Westcomb Ozone Hoody Hands-On

Westcomb is a newly formed, premium Canadian outdoor apparel brand that makes some really great stuff with a crazy amount of technicality and know-how. And you can definitely count on a Canadain company when it comes to outerwear that's designed for cold weather conditions. Westomb doesn't skimp on quality, and you'll notice that in both the price and in the final product. A well made jacket by Westcomb can run you anywhere from $150 to $550. What you can count on is that Westcomb's winter offerings are unlike any other.

Westcomb is one of the few advanced apparel brands that doesn't outsource production. Instead, it makes all of its outerwear at its home base, Canada. Before we dive into one of many amazingly designed and crafted Westcomb jackets, we've got our cold hands on the Ozone Hoody. It's one of Westcomb's new Robin-hooded sweatshirt for men that'll run you $180. Although Westcomb does not make this particular hoody for women, it does offer other styles. We've noticed a trend in highly skilled brands using Polartech as an exclusive material to comprise their winter outerwear, and Westcomb is no exception. At first sight, the Ozone Hoody will grab your attention with its awesome blend of tiger-strip styling and vibrant sporty blue color. Unless of course, you dislike blue. In which case, the Ozone Hoody also comes in 5 completely different colors; one of them will even camouflage you with a brownish bear color.

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Triple Aught Design Ranger Hoodie Hands-On

Do you feel that? It's getting cold, real freezing cold. Winter is upon us and quite frankly we don't feel like freezing our asses off out in the cold. Our Californian weather is insanely unpredictable and we don't think we're alone on that front. So a good backup plan is to always have the right type of gear to pick from that closet of yours. It's that time of year where you look for something fresh to replace your old clothes that have seen quite a few harsh winters and admirable use. 

Triple Aught Design or TAD for short, is one of those brand names which are hard to come by and that offers really amazing apparel that easily matches if not surpasses some of the big-time and well known brand names in the outdoor outfitting arena. The company is famous amongst military personal as well as the tactical oriented crowed, and for good reason. Triple Aught Design is stationed in San Francisco where it makes all of its outdoor, tactical and adventure oriented clothing and gear designed for people who appreciate quality, well thought-out stuff.

Triple Aught Design's $219 Ranger Hoodie is one of the outfitter's best selling jacket that's available for men in four colors, while the slightly more expensive $235 Valkyrie Hoodie is the women's equivalent. The Ranger Hoodie is not a typical hoodlum hoodie you'd find at your local retailer. Far from it in fact. It features a modern-cut designed with tactical aspects and a seam-less design using a Polartec WindPro material that's coated with DWR for superior rain-resistance, a zippered design, six strategically placed YKK zippered chest and arm storage pockets with D-rings inside for secure tethering of your small essential gear and two side arm patch Velcro areas for customization.

And then you've got little details like armpit ventilation, thumbhole cuts made to the cuff keeps your hands warmer when not using gloves as well as a glow in the dark removable logo emblem. Removable! That's what we call a true tactical jacket. If a head warming hoodie is not your forte, Triple Aught Design's Ranger Jacket should peak your interest even more.

The Ranger Hoodie is the type of jacket that you can wear indoors and outdoors without needing the help of a massive nylon rain garment to keep you dry and warm. Triple Aught Design uses a soft material called Polartec WindPro fabric which makes the exterior and interior of the Ranger Hoodie jacket, and is essentially a type of fleece that's very thick and hefty compared to the thin and unsatisfying fleece used in other jackets. That also means that the Ranger Hoodie is quite a heavy jacket, but one that's evenly distributed and feels well balanced when put on. After all, the thicker and heavier the jacket is, the warmer you're going to be.

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