As promised, my two part review on the TITAN Windstopper Fleece jacket by Cabelas.
I received this a few weeks ago. I took it out of the wrapping, and instantly fell in love with it's black sexyness. It is constructed of a very nice fleece, comparable to a 300 Polartec weight. And, as promised, it toted the WindStopper lining (GoreTex), sewn inbetween two layers of the fleece. Everything is double stitched. There is heavy weight nylon reinforcement on the insides of the arms, the elbows, stand-up collar and the shoulders. The one way zipper is storm flapped on the inside. The waist is shock corded on both ends, for that cinch-tight fit. Two outer pockets with zippers and storm flaps and two deep inner pockets (about 5"x3.5") compliment nicely. I wore it for about two minutes inside just to get a feel for it, and I started sweating. The absence of pit-zips was a small dissapointment, but they are not needed outside, as the underarms are slightly less dense. This jacket affords myself a full upper-body range of movement. The cuffs are elastic to seal your gloves up under the cuff to provide absolute warmth.
So, how does it work?
December 20-21.
Never got above -5 (that's Farenheit, kiddies), and the wind chill kept it to a balmy -20/30 all day. So cold, when you step outside, your eyes burn and it hurts to breathe. Well, atleast I was warm. The taped WindStopper lining works like a dream. I was wearing a lightweight long sleeved shirt under it, and I was warm as I was moving. My legs, covered by Kahki's and my face, covered by nothing, became cold. The wind off Lake Ontario is brutal, and living in a valley twenty miles off it is no better. This jacket met my upmost expectations for durability in the extremes.
December 24th
If you've ever seen a sky that screams "Death is onnnnnn the way!" (John Kerry style), this is it. It was 20 most of the day, untill that loomy blue sky appeared. I was outside at the time, and within minutes the sky became overcast and it was dark as night at 3:30 in the afternoon. It warmed very quickly, and the onset of monsoon downpours was quick. A mix of sleet and hail at 30 degrees, flying horizontally through the wind, that barred visibility to 25 feet came raining down (or should I say, across) for about three minutes. I dashed outside, with this coat on, to shut the car windows. As I was done, as if someone flipped a switch, it stopped. My head and legs were soaked and freezing. My hands were too. My jacket? The rain, sleet and hail bounced off of it. On top of cutting the wind and providing insulation, it seemed to hold up to the wet pretty well. Quite water resistant, I suppose. Although I do not plan in being out in the rain with just this jacket in the cold, it did keep me warm for the minutes I was outside. I don't plan on that happening again, but it's nice to know that it is highly water resistant.
Christmas morning. Shovel the half a foot of snow in the driveway and pick up the downed limbs and trash in my yard from the wind and rain the day before. Weary to wear cotton, I wore my UnderArmor cold **** under this fleece. The wind was still a good 10 miles an hour constant, no real gusts, and it felt like it was about 5 deg. out. I was out for about an hour, and this dynamic duo kept me warm. No dramatic weathering events that day.
The day after, I was out cutting carpet and loading it into trucks. The wind had picked back up, and it was about 10 under with the chill factor. I was out for about an hour, and again, this jacket did it's job. Not one occurrence of wind passing through it. The weight of it kept me warm, wearing a long sleeved light shirt. Wearing the cotton shirt really killed me, as I started to sweat and then I got cold. On that same note, this jacket does allow you to breathe very well.
Finishing Notes-
No wind is good.
Warmth provided is good for very cold weather.
70$.
Money well spent.
Interesting. Do they sell this thing at retailers or just online? Not that I need it now, but if I ever move back to NY, I'd like to know where to get one!
I've got this (all black). Its awesome. Went hiking in North Carolina a few weeks back, temps between 10ºF and 30ºF, with that and only a tee shirt under it. Stayed cozy the whole time.
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Windstopper Fleece
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