These pants were provided by Bluffworks for review.

The Bluffworks Chinos are billed as a better travel pant. Bluffworks sent me a pair of Navy Blue Tailored Fit 36×32 pants The Chinos themselves, upon first touching them evoke two responses: oddly softand incredibly lighteight. These pants weigh less (in actual weight) than any other pair of pants I own.

Fabric

The fabric is simply listed as 100% polyester, which always causes me hesitation as you never know what you are going to get. These are a completely different fabric from the Gramercy Blazer, or the Meridian Dress Shirt, I’ve reviewed here — hey feel the most synthetic of the lot. While at the same time, it’s hard not to point outhat they weigh nothingwhile not being cold to wear.

The face of the fabric is soft to the touch, but not smooth — it has a bit of texture. I’ve found that the pants don’t quite pass for cotton when you are only a few feet away, but at the same time I’ve had chinos with a similar sheen to them. It’s hard to place your finger on it, but you’ll notice they aren’t “normal” pants.

Stretch

The fabric has built in stretch, and Bluffworks bills it as comfortable stretch which I think is accurate. It is not enough stretch where you will feel free to climb a mountain, but it is enough stretch that you will be comfortable in the pants.

Comfort

All of the above leads to the biggest question I always ask: how are they to wear all day. found them to be comfortable, but not the most comfortable. I would get the regular fit over the tailored fit if I did it again as I felt the pant legs were too narrow for me through the calf area.

Not accounting for the fit of this cut of the pants, I found them to be plenty comfortable throughout the day, but not enough that I wanted to lounge with them in the evening.

Extra Pockets

These chinos have travel pockets, with each front pocket having an inner zippered pocket, as well as the there being extra pockets on the seat of the pants. I used none of them, and while they might be handy for some when traveling, I think they would make for better peace of mind that stuff won’t fall out when on a plane. I didn’t find these pocket earth shattering, but they weren’t a detracting factor of the pants.

The biggest note on these pockets are the zippers: I wish they were wer profile you didn’t feel them as much when your hands were in the pockets.

Sound

The biggest issue with these pants is that they make a bit of a sound when you walk. In a perfectly quiet house, I found them to be too loud. However, when out and about I never once noticed them — thus I think so long as you leave your home, this is likely a non-issue. I will also note that after washing them, they quieted down a bit, and I wonder how much more they might quiet down over time. This was enough to bother me at first, but not enough to keep bothering me.

Overall

These chinos (at the time of publishing) are on sale for $99, and at that price they are hard to beat for a good entry level pair of travel pants. You’ll pay much more to remove just minor annoyances. Not accounting for price, they aren’t my favorite pair of pants ever, but when taking in the whole picture it’s hard not to be happy with them.

Lastly, the overall look of them is very nice. I found them to be cut well nd pair nicely with a button up. You could easily got to a business meeting in these — stepping right of the plane and not look worse for wear. They truly don’t wrinkle up and they’ll be comfortable. Not bad at all.

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This shirt was provided to me by Bluffworks for the purpose of review.

When I first got the Meridian dress shirt from Bluffworks, I was shocked by two things: it looks like a “normal” dress shirt and the material doesn’t suck. It’s quite hard to find a synthetic dress shirt which both looks normal and doesn’t feel like plastic. Bluffworks has succeeded on both accounts, so let’s dive into this shirt more.

Material

As I mentioned above, I love the material of this shirt. It looks natural and is nice and thin as a dress shirt should be. It drapes nicely, breathes well, stays clean, and wrinkle free. But more than any of that, it doesn’t make any noise, a common issue with synthetic dress shirts.

The Meridian is not a loud shirt. It’s smooth, it’s synthetic, but it doesn’t sound or feel like most synthetics. It’s the best of both worlds: looks good, yet it doesn’t have the trade off of feeling bad or sounding loud.

Comfort

This shirt is somewhere between a standard dress shirt and something with insane 4-way stretch. It’s far more comfortable than your standard shirt — more comfortable than most merino wool dress shirts — but not as comfortable as some of the dress shirts advertising full 4-way stretch.

The shirt moves fine, better than a standard cotton shirt. It breathes well and dries fast. All of this makes it very comfortable, but it won’t feel like a loose fitting spandex shirt — which in this case is good.

Looks

You could get away with this shirt in almost any office setting, and it could be paired with a suit as well. It’s a smart shirt with a sharp collar. Most won’t think twice about it, which is exactly what you want from a performance dress shirt. It’s there to make you look good, not to stand out on its own.

Wrinkles, Smell, And Dirt

This shirt stays pretty wrinkle free. When you pull it out from your bag, it’ll be fine. You might notice some creases form where it was tucked in, but that’s par for the course and hardly worth worrying about. Overall, it’s great at resisting wrinkles.

This biggest downside of synthetics is odor resistance, and the Meridian isn’t a magic solution there. It resists odors better than most non-wool shirts, but it will still smell after a while. The advantage is that you could wash it, hang it, and have it dry the next morning to wear. I would say you could get a couple wears out of this without issue.

When it comes to resisting dirt, I’ve been impressed. I loaded a car full of gear for a weekend away, then unloaded it. I’ve flown on planes where I eat messy snacks. I’ve held babies. None of that has phased this shirt. It’s a great performer for staying clean looking.

Overall

Moving into 2018, I’ve been thinking a lot about my button down and dress shirts — about how I might revamp that lineup, and the Meridian is absolutely going to be at the top of the list. They fit great, feel great, and perform well. But more than any of that, they look great. If you are a business traveler, do yourself a favor and get a couple of these.

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There’s no shortage of merino wool sweaters, and while I have a few, I didn’t have one I loved. So when I picked up the Outlier Doublefine Merino Pullover, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it may be more like a sweatshirt, but it is a sweater. Dressier than any sweatshirt, and just as comