Note: This shirt was provided by Outerknown for review purposes.

Now that it has finally warmed up here, I’ve gotten a chance to give the Outerknown BBQ Shirt a good test. The shirt is a camp style, so perfect for summer. While not a style I’d have picked on my own, I loved it as soon as I put it on, and it will definitely be in my rotation for casual summer wear.

Material

The material is a lightweight 93% organic cotton, 7% hemp blend. Looking at the shirt, you’d expect it to be 100% cotton, but the addition of hemp adds some performance without compromising on the softness or texture. Of course, being from Outerknown, they also use corozo buttons here adding to the sustainability of the shirt.

The shirt comes out of the wash looking fairly wrinkled, but after hanging to dry, it is ready to wear. This is something I don’t often see with all or high cotton button-ups and was surprising. This makes it a no fuss and an easy choice.

Performance

Even though it doesn’t have a high hemp content, this shirt is light and very breathable. It keeps cool in the heat, although it hasn’t seen hot and humid summer weather yet I expect it to perform there as well. The performance of the hemp definitely comes through here in the breathability.

Of course this is a one or two wear shirt, but that’s not a surprise. The fabric dries quickly for a cotton blend though, and the lack of wrinkles makes it easy to toss in the wash and have it ready to wear the next day.

Fit & Style

The shirt is described as a “Classic Fit”, so it fits on the casual side, but not so much that it looks like you threw on your dad’s camp shirt from the 80s. I think it is spot on for this style of shirt.

I love how they interpreted the classic camp shirt. The style can sometimes be quite open in the neck, but the top button is higher here, so it works for me.

Overall

This shirt is going to be a top pick from my closet for summer evenings and weekends. If you are looking for a casual, comfortable, natural fiber shirt for the summer, the Outerknown BBQ Shirt is worth a look.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

When I saw the Elements Jacket from Proof (a Huckberry brand), it looked like a good-looking lightweight jacket, something that was missing in my wardrobe. Since we’ve had good experiences with other Proof pieces, I decided to give it a try.

Material

The fabric is what Proof calls ThermoTech (73% cotton, 24% polyester, 3% wool) with the claim that it “heats itself as you wear it, allowing you to stay warm without being weighed down with a super thick jacket”.

I was skeptical of that claim before trying the jacket, but it is a warmer jacket than it appears. I’ve found it to be comfortable down to about 40° F — much cooler than I had expected; yet still breathable enough to put on over a t-shirt or short sleeve polo in the 60s.

This is a great looking fabric. It has no technical sheen, and has an interesting texture.

The lining is 100% polyester, designed to make it easier to put on and take off the jacket. It does a great job, with no need to hold your cuffs to keep them from sliding up. To prevent cutting the breathability of the jacket with too much polyester, the lining in the body is mesh.

Performance

The performance here is excellent, in addition to keeping me warm in cooler temperatures than expected, the jacket blocks wind very well. Even on a chilly, breezy morning, I was comfortable walking around with just a midweight long sleeve tee underneath; this could go even colder with a sweater or heavy shirt underneath.

When warmer out, the jacket manages moisture well, so you remain comfortable even if you get a bit sweaty. This is where the two-way zipper comes in handy as well — you can open up the bottom to get some extra airflow.

The only negative is that since the fabric seems to retain heat like the claims discuss, it stays warm once you go inside. I always find myself at least un-zipping the jacket immediately, and if I was warm outside, often taking it off.

Proof also touts the water-resistance of the jacket. While a DWR isn’t specified, it reacts to a light drizzle like it is treated with one.

Fit & Style

The fit and style of this jacket are spot on to fit perfectly into the spot of a lightweight jacket for business casual that can also be dressed down for the weekend.

The XL fits me close, but with enough room to layer with a sweater for colder weather.

The hand pockets, button-flap chest pocket, and button snap cuffs add to the utility, and sharp look of the jacket. There is also an internal pocket towards the bottom of the jacket.

Overall

The Proof Elements Jacket is going to be my go-to for a lighter jacket that looks good while performing. Being lightweight and sharp looking but comfortable in a fairly wide temperature range, this is great jacket for work, travel, and around town.

Currently on sale for $111, I think this jacket offers an excellent value, and would purchase it again even at the full $148 price.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Note: I was sent these pants by Ministry of Supply for the purpose of review.

One of the most popular items out there is to make performance denim — to take your standard blue jeans and tweak them somehow to make them better than denim. Typically this is through an infusion of a modern material or two, namely: spandex or some sort of polyester to help them breathe more.

