User Review: Cloudveil Wister Jacket

Cloudveil Wister Jacket
Above: The current Wister Jacket, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed February 29, 2008 by Eric544

Rating:
Fabric: Polartec Windbloc with hard surface
Fill: none
Price Paid: $125

I ordered the Cloudveil Gridlock and the Wister jackets to see how they compared. I wanted something to layer inside of my Cloudveil Spacewalk Jacket when traveling to cold countries in winter. The latter is my favorite jacket of all time, but that's another story.

I found the Gridlock fairly ordinary. Basically a 200 level fleece with a nobby exterior and pull cords at the bottom. Not terrifically handsome, though not terrible.

The Wister is a different story. It is clearly made for active wear. It is much more stretchy and flexible, goes on easier and goes under other things easier. Its venting stretch fabric at the pits works pretty well. Really comfortable. Something you can slip into and wear anytime.

Not that great looking. Not bad but not terrific, but that's not what it is made for. It's really made for cross-country skiing or something like that. I used it hiking and found it vented and dried well. Seems to be treated so it doesn't smell that much either.. though maybe that's more review than readers want.

Bottom line: buy the Wister. Much nicer.
Note that neither is terrifically warm. Just a good modest layer.

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