US

 

Design/Features (Tester's Comments):

 

The Ibex Shak Hoody is a semi-fitted garment with many functional features. It is made out of Shak Wool which is 100 percent New Zealand Merino Dense Knit Wool. Ibex makes a wide variety of garments out of twelve different versions of wool. According to their website, Shak Wool is a dense square-weave design that offers the qualities of being rugged but soft, with an inherent stretch and long lasting durability. The wool fabric offers superior temperature control for aerobic activities. 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.

 

 

---

 

The Ibex Shak Hoody arrived just in time for the cool weather that has now penetrated the area. Day time temperatures are now in the 40 F( 4 C) degree range and will be plummeting daily. I had anxiously awaited the arrival of the package containing the hoody and I was not disappointed. The size Medium fits rather nicely, it is close fitting but does not bind anywhere. The sleeves with thumb-holes appear to be just the right length for my longish arms. When I bend my arms, there is enough room so that the thumb-holes don't cut in to the space between my thumb and first finger on each hand.

 

The hoody's color of Red Pepper, looks much like it sounds, kind of a Chili-color or high-energy color. The thumb-holes and the hoody are trimmed with dark gray knit binding which has been neatly stitched in place. The contour seams on the front and the back are flat-locked and lie neatly in place. The half-zipper is color-matched to the hoody and has a neat feature in that the top of the zipper has a under-lying flap or tab which protects the skin from being irritated by the zipper - a very cool idea.

 

The "hood" of the hoody itself, is very stream-lined as far as fit is concerned. However, I do like the way the hood is contoured around my neck to fit neatly under my chin. It looks much like a speed-skater's type fit because it is aerodynamic and doesn't allow much air to penetrate. This will be a neat feature to test when it is windy and cold.

 

Two hangtags were included with the product that explained the Warranty, plus the features of the Ibex Shak Fabric. They were:

 

1. Unmatched Temperature Regulation
2. Natural Movement
3. Naturally Anti-Microbial (No Stink)
4. Non-Flammable
5. Machine Washable 

 

As soon as I got the hoody, I immediately put it on and kept it on the rest of the day. It is designed as a mid-layer, but my initial experience was using it as a base-layer. I wanted to see if the fabric would itch my skin if I wore it for several hours. It was fine - no itching. 

 

The next day I wore the hoody to do a trail run. I headed out to the hilly mountain-bike trails near my home. It was cloudy and cool, about 40 F (4 C) but the temperatures were predicted to drop rapidly in combination with the strong winds that were already in force. Possible rain and snow were forecast. I wore the hoody as an outer-layer with a silk capilene shirt underneath. I started the run without the hood, but quickly decided that I needed more protection on my head due to the strong wind chill factor. It immediately made a difference. I chose to wear gloves over the thumb-holes for the same reason. I removed the gloves at one point to see if I could take my thumbs out of the thumb-holes and bring the sleeves down over my entire hands for them to stay warm without gloves. Although there was enough sleeve length to do that, my hands still were a bit cold due to the strong winds, so I put my gloves back on my hands. I was quite comfortable for the duration of the run. When I finished my workout, I noticed that the hoody was a bit damp on the outside of the fabric, while the inside felt dry. Overall, I was pleased with the first real test in the out-of-doors with the Ibex Shak Hoody. I am looking forward to testing the hoody in a wide variety of scenarios. 

I will address the following concerns and more:

Fit/Comfort: 

• The Ibex Shak Hoody is advertised as being a semi-fitted garment - will it align closely to my body for a great fit?
• Will the hoody fit too tight?
• Will I be able to get all of my hair under the hoody? I often wear my hair in braids or a pony-tail while backpacking, will there be enough room to cover most of my hair and still be comfortable?
• Will the hoody be "tall" enough?  Sometimes hoody garments don't have enough vertical height in the hoody and I feel like I am being compressed.
• Will the sleeves of the hoody be long enough to cover the entire arm?
• Will the thumb-holes be easy to get in and out of?
• Will the hoody be long enough so that when I bend over it doesn't ride up my backside?
• Will the fit be such that it is hard to get the hoody over my head when putting the garment on my body?
• Will the raglan sleeves be comfortable and not have too much excess fabric in the shoulder and chest area?
• Will the bindings on the hoody and the sleeve edges be too tight?
• Will the interior Chin-Guard be soft and not irritating to my chin?
• Will the hoody still be insulative when it is wet?
• If I use the hoody as a base-layer, will it feel clammy even when I am heavily sweating?

