Monday, December 31, 2018

Outdoor Vitals LoftTek Adventure Jacket – Trail Review



This channel is Agenda Free and is fully supported by the viewers.
Support TOGR with Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/TOGR

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/theoutdoorgearreview/

It is time to review the Outdoor Vitals LoftTek Adventure Jacket.  As with all of our reviews, this has been Trail Tested and isn't an info commercial like some of the other videos that you may have seen for this product.

Susan joins for this review and with the Outdoor Vitals LoftTek Adventure Jacket, there are problems.

….

Link : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/outdoorvitals/lofttek-adventure-jacket
Price : $150 – Shipping around July 2019
Weight : Medium Size : 11.6oz
Sizes : Small - XXXL

Colors : When this jacket officially launches it will be available in multiple colors. Charcoal and a blue color.

Out material : 20D nylon Ripstop

Liner Fabric : 10D Nylon Ripstop

Insulation ; Lofttek Siliconized Hollow Fiber Synthetic Down



I’ve had a number of issues with this jacket and I took a look on Youtube to see if anyone else has reviewed it and I found a bunch of videos that equated to INFO commercials which didn’t amount to much.

So what you are about to see isn’t a commercial but rather a true trail review of this jacket not only done by myself but with Susan as well.  Man and woman perspective.


Review :
Pros :

Light
Good stitching
Long pit zips
Good hood. Comfortable and easily adjustable in the right sports

Feature a water repellant treatment; this is a nice to have but you still wouldn’t want to get this jacket soaking wet.  If it is, you will be warmer than traditional down but you won’t be running around amazed at how warm you are.

Cons :

Pit zips can be felt against your skin if wearing a tshirt.

Isn’t all that wind resistant -with  gusty winds around 10 – 20mph, definitely noticeable especially on the front of the jacket and the arms.  The back of the jacket and the hood seem to feature more fill than the rest of the jacket. OV claims told me directly that the wind resistance level is equal to that of a high level down jacket wind resistance which is far from the truth.

Fill material is coming through the outer material – Outdoor Vitals has stated that they are going to address this before the jacket is released as other complaints have been made.

Plastic sort of sound

Loose fit Boxy, non-flattering fit; Outdoor Vitals stated that it is meant for an Athletic Fit but I don’t see that with the jacket that I have received and not with the pictures that outdoor vitals has posted on their web site.  Their own pictures so very loose, boxy jackets, not form fitting.

Hand pockets don’t offer that much protection due to the low amount of fill. Not vey warm.

Jacket as a whole is Not very warm. Seems underfilled. Very thin.

Temp range for woman is going to be higher than a man. At 45f and hiking i was comfortable enough whereas Susie was cold.

At 45 and with it being breezy i was never completely warm...due to low fill and thinness

Thumb holes are worthless. So small that my thumb wont even fit

Summary :

With my testing I would say that this is a 50f jacket; below that you will need a long sleeve shirt or warm mid layer to be comfortable in lower conditions for most people.

Outdoor Vitals claims that LoftTek™ is the world's most advanced synthetic down imitation. The loose fill nature of the fibers mimics down’s extreme weight to warmth ratios and packability, while the it’s synthetic nature allows it to stay warm in wet conditions!  All of this may be true but with the jacket that I received is so thin that I can’t agree with these claims.

I’m hoping that the criticisms for this jacket are addressed by the time that this jacket launches; if they are, Outdoor Vitals will have a good offering on their hands but as it stands now, I’m not impressed.  I truly hope that they succeed as I like all that I have seen from this company so far and I hope that they will ask that we review the release version of this jacket when the day comes.

If you are going to pay down prices for a synthetic jacket you might as well get a good down jacket as there are many out there for around this price point.


3 comments:

  1. Seems really cheaply made. O.V. is trying way too hard to compete and they are failing. I like my Ghost Whisperer or my Cotopaxi Fuego. I was kinda looking forward to seeing this jacket. Maybe if they fix the issues someday and drop the price a hundred dollars. This is definitely not a $150 jacket. Luke and Susan..Great review and Happy New Year

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not totally apples to apples but you can get an Amazon has a $40 down jacket and $60 hooded version that will take you down to 50f easily. Any lower and you will need the same layers you have on. No wind block on the zipper sadly which is a killer unless you have a shell of some kind on.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Since watching this review I have purchased the lofttech jacket. I’ve been wearing it now for six months and it definitely stops the wind, very little fiber leakage. I think the jacket deserves a follow up review mainly because I think outdoor vitals followed some of your recommendations. I ln every respect I think they’ve met their concerns you cited. If you wish I can send you mine used one to show the improvement from a Your standpoint. George Pappas

    ReplyDelete