Generally the benefits are very slight and the pant looks like denim, or the changes are robust and you end of losing some of the versatility that denim naturally has. For the Chroma denim, Ministry of Supply seems to have went for all of that, and then some.

Here is the claim: no color fade, ‘smart stretch’, and durable construction.

Material

Let’s start with what these pants are from a materials stand point: 69% Cotton, 29% Polyester, 2% Elastane. I had not read this before I started writing this, and I will say that I am surprised by the low elastane content, and more surprised that there is polyester in the pants.

To be quite frank, these feel 100% as though they are your standard, albeit high end feeling, denim with stretch added. And they stretch far more than that 2% elastane number would have you believe. That could be helped by the looser cut, but I don’t know it feels like there is more going on.

The denim is stiff. It feels slightly rough on your skin. It feels like the type of pant that is going to wear well over the years.

Fit and Style

When these arrived my wife happened to be standing next to me, so I tried them on right away. Her first comment was that she thought they looked quite nice. That’s a bigger deal than you might think, because my wife has seen me try on a lot of crazy pants for this site.

The fit is fantastic. They look modern without being too slim. The wash on this ‘black’ pair I got is a deep and dark indigo — I asked for indigo, but am glad I got this color instead. It is fantastic looking.

More than that, the style is excellent because they look like a nice clean pair of jeans. The pants leg can be cuffed and it holds that cuff extremely well — all day long. These are things you generally do not get in a performance pant — but you get them here. Aces.

Performance

Ok, so let’s dive into those claims. The first claim is that the pant doesn’t fade. I have washed them four times now, and there is zero sign of fade, but that’s 4 washes — hardly enough to know for sure. But they are dark, very dark, and I washed them with white t-shirts — no color bleed which leads me to think this claim is probably going to hold.

‘Smart stretch’ is what these pants are billed as having, which Ministry of Supply defines as: “Chroma’s use of polyester and elastane perfectly balances flex and structure, resulting in denim that can move comfortably without losing its shape.” Yeah so this is the crazy part, that undersells what is going on here. They are very stretchy and basically never bag out. It is weird. It is magic, it must be. I don’t know but they stretch more than they should for such a low elastane content and such a stuff feeling pant, and yet they really don’t ever bag out — in the knees or the waist.

Lastly: durability. I can’t judge this, but they still look brand new to me, so I am guessing these are going to hold up — I don’t have a way of testing the 25 lb strength of the seams. To each his own.

But let’s dive more into my performance metrics, what we normally talk about here. First they dry very slowly, so don’t get in your head you can wash these hand hang them dry to wear tomorrow — add about 10 hours to that. They dry like denim.

They don’t breathe well, but not any worse than any other jean. They breathe and wear like denim.

I like them overall, but there is one thing about the performance where I find they fall short: dirt repellence. They don’t repel dirt or water at all. I am so used to having pants with DWR of some sort, that I forgot how easy it is to get pants dirty. I made the mistake of clumsily (apparently) eating a chocolate bar, and I could not wipe these jeans clean of that, I had to wash them. That’s a minor thing for how ‘normal’ they look.

Overall

Of all the performance denim I have tried, these are my favorites. I love them, and I suspect I am going to get a lot of wear out of them once the weather cools back off here in Houston. In the meantime, while I am stuck working from home, they are a part of my staple wear for the days the A/C is blowing a little too strongly in my home office. Well done.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Beyond Clothing has been on my radar for a while, as they stand out from the numerous other outdoor performance clothing brands by building their whole line around a layering system. Every piece is designated as L1 through L8, making it easy to build your optimal layering system, with sizing to match. To make it even easier, they have a pre-designed matrix for functionality in climates anywhere from Hot (106 to 75° F) all the way down to Polar (-70 to -40° F).

I’ve recently been testing the Celeris Pullover (Huckberry), which is designated K2 (KYROS line, L2, Midweight Baselayer — imported but same quality and compatible with the US made AXIOS system).

While I’ve only been able to try it out at home and around the neighborhood, it has been a nice layering piece to keep warm, and definitely has earned them a spot on my list of brands to consider for outdoor gear.

Material

The fabric here is Beyond Clothing’s 7.9 oz. Verso Weave™ 94% polyester/6% spandex. If you are familiar with Patagonia’s R1 fleece (a grid fleece), this is similar, except the grid is circles. They also went as far as using a lighter grid of circles on the side panels and under the arms to help vent excess heat while active.

Overall the fabric is stretchy, breathable, and comfortable, exactly what is needed for a good baselayer.

Performance

The performance here is great. It is a bit warmer than R1 fleece (the fabric here is 1 oz. heavier), but the lighter side panels help improve breathability even further.