Workmanship:

• Will the flat-lock seams be smoothly finished and not irritating to my skin if worn as a base layer?
• Will the flat-lock seams on the raglan sleeves and the contour seams on the chest area be finished properly so that they won't be irritating under my backpack's harness system?
• Will the bindings on the hoody and sleeve edges be properly sewn so that the stitches don't pop when those areas are stretched?
• Will the zipper lie flat and have no irritating edges against the skin when the garment is worn as a base layer?
• Will the raglan sleeves be constructed so that they lie flatly against my shoulder area?
• Is the bottom edge of the garment finished off neatly?

 Fabric:

• Will the New Zealand Merino Dense Wool be comfortable against the skin?
• Will the wool itch if the garment is worn as a base layer?
• Will the wool fabric retain odors when worn consistently for several days? On long winter backpacking trips, it is not unusual for me to never remove my first two layers of garments during the entire trip.
• Will the wool fabric stretch with me when I move around?
• Will the fabric insulate me from being chilled?
• Wool is known to be fire-retardant, I don't wish to purposely test this out but if I were in a bad situation, would the garment not easily start on fire?
• Will I be allergic to the wool fabric? 

Durability:

• What is the overall durability of the Ibex Shak Hoody?
• Will the hoody perform repeatedly under duress- that is, will it hold up to constant use or will it break down and lose its great qualities?
• Will it remain breathable, will the zipper perform perfectly long-term?
• Will the flat-lock seams hold up to wearing a backpack?
• Will the hoody and sleeve/thumb-hole bindings stay stretchy?
• Will those bindings fray easily?
• Will the hoody remain insulative?

 Breathe-ability:

• How well does the wool hoody breathe?
• Will aerobic activity cause the wool fabric to retain more than a normal amount of moisture -will it wick moisture away from my skin?
• Wool is supposed to absorb up to 30 percent of its weight in moisture - does this become a factor in above average humidity in my immediate environment?
• Does the zipper length provide enough ventilation possibilities?
• Will I be comfortable due to breathe-ability in a wide range of temperatures and conditions?

Versatility:

• The Ibex Shak Hoody is advertised as a mid-layer engineered for layering. Will I be able to comfortably use it as a base-layer by itself?
• If I use the hoody as a mid-layer, what would be the optimal base-layer underneath it - would it be another layer of wool or a layer of silk or synthetic?
• At what conditions would the use of a shell over the mid-layer be too hot?
• Can I use the hoody only as an outer-layer?
• Will the style of the hoody be multi-purpose so that it can be worn for both aerobic activity and for wearing it more casually?
• Will the hoody be versatile enough to provide coverage and insulation for my head to the point of not needing a hat?
• Will the Ibex Shak Hoody protect my neck area from weather elements such that carrying my neck gaiter will not be necessary?
• Will using the thumb-holes allow the sleeves to cover my hands and provide enough warmth so that I don't have to wear gloves while doing chores around camp?

Care:

• Will the hoody be easy to care for?
• The care instructions say that it can be easily machine washed but it is not very specific on the website - do I need a special product to wash it in such as Woolite, or would an ordinary detergent work?
• How fast will it dry when it is washed?
• Can I put it in the dryer and if so, for how long?
• Does it have to be line-dried?
• Do I have to store the hoody in an air-tight container if there are no moth problems in my house?

I will gladly address all these issues and any additional pertinent issues, as I continue to test the Ibex Shak Hoody

 

Thanks to Ibex and BGT for this great opportunity.

 

Gail Staisil