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Stoic Breathe Composite
- Stoic Breathe Composite
What It Is
The Stoic Breathe Composite is a form fitting 4-way stretch fabric mid weight layer made from a blend of Polyester, Nylon, and Lycra. It is available in both a crew neck and a quarter zip designed for extreme wicking in ...
Retail Price: $59.00
89
- 95-100 Extremely high recommendation.
- 90-94 Enthusiastically recommended. Exceptional.
- 80-89 Highly recommended - few reservations.
- 70-79 Recommended. Standard performance.
- 60-69 Fair. Recommended for certain uses.
- 50-59 Poor. Not recommended in general.
The Good |
The Bad |
The Verdict |
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This is a good garment to keep in the quiver for those cold days where you wear multiple layers above it, yet still stay active enough that sweat wicking is important. A champ when it comes to comfort and conformity to the skin without the bulk, on its own the Breathe Composite is well suited for rock climbing and other moderate intensity fall or springtime activities that benefit from a shirt with a tight fit. |
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When I originally grabbed the Stoic Breathe Composite, my first impression was that it was similar to neoprene, or a thin wetsuit, and I thought, “How the heck can this thing breathe?” To my surprise, during several weeks of snowboarding at Snowbird Mountain Resort in Utah, the Stoic Breathe Composite performed exceptionally well in the ability to keep me dry under several mid layers and a Gore-tex Marmot outer layer. There was no bunching of fabric due to its skin tight fit, and some of its success lies in the shirt’s stretchiness resulting in no trapped sweat zones between the skin and the layer itself. I also used the Breathe Composite for some spring bike rides in warmer temperatures and it did a great job in wicking sweat as well as shielding me from the outside elements.
How We Tested It
The Stoic Breathe Composite was worn extensively over a few months in mid-winter conditions snowboarding, winter hiking, as well as some spring bike rides in Utah. I also performed a water test with dropping 1 teaspoon of water on the inside fabric held firm against a plate and noted the dry times as compared to others in the same category. Dry times were exceptionally good, and I noted an even spread of moisture over a large surface of the garment. The ability to spread moisture out over a large area seemed to contribute to its success in dry times. This piece also went several weeks without washing and gets high marks for its odor resistance.
The products featured in this test have been loaned to the Gear Institute. For more on our policies regarding editorial objectivity and sample returns, see here.
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Ratings
Value
9
10
Gear Institute Rating (Total Score)
89
100
User Comments (2)
delucasaurus
Tal-ee Roberts