Posts Tagged quick-dry
Athleta Whatever Skort
I ducked into an Athleta store this summer with a girlfriend who, like me, travels a lot and likes to have versatile clothing for outdoor adventures at home and abroad. She walked straight to a rack against the wall, pulled out a skirt, and proclaimed: “I love this! I even got one for my sister.”
It wasn’t just a skirt. It was the Whatever Skort. I have to admit, I was a skeptic at first, but she felt so strongly that I had to buy one and see for myself. After wearing it nearly non-stop while hiking in the Grand Canyon, I bought another one in a different color. She was right.
The moisture wicking and quick drying Featherweight Stretch polyester/spandex fabric is lightweight and slightly stretchy. The semi-fitted, A-line skirt has faux pleats and drapes nicely without being bulky. Built-in shorts are made from the same fabric, and allow you to be as adventurous as you want on your travels without worrying about showing off too much.
The Whatever Skort is available in regular, tall and petite versions, and colors range from deep purple to khaki to black. It’s comfortable enough to wear while hiking or sightseeing, but fashionable enough to wear to lunch without having to stop in between for a costume change.
With the inconvenience and cost of checked baggage, the fewer clothing items in my suitcase, the better. So anything that does double duty and looks good gets a permanent place in my packing list.
The Athleta Whatever Skort lists for $49 on the Athleta website. Some colors are currently on sale for $39.99—while supplies last.
Posted by Jill in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on December 30th, 2011
Craghoppers NosiLife Travel Shirt
Can any company put out a long-sleeve buttoned travel shirt at this point that’s any different from all the others already on the racks? Well this NosiLife one from Craghoppers is a noticeable improvement in some respects.
Like the Craghoppers travel pants I reviewed a while back, this shirt’s most-touted feature is its permanent insect repellent built into the fabric. Most clothing like this is guaranteed for 70 washes or so, which let’s face it is plenty for most people, but if you plan on wearing one around the world for a couple years, you could pass that point. With this shirt you don’t have to keep track or guess whether you’ve still got the extra protection against mosquitoes.
The “like the others, but more” attitude extends through all the other features as well. It’s got five pockets, including one with a zipper that you can see that goes from above the left chest pocket to below it, opening up a pocket big enough for a map or just giving you some extra venting through the mesh. Inside one of the flap pockets is a hidden zipper pocket that’s the right size for a passport. It has quality buttons, yes, but they’re also secured by a strong strip of nylon running the length of the shirt—not individual threads that will unravel. There’s mesh around the neck—a nice touch—and a reinforcement flap under the collar that keeps it looking better.
Otherwise it has everything you would expect in high-end adventure travel clothing: strong wicking fabric, loops for rolling up and securing the sleeves, quick-dry properties for sink washing, a hook on the back to hang it, and venting mesh around the shoulders. This shirt is as tough as any I’ve tried, but is still incredibly lightweight.
This Craghoppers travel shirt comes in six colors and as I write this it’s available for half the list price ($32 instead of $64) at the Craghoppers website, which is a screaming bargain. It holds its own against any of the competitors out there and has all the features you’ll need.
As with the pants I reviewed before, you’ll have a tough time finding this shirt elsewhere online in the U.S., so buy direct unless you’re in Europe and can get it from Amazon UK.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on December 28th, 2011
Snow Angel Cybersilk Crew Neck and Graphic Legging
For women, the days of being limited to wearing bulky men’s performance thermals or cute but wimpy women’s base-layer garments are long over. Pull on Snow Angel’s Cybersilk Crew Neck and Graphic Legging before you suit up for the cold weather, and you’ll be warm and stylish.
Whether you’re a neighborhood runner, a ski fan, or a backcountry adventurer, having a comfortable fit with fabric that breathes and stretches makes going out in the cool weather a snap. And being outfitted property for your travels is a major key to enjoying them.
This silk-weight microfiber jersey moves easily under layers and the antimicrobial finish helps keep everyone from knowing just how seriously you get into your outdoor activities. Besides staying warm, the fabric wicks moisture away, so you’re comfortable for as long as your adventures last.
In the crew neck, extra long arms reach to mid-hand and include thumb holes to keep wrists warm, yet the fit is loose enough to allow easy movement. An hourglass fit with princess seams fits much better than unisex styles. And the graphic print down the arms makes me want to wear it on the outside of my clothing, rather than underneath.
The low-rise leggings sit just below the waistline for a comfortable fit. The fabric is perfectly lightweight, but not sheer—and the graphic print on the back of the waistband is nice for continuity without being “matchy-matchy.”
The Snow Angel Cybersilk Crew Neck Top and Graphic Legging list for $59 and $50, respectively, on the Snow Angel website.
Check prices on the legging and crew neck top at Amazon.
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Posted by Jill in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on December 9th, 2011
Bug Shield Pants from Columbia Sportswear
Yeah, I know: as I write this review there are poor souls clearing limbs from a recent snowstorm, but since this is a travel gear blog and there are lots of mosquitoes still buzzing around the tropics as you read this, I’m reviewing some more travel pants with built-in insect repellent. (And for what it’s worth, the temperature outside my window in Tampa is 81 degrees Fahrenheit at this very moment.)
Columbia Sportswear products have a lot going for them: they use a lot of technological innovation, they’re trying hard (especially the past few years) to make clothes that look flattering, and they’re usually in the middle of the pack in terms of pricing. They’re also very easy to find, whether that’s in your local sporting goods store or at the usual online outlets. With a fashion-focused timeline, you can also often find their clothing on sale when it’s time to move out the old and bring in the new.
