Reviews by User: maplegirlie500 (17)

I bought the men's version of these for a male friend of mine and I liked them so much that I bought 3 of the women's cut for myself. They've got a flattering cut for a woman, the fabric is smooth and touchable, and they are a great mid-weight t-shirt with decent wicking ability. The Lemon Meringue (yellow) is a little bit more see-through than I would prefer, but the Gin (green) and Geranium (pink) are completely opaque.

I love Smartwool socks, and was disappointed to learn that my favorite model of Smartwool sock -- the Casual Sport Crew -- was no longer in production. After scouring the web in search of any remaining pairs of the Casual Sport Crew and finding none, I took a chance and ordered these Smartwool Adrenaline Medium Crew socks. I am very pleased with them and think they are comparable or possibly better than the Casual Sport Crew. I even conducted a couple of informal tests -- one indoor, one outdoor and one wash-and-dry -- to compare my old favorites with the Adrenalines. As soon as the socks arrived, I whipped off a shoe and put a new Adrenaline sock on my right foot and compared it to the Casual Sport Crew that I was already wearing on my left. At first, the Adrenaline seemed more comfy. But as time went on and I stopped thinking about my feet, I could notice no difference between them. They are about the same thickness and warmth; although the Adrenaline seems to have more cushion all around the sock, where the Casual Sport Crew has most of the cushion on the bottom of the sock and in the toe, but not on the top of the foot or around the calf like the Adrenaline does. (The Adrenaline is sportier looking. The Casual Sport Crew almost looks like a thick business-man's sock.) The second test was the wash-and-dry test. I have tried other brands of wool socks that shrank in the dryer to the point where I couldn't wear them again. In the 1-2 years that I've owned the Casual Sport Crews, they never shrank or lost their shape, so of course I wanted to see if the Adrenalines would survive the same treatment. They did. The Adrenaline came out of the dryer looking as if it had shrunk, but as soon as I slid my foot in, it was fine, and very comfy-cozy. The outdoor test: I wore wear one of each type of sock, each on a different foot, while hiking in the snow for about 1.5 hours. Again, I could find no difference in the way they felt. They both kept my feet warm. At one point my toes got cold (I'm one of those people whose fingers and toes are cold almost all of the time) but as soon as I wiggled my toes around in my hiking boots, they warmed up again. I don't know if I was imagining it or not, but the Adrenalines seemed to warm up a tiny bit faster. If you're a fan of the SmartWool Sport Crew sock, the Adrenaline Medium Crew is an excellent replacement. (When I was searching for the Sport Crew, I sent an e-mail to Smartwool and a rep there told me that the Heathered Rib is actually the replacement for the Sport Crew, but I found these Adrenalines first and am perfectly content with them.)

This jacket made me fall in love with it, almost against my will. I was hoping the cut would be a little more form-fitting and dressy, and it's puffier than I wanted. But dang it, every time I put this jacket on, it literally makes me happy. It keeps me so toasty warm, I feel like my torso is still sitting in my living room, while the rest of me is out in the cold and snow! I have to disagree with some of the other reviewers who said it's a little short in length and the sleeves. I am 5'5" and bought a women's size medium and it fits just fine in both the torso and sleeve length. (But I'm older and don't wear the pants with my booty hanging out the back so maybe that's got something to do with it.) Two features I love are the drawstring at the bottom of the jacket to seal out drafts and the adjustable wrist straps that are so well-designed you can adjust them with your gloves ON.

If you're looking for durability or just a non-cotton t-shirt for layering or moderate spring & summer days, this is *not* the shirt to buy. I bought this as a gift for a friend and wasn't sure why this shirt was so expensive but figured the higher price tag (would impress him and) must mean higher quality. I threw it in the wash with another shirt that had some velcro on it, and the velcro snagged the fabric in several places and put a thin, 1-inch long tear in it. After just one washing, it looks junky and old. However, keeping as cool as possible in very hot weather seems to be the primary reason people buy this shirt. It hasn't been hot enough where I live to put it to the swelter test, but as the person who paid $50 for a gift, it's hard to see it fall apart after normal use.