Beyond describes the use case as “Below 45° F as either a next-to-skin or over an L1.”, however, I found it comfortable while sitting at my desk at 65° F — that shows the versatility, and also difference between active and non-active wear.

The long zip, higher collar, and ample hood make this a very versatile piece. You can dump heat with the zipper wide open or zip it all the way up for a snug fit around your neck and head to keep you toasty warm.

The stretch also makes the layer extremely comfortable, and I find it to be more stretchy than the R1.

Unfortunately, being mostly polyester, there is no odor control here. Over a shirt being non-active, I can get a good number of wears out of it, but I imagine it will get smelly pretty quickly when sweating.

Fit & Style

The fit here is athletic and what you’d expect from a second baselayer. Even though I got the “Regular” and not “Long” length (they recommend “Regular” for up to 6’2”), the body is still plenty long to tuck in if worn as part of a layering system.

The thumb holes are a nice touch to keep the sleeves from riding up as you put other layers over top. When not using the thumb holes, this makes the sleeves a bit long. There is also a small pocket on the left sleeve for something like a key or card.

Style wise, we are firmly in the outdoor performance category here. This isn’t going to be a layer for when you get chilly at the office or in a cold restaurant.

Overall

The Celeris Pullover will definitely stay in my rotation and will probably replace my R1 in my outdoors setup, depending on how the odor-resistance is once I get this sweaty.

If you are looking for a versatile outdoors-forward midweight baselayer hoodie, this one is definitely worth consideration. If you want something that can work more broadly style wise, the Patagonia R1 might be a better fit.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

The Aether Kelso Pant is billed as an active traveler’s pant, something that is comfortable, stretchy, and doesn’t wrinkle. This is a highly technical material pant — it’s not something trying to be a stealth dress item, it is a performance pant which has been cut and designed to be fashionable and comfortable.

Material

Aether calls this a stretch woven nylon, which comes out to be 93% nylon, 7% spandex. In reality, that description sells this pant short. This is a material that feels like a dead ringer for Outlier’s OG Cloth, and extremely similar to Oliver’s Passage Pant (our review) material. It has a smooth outer face, and a somewhat brushed inner face — giving it almost a soft shell like feel.

All the while being breathable and stretchy.

Performance

I really did not know what to expect with these. There are basically only a few ‘performance’ claims about them with Aether: comfort, stretch, and they don’t wrinkle. I mean, not a ton to go on.

It exceeds all those claims, by the way. If you hang the pants weird, they will wrinkle and those wrinkles will disappear almost immediately when you put the pants on — there is some sort of magic there. They are also very comfortable, whenever I test pants made of this material I am giddy because it truly is only rivaled by the comfort of sweatpants, or ‘joggers’ in modern parlance.

And yes they stretch. The 7% stretch does not tell the full story because the pants are actually cut pretty close to your body — they are skinny — and yet I have no ever once been limited in my movement. I can’t imagine anyone concluding that it would be nice if these pants had more stretch.

They also dry fast, as you would expect from a mostly nylon pant. They do a good job resisting stains and wiping clean. They breath well, not as well as the similar fabrics from Outlier or Oliver’s, but that also makes them a little more versatile as those breath so well that they can wear cold in strong A/C or in cooler temps.

A good performance pant is defined by a pant that you can put on when you wake up, and never need to change out of until it is time to go to bed. These are 100% that. They are probably 10% less breathable than others I have tried, but they move better the the Oliver’s material. In fact, I think these give OG Cloth a run for their money — but I don’t have any pants in OG Cloth on hand to directly compare to.

A-plus performance.

Fit & Style

The fit and style of these is different than anything else I have tried. They are very skinny, and most skinny pants hit me very tight in the calves. But these are somewhat tight in the calves. They are very snug in the knees, which I have not experienced before.

But unlike most skinny pants, they are extremely comfortable as the waist itself stretches too. The entire pant, fits very well, and because of how close cut it is, the technical nature of the fabric looks far better than it should.

I would not wear these to the office, but I wouldn’t balk at wearing them for almost anything else. And, I will say that they do not bag out like other fabrics of this nature — at least not before I need to wash them anyways. I have worn them for basically two weeks straight, and while they stretch out a tad, the knees and the waist doesn’t get so stretched out that they need to be washed so you can keep wearing them.

So fit: excellent. Style: about as good as one can hope with this type of material.

Overall

One of my all time favorite pair of pants is Outlier’s OG Climbers. I had to sell mine because I lost weight and they were too large — I have wanted another pair ever since. The problem with Climbers is that the style of that pant is stupid. The pockets are dumb. Also, they are discontinued.

