I often find myself gravitating to a certain piece of clothing, then wearing it until it falls apart, This lightweight fleece zip up by Mountain Hardwear is quickly becoming that piece of clothing for me.
For those of us spend a lot of time playing outdoors, or living out of a backpack, having lightweight, yet effective layering pieces are important, but it is also important that they look good enough to stand alone, because more often than not, these layering pieces get worn by themselves when the weather permits, The Monkey Man Grid Jacket offers both style for stand alone use, and function for layering under other pieces of technical and day to day clothing, lets take a look further at this piece.
The Build
Made from a combination of lofty “Monkey Phur” and stretchy fleece panels, this provides a unique piece of breathable warmth for under your main layers. I have found that the stretchy fleece hood is pretty perfect for outdoor applications where a helmet is warm, especially on those extra cold days on the slopes where your helps is just not quite warm enough.
Pockets
Monkey Man Grid has your pretty standard set of pockets with two front pockets near the waist, and a breast pocket on the left side of the jacket. What did stand out for me in the pocket department was the full-length pocket on the right side that runs from the waist all the way up to the shoulder. This is a great place to warm or dry gloves and tuck away other things that might not otherwise fit in a pocket.
Fit
As you might expect with layering pieces, the fit is very close and form following. I typically wear a medium in most jackets and layering pieces and that was no different with this jacket.
Warmth and Breathability
By itself, this is not a warm jacket, and to be fair, it wasn’t intended to be, I find myself wearing it, and only it in situations where it is just not warm enough, mostly due to the wind permeable fabric, but the breathability benefits gained by that fabric is a more than acceptable tradeoff.
Final Thoughts and Pricing
If you are looking for a helmet compatible piece to layer under your other clothing, this may very well be the ticket, but if you are looking for something just to wear around town and keep your warm, this may not be for you. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love this piece of gear, but at $190 dollars MSRP, the price of admission is a bit steep.
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