These Bug Shield Travel Pants are at the top of the usual range, with a list price of $75, but check the links at the bottom and you’ll probably find some season-end sales going on. These pants are double-duty too: they do all the usual things and keep the bugs away on top of that. They’re treated with odorless Permethrin, which lasts for 70 washings. You’ll get a lot of use out of them before you hit that level. Besides the mozzies, this Insect Blocker treatment is designed to keep away ticks, ants, flies, chiggers, and no-see-ums.
I wish I’d had these on at the right time when I was in the jungles of Chiapas, Mexico a couple weeks ago. The one day I wore pants that didn’t have any treatment was the day some ants and possibly a few chigger friends decided to munch on my legs and ankles. The rest of the trip I was fine.
I brought three pairs of travel pants on that adventure and all three got soaked at some point, so I was able to see how quickly they dried. This pair did the best job of drying out in that humid climate and of course they are quite lightweight and easy to jam into a bag without taking up much room. My only complaint about the wispy-slick fabric is that it makes these next to impossible to roll up when they get wet. They were not well-suited to crossing streams when the time came. That’s the trade-off sometimes: you give up the cinch strings or buttons that would clasp the bottom—also keeping out more insects—to look more like normal pants when you’re not adventuring.
The weight is kept down by using mesh for the pockets and there are seven of those in all. Two have zippers and three have Velcro. There’s an included nylon matching belt, an idea I like a lot, and unlike on some other pants I’ve tried it can be removed if you want to put on a nicer one for dinner or use it on other pants. There’s elastic in the waistband too, so there’s some give. They come in three inseam lengths.
Otherwise, these are just want you’d expect and want for travels in warm places: wicking, sun-protective, and fast to dry after a washing.
You can get these for women, in a convertible version with zip-off legs, and in a kids’ version.
Check prices on the Columbia Bug Shield Pants at Backcountry.com and Amazon.
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Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on November 3rd, 2011
Craghoppers Travel Cargo Pants Have it All
I’ve got all kinds of travel pants in my drawer, from ones that are wispy light and dry in a couple hours to rugged cotton ones with lots of pockets. Some even have built-in insect repellent.
Apparently the Craghoppers brand wanted to be more of a Swiss Army knife than a specialist with these NosiLife Cargo Trousers because they’ve got it all. We’re talking NosiLife insect repellent that claims to be permanent, nine pockets of varying types, sun protection, quick-dry properties, and a lifetime warranty. All these attributes and then some performed as advertised except for one—more on that in a minute.
This pair of travel pants has vaulted to the top of my stack from adventure travel trips. They’re a little thicker than some of the wispy ExOfficio ones I like, so they take a tad longer to dry, but they also feel more suited to getting wet and dirty. I did plenty of that while trying them out on an off-the-grid adventure tour in Chiapas, Mexico last week. They got soaked, muddy, and whacked with thorn bushes but looked new again after a wash. They’re comfortable and look about as good as cargo pants can look.
I’ll give up the sleek lines to have more pockets and these Craghopper pants have plenty of those: cargo pockets, zippered security pockets, and back mesh pockets that button. You’re a hard person to pick-pocket while wearing these around, but everything you need is along for the ride. I also like that they have a bit of elastic in the waist. My pants don’t fall down when I remove my belt to go through security at the airport or if I want to lounge around without one. The buttons are attached to a wide piece of nylon—not just thread—so I don’t have to worry about unraveling.
One item I thought was a nice innovation though turned out to be a bust: the included dry-bag for your mobile phone or passport. Great idea in theory, but the Chinese factory cranking these out must have taken some quality control lessons from the country’s drywall makers, toy producers, and milk bottlers. The bag works, once, but as soon as you get it wet the glue under the Velcro starts running and it turns into a sticky mess. I had to toss it in the hotel trash can. (Thankfully, the glue being mistakenly water-soluble, it washed right off my hands with soap.)
One detail that I can’t quite figure out is that two belt loops have snaps on them, but are next to loops that don’t. There’s nothing in the product description explaining the purpose of this and I don’t have a clue as to how or why you’d every unsnap two loops out of ten. They kept unsnapping while moving through brush or just moving my butt in a van.
Besides a couple niggling details though, these pants deliver where it matters. They’re well-made and durable and I will probably still be hiking into jungles with them a decade from now. I can’t attest to the insect repellent properties lasting forever—most competitors claim 75 washes or so—but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. The Craghoppers name is a rather new one in the U.S., but the company was founded in England back in the 1960s and has outfitted mountain climbing expeditions. Now they’re sponsoring Bear Grylls, so they’re clothing a TV star trying to put himself in harm’s way each show.
The Craghoppers NosiLife Cargo Trousers come in multiple waist sizes, lengths, and muted colors. There’s also a version with zip-off legs, plus it’s one of many styles available for women. If anything fails you with these during normal wear, they’ll replace them for free. (If they rip when a jaguar bites your leg, that doesn’t count.) See the whole line they offer at Craghoppers.com’s U.S. site.
Unfortunately, for now that’s about the only place you can buy them in the U.S. unless your local outdoor retailer carries them. Amazon UK has them for the other side of the Atlantic. They retail for $65 though, so you won’t get reamed too badly by buying direct.
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Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on October 26th, 2011