Aether’s Kelso pant is a better version of Outlier’s Climbers. Just as comfortable, without all the stupid style choices. I absolutely love these pants, and highly recommend them.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Proof has long offered casual t-shirts made of merino wool, and cotton performance button downs made of cotton and stretch. Here though they marry those two to try and create a button-down travel shirt, I have been testing it for some time and I have fallen in love with it.

Material

Ok, first, I think calling this shirt merino wool is a bit disingenuous, at least for this site, because this shirt is 88% polyester, 12% merino wool. There is just not a lot of wool here. That said, the shirt material is quite nice, as the outside has a very slight brushed finished making the shirt almost feel more like a traditional flannel than a button down.

The weight is nearly perfect for a smart casual level shirt. It’s not thick enough that it will drape like a flannel, nor is it thin enough that it becomes opaque in any light. It’s very well done and the hand feel of the material is amazing.

Fit & Style

This is a shirt that has a very tailored fit, especially through the sleeves where I find that rolling the sleeves can be tight, while the cuffs are loose enough I can wear a watch under them with no issue. The fit is very flattering and right out of the gate, I love it. The collar sits properly, the top button placement is excellent.

What is really going to make or break the this shirt for most is the body length. It is primarily cut to be worn untucked, and that works extremely well in this shirt. But it does have just enough length in it for me that I can tuck it in so I can dress it up a little.

So for travel, tucking it in to go to a nice restaurant, I think this shirt plays that card extremely well. But as a shirt to walk into a business casual setting, I don’t think it works well. The brushing on the face is too soft, and makes it look too casual. This is casual to smart casual all day long. Which for most people should be all you need.

Performance

The big question is how does such a low merino wool percentage shirt perform. And the answer is: reasonably well actually. This won’t be the most performant shirt from an odor resistance perspective but 2-3 wears is pretty reasonable. More if you are wearing an anti-perspirant or something of that nature.

The variant I got is an ivory color for the most part, and the dirt will show first on that, well before odor is a factor. To that end, the shirt also has two vents on each armpit to help the shirt breathe a little more, which is a welcomed addition from my view.

What does bode well for travel is that the shirt washes up rather nicely. It dries reasonably fast, and with not a terrible amount of wrinkles, and even the wrinkles it does dry with, tend to be visually hidden by the fabric itself.

All in all the performance of this shirt is better than pure polyester, but not as good as wool. But it should last longer than wool and be more durable.

Overall

Given that most of my testing was done in my home for this shirt, I have fallen in love. The cut of it is sharp, and the comfort is off the charts. It feels great to wear, and I find my self reaching for it first, and having to remind myself that I wore it yesterday, and I should wait a day.

Will I travel with it in the future? Yes, but only for leisure travel. It will not however fit into my office rotation, whenever we return to offices.

Great shirt, and I think most people will get more use out of this than a pure merino wool shirt as it lends itself to a more carefree garment care.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

I initially backed these pants on Kickstarter so we could give them a test here. The Terrain Pant follows the standard hype on Kickstarter pants, which culminates in this claim: “The one pant you’ll want to take with you (and never take off) on a trip around the world.”

I’ve had these pants for a while now, and the truth is, I have been putting off writing this review because I really do not care to wear these pants. So let me tell you why…

Material

First, these pants are made with “Japanese Nano-Wing® Technology”. Sounds amazing right? The claims are: “water and stain-repellant from the outside, moisture wicking from the inside, quick drying, self-cleaning, UV protected, with the perfect amount of stretch.” On the website there is no further definition, so like me you probably assume this is some futuristic fabric, some distant cousin of dyneema, merino wool, and nylon. When in fact, the garment tag tells us: 95% cotton, 5% elastane.

And as far as hand feel: terrible. Like a stiff canvas issued to soldier before we invented polyester.

Fit and Style

They fit very slim, and the pockets make what would otherwise probably be a really decent smart/business casual fabric look like a weird dressy hiking pant. From the pull tab on the back pocket (why is that there) to the zippered front pockets. The style is strictly casual, and generally just odd.

Performance

There are far too many performance claims on these for me to go through them all, or to even verify them. Also, I didn’t want to wear these more than I had to. So there’s that.

This is cotton with stretch, and heavy cotton at that. They simply do not breath well at all. I live in Houston, I can sniff out a poor breathing pair of pants instantly. Outlier’s heavy Strong Dungarees breathe better.

As for stretch, it appears to be two way, which stretches along the horizontal of the pants. This is mostly fine and the preferred method if it is not 4-way stretch. However the gusseted crotch is rather small, and so the pants are more restricting because of the slim cut. Either the pants need a larger gusset, 4-way stretch, or a looser fit.