This jacket made me fall in love with it, almost against my will. I was hoping the cut would be a little more form-fitting and dressy, and it's puffier than I wanted. But dang it, every time I put this jacket on, it literally makes me happy. It keeps me so toasty warm, I feel like my torso is still sitting in my living room, while the rest of me is out in the cold and snow! I have to disagree with some of the other reviewers who said it's a little short in length and the sleeves. I am 5'5" and bought a women's size medium and it fits just fine in both the torso and sleeve length. (But I'm older and don't wear the pants with my booty hanging out the back so maybe that's got something to do with it.) Two features I love are the drawstring at the bottom of the jacket to seal out drafts and the adjustable wrist straps that are so well-designed you can adjust them with your gloves ON.

Smartwool and another company called Icebreaker have gotten me hooked on merino wool clothing. I'm so enamored with SmartWool's socks and shirts that I own several of the same shirts in different colors (and I have about 10 pairs of their socks). These shirts are soft and cozy, not itchy, have a flattering cut and keep me warm, but if I do start to overheat, they don't produce that clammy feeling some of the synthetic fabrics do. On cool fall days, I'll wear just one shirt, and on colder days I'll layer a lightweight shirt (size medium) under the midweight shirt (size large). One thing to keep in mind when ordering is that they run small (and at the time of this writing, Backcountry has the sizing chart for the Men's shirts linked to this page, not the Women's so the sizing chart is inaccurate). I have about a 36' - 37' chest and the medium is almost too small, but I guess these are base layers so they are meant to be form fitting. I bought a couple of the lightweight shirts in a size medium and a couple of the midweight shirts in size large so I could layer them w/o everything being too tight.

I bought this after reading several reviews about how wonderful it is, and frankly, didn't think it was worth the asking price. It collects dog hair like mad, and even after washing & drying it, some fur still lingers making it look cheap and junky. It has little to no wind-resistance, and the pockets don't keep your hands warm *at all* because they are lined with holey mesh, not even a decent lining or fleece. Plus the pockets and the flared bottom of the jacket seem to let cold air in.

I know these are *water* shoes, but I bought them to hike in, thinking they would cool off my feet. ... Every time I wear them hiking I think, "Why did I wear these? They have no traction!" ... Recently I was belaying a climber and the only place to stand was on an incline comprised of dry, hard-packed dirt covered with a sprinkling of pebbles and loose dirt. I was very unhappy and nervous about wearing these particular shoes at that time, and I did slip just trying to walk to the base of the rock wall to get into position. ... The times I have worn these hiking on slightly steep to moderately steep terrain, they have mostly aggravated me, especially on the trek down. These are *not* good in the dry, Utah mts. where there's a thin layer of loose dirt & pebbles on top of hard packed dirt, as previously described. ... My bad choice.

I've owned 3 pairs of these pants since March of '08 and they've stood up well to frequent wearing and washing. I just wear them around town, to the office and on the occasional hike. ... I liked the fit and fabric so much that I bought all of the colors available at the time (sand, green, brown and black, but I returned the black b/c they had white stitching which I didn't care for.) ... The drawstrings at the ankles bothered me because at times I would trip over them or they'd drag around in the dirt and puddles and look sloppy. Plus if you don't tie them before you wash them, they will come out of the pants. Luckily, for me, I didn't like the strings so I pulled them out. ... Aside from the drawstrings, I like everything about the pants so I'm rating these pants a 5 out of 5 stars.

I found these on sale at SteepandCheap.com for a great price, so I bought 3, thinking I would keep 1 for myself and give 2 to my sisters. The shirts arrived on the heels of a very long, cold winter, and they were made of such a lightweight fabric that I couldn't appreciate them. I sent 2 back immediately. I thought I would be forever disappointed with that purchase because the featherweight isn't very warm, but the more I wore it, the more I wanted to wear it, and it seemed to always be in the hamper. Great as a layer for early spring and fall. ... At this piont the only thing I dislike about it is the bright blue Swobo tag, smack dab in the middle on the front of the collar. Cheesy advertising that can be tough to cover up. Shame on Swobo for that.

