Super Speedy Summary Review
This jacket bridges your weekend and your weekday. Its warm enough for a tough winter hike (with nice big warm fleece pockets for your hands too) while being smart enough that you can zip the hood off the collar and wear it to work with a tie on Monday.
When you combine how much use you can get out of Evolution Hooded Jacket, the quality construction and tailoring and the fact that the jacket is 100% recycled from water bottles you get to fully appreciate what a unique brand Outerknown are. You’ll buy it for the trails, but wear it more to work.
In Depth Review
If I told you that a jacket made of old fishnets could be warm, stylish and practical for wearing on trails you would think I might be being a bit optimistic but that’s exactly what the Evolution Jacket manages to achieve.
I recently reviewed the Hooded Puffer from Outerknown which managed to be 2 jackets in one by being fully reversible, and this Evolution Jacket manages a similar trick by being warm out on trails while still managing to look smart and tailored enough for the office.
Fishnets and Water Bottles
The jacket is made of ECONYL yarn for its nylon shell which is made from recycled things like fishing nets. The jacket is also filled with 100% recycled polyester from things like water bottles. This really makes the jacket look smart when combined with the quilt and vertical stitching. Its difficult to describe but somehow the jacket looks like a cross between something you would wear when hunting in the British countryside but also something you would expect an actor to be wearing on the set of Alien Covenant. Its a nod to past tailoring with a look towards future sustainable clothing.
The ECONYL exterior is pretty resistant to rain showers too with a DWR coating on it that will keep a few unexpected rain showers from soaking in.
Fit
The jacket is well tailored and doesn’t look too bulky despite how insulated it is. Somehow the poppers on the cuffs elevate this jacket and give it enough style to be acceptable as a jacket to the office as much as it is a jacket for the outdoors. I would say that the sizing and fit come in true to size if you wanted to wear up to 2 layers underneath it.
Pockets
There is an internal stash pocket on this jacket but its main bragging rights are in the two front outer pockets for your hands. They are HUUUUUUGE and massively fleece lined which makes them feel like mini warm beds for your cold hands. It seems like a really weird thing to fixate on but the fleecy pockets on this jacket are a real win.
Detachable Hood
The detachable hood might seem like a weird an unnecessary thing, but actually I think it might be this feature that elevates the jacket to a ‘2 for 1’ item. With the hood on its great for trail hiking or being outdoors, but with the hood removed it looks much smarter and works with a shirt and tie as a smart ‘country to city’ jacket for the winter.
Gripes
I would say my main gripe would be the lack of color options, but this may be due to the availability of colors from the recycled yarns. The Evolution Hooded Jacket is only available in a dark Navy Blue or Red color. It also sounds like a weird gripe but the Outerknown website has a habit of bulk listing all their items in every single color option on the main part of the site instead of listing each garment and then showing you the color options when you click through to that item. As a result their site is rather crowded to navigate and the images take time to load which can be frustrating.
Verdict
This jacket bridges your weekend and your weekday. Its warm enough for a tough winter hike ( with nice big warm fleece pockets for your hands too) while being smart enough that you can zip the hood off the collar and wear it to work with a tie on Monday.
When you combine how much use you can get out of this, the quality construction and tailoring and the fact that the jacket is 100% recycled from water bottles and other plastics you get to fully appreciate what a unique brand Outerknown are. You’ll buy it for the trails, but wear it more to work.
Details
- The radical new addition to our Evolution outerwear lineup.
- Here’s some solid midweight warmth you’ll want in unpredictable weather.
- We paired a cloud-soft synthetic fill with a tough, weather-resistant shell, so you’ll be warm and cozy wherever you find yourself.
- Removable hood, fleece-lined pockets, plus an internal stash pocket.
- The best part? It’s entirely recycled.
Specifications
100% regenerated ECONYL® nylon shell. 100% recycled polyester fill.
Our signature ECONYL® yarn is made out of regenerated fishing nets and other nylon waste. We’ll opt for recycled over virgin materials any day.
Recycled polyester is created by taking raw material waste, like plastic bottles, and transforming it into a premium polyester fiber.
About Outerknown
11 time World Surf League Champion, Kelly Slater and acclaimed designer, John Moore founded Outerknown with the belief that we have a responsibility to make clothing that respects the world around us.
For over two decades, Kelly and John were on the frontlines of fashion, seeing firsthand the massive impact the industry had on the environment. There came a point where they realized the clothes they were designing and wearing were part of the problem. They wanted to be part of the solution.
What if we could design the kinds of clothes we love to wear in a more conscious way? That’s the question they’re answering every day. They founded Outerknown to change the game and create clothing that not only reflects our style but also our values.
Kelly Slater created Outerknown to smash the formula. To lift the lid on the traditional supply chain and prove you can actually produce great looking menswear in a sustainable way. Sustainability means responsible innovation. They build products by making every decision with the highest regard for the environment and the people we work with .
We’re global citizens, and we manufacture globally with makers who share our values and abide by the strict guidelines of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) & Bluesign.
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