For me, the rest of the performance points don’t matter because the pants are simply not more comfortable than any other pants I own, for any type of wear.

Overall

They are stiff, they don’t breath well, they don’t move well, and they are a little noisy to walk in. Also, my pants came with some snags in the fabric out of the package. The cut is flattering, but that’s the only nice thing I can say about them.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

When I saw Everlane’s $50 denim sale back in March, I decided to give The Performance Jean from their Uniform collection a try — all Uniform pieces can be replaced if they fail or you are dissatisfied within 365 days of purchase. With that guarantee and at such a low price, it made it an easy decision to give them a try.

Material

These jeans are made of a four-way stretch 94% organic cotton, 2% elastane, 4% other fiber. The “other fiber” seems unusual to me, but I’m betting it is something for extra stretch.

The Dark Indigo color I got is a nice mid-dark color, what I’d consider a standard dressier jeans color.

Fit & Style

Based on the size chart, I went with the Athletic fit. That gives a little extra room in the seat/hips and the thighs, which works well for me as the stretch is only slightly noticeable.

Being a larger company, there also is the benefit of Everlane offering odd-sized waists, four lengths, and four fits, so it should be pretty easy for anyone to dial in a great fit.

Style wise, these aren’t anything special. They are standard, athletic fit jeans with a little stretch — nothing more or less.

Performance

The athletic fit combined with the slight stretch makes these jeans comfortable, and about on par performance-wise with other stretch jeans you can find at this price point.

Surprisingly, the jeans bag out a little in the thighs and seat between washes (although the waist didn’t stretch). I’m guessing this has something to do with the 4% “other fiber” content.

Overall

I found these jeans to be average and about the same as other “performance” (meaning a little stretch) jeans you can find at this price point. The stretch and slight bagging out are what you’ll find in most of them.

I still prefer my Revtown Sharp Jeans (our review), but if you are looking for something standard or in this price range, these will meet those expectations.

Overall, not recommended.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Note: these pants were provided for review by Outerknown.

I’ve been really enjoying my Outerknown Sur Sweatshirt (our review) ever since I purchased it over the winter, so when I got a chance to give their Verano Beach Pants a try, I jumped on it, especially given the current work from home situation.

Another benefit of Outerknown is their dedication to sustainability, sometimes that is just greenwashing, but it seems like Outerknown has demonstrated their seriousness here.

Of course, no can make a bad piece of clothing good, so let’s take a look.

Material

These pants are made from a 7 oz, 55% hemp, 45% organic cotton in a soft twill weave.

Even though the fabric content is the same as the Sur Sweatshirt, the weight and weave give this a whole different feel. While not a lightweight fabric, the fabric doesn’t have a heavy drape, and seems like it would be reasonably cool in the heat. There also isn’t any of that hemp roughness that can be in some hemp-heavy fabric blends.

The only negative to the fabric is that it gets quite fuzzy and a little bit pilly with the first wash, but it doesn’t seem to get worse.

Fit & Style

These pants are intended to be “trousers that wear more like joggers” and the claim is also made that “You could sleep in these and then wear them to a meeting and no one would think twice.”

As far as the fit, I agree they are trousers that fit like joggers. The elastic waistband and interior drawstring tie push them into the “joggers” category, with the shorter length (31 inseam on the XL) pushing them all the way over the edge. I was between the L and XL, so went with the XL. The elastic in the waistband isn’t particularly stretch/strong, so I do find myself relying on the tie if I have anything in my pockets.

As far as wearing these pants to a meeting, I don’t think I could get away with it for any meeting I’ve ever been to. Then again, Outerknown leans towards a west coast beach style, so maybe there are cases where these would be appropriate for a meeting. However, I can see that the slash side pockets and button back pocket do add a little extra towards the “less casual, casual” nature of these pants.

Performance

These have been great pants to wear while working from home. They are extremely comfortable (although not stretchy) and are warm enough for our still cool days here in the northeast. When taking the dog for a walk on some windy days, I did notice that these blocked the wind better than any of the synthetic joggers I own.

The magic of hemp here is that I think they will still be comfortable in the summer, as hemp in fabrics like this tends to breathe well.

Overall

The Verano Beach Pants will continue to be a comfortable pair of pants for around the house for me. I look forward to seeing how they perform as the weather warms up.

If you can push the casual style of these further, they could be a great, non-synthetic, summer replacement for jeans, as they are half the weight of a typical pair. Just keep in mind the fuzzy texture the fabric takes on. They also work well as a pair of casual pants for around the house, especially if you are looking for a more unique fabric blend or something different.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.