Typically I like to load my pack with every possible item that my 'What if I get stranded' imagination can think of. This is not the pack such paranoia. ... There's very little room for much more than water, keys, ID, $, chapstick, a couple of power bars and maybe one or two other flat, durable items (no sandwiches unless you want them smashed). .... There aren't even any straps to lash an extra shirt/shell to. ... The good news is, your water won't freeze in the tube and you can wear the pack under your jacket because it is so low profile. ... Also, the bladder is removable, but it takes a minute to figure out how to get it out. It's not as straightforward as some of the other CamelBaks that simply have a pouch or a sleeve that the bladder slides into. ... I think I own the '07 model, and it came with a locking bite valve which I love and apparently need. Why just today, I rested a backpack on top of another one of my Camelbaks with a non-locking bite valve and drained about 80 oz of water onto my LR floor.

I found these on sale at SteepandCheap.com for a great price, so I bought 3, thinking I would keep 1 for myself and give 2 to my sisters. The shirts arrived on the heels of a very long, cold winter, and they were made of such a lightweight fabric that I couldn't appreciate them. I sent 2 back immediately. I thought I would be forever disappointed with that purchase because the featherweight isn't very warm, but the more I wore it, the more I wanted to wear it, and it seemed to always be in the hamper. Great as a layer for early spring and fall. ... At this piont the only thing I dislike about it is the bright blue Swobo tag, smack dab in the center on the front of the collar. Cheesy advertising that can be tough to cover up. Shame on Swobo for that.

The melonade color and the groovy swirly floral pattern makes this tank top sporty and feminine at the same time. ... It's not too low cut, which I like, because I never get self-conscious when I wear it. I know I'm covered if I happen to lean over. I'm not a huge fan of the tan line it leaves across the middle of my chest, though. ... I bought a size M, which is rather snug/form-fitting so if you're looking for a loose fit, definitely buy big. ... And as other reviewers have mentioned, there's no bra support built into it, which is a good thing IMO b/c you can wear your favorite/flattering bra with it. The tank shoulder straps might not *completely* cover standard bra straps. You kinda have to buy it and try it.

I bought a size M. The shoulder straps are a little long which means there's less support than I would like for bouncy sports such as running, but it's fine for gym, yoga or cycling workouts. ... I like the overall sporty look ... but I dislike the vertical seams that run up the front of the bra on each side. They don't interfere w/ performance but if you wear any kind of thin or tech-fabric shirt, you can see the seams through the fabric. ... I also am not a fan of the padding in the bra. Although it adds some mass and potentially some fullness/shape, the pads just end up being bulky sweat sponges, IMO.

I bought this for a friend and I liked it on him so much that I bought 3 women's versions for myself. The fabric is mid-weight and good for layering or wearing alone on cool to warm spring days. We haven't had a chance to try them out for summer yet so I don't know how they will perform in really hot weather, but the fabric doesn't snag on every little thing it comes in contact with (like the more expensive Patagonia Airius T-Shirt, which I also bought for my friend, does).

There is so much to love about this jacket, but the deal-killer for me was the way my shirts bunched up in the sleeves when I put the jacket on. (I bought a size L and my biceps are 12" in diameter to give you some point of reference.) The sleeves are not so tight that your movement is restricted, but they are snug enough to be distracting. Maybe if you wore a super thin/lightweight base layer and nothing else it would be ok, but I want to be able to throw this on over my normal XC skiing and every day clothing and have it move with me.

I love the quality, color (red), fabric and design of this jacket, but I'm used to the looser fitting American cuts that offer plenty of room for layering. When I tried on the size medium in this, the arms were so snug that the already form-fitting shirt I was wearing underneath bunched up in the sleeves. I ordered a size M in this and a L in another fleece jacket by this same manufacturer (66 North Iceland Tindur Technical Jacket), and even the large was a little too snug for my liking. I am 5'5" and biceps are 12" in diameter to give you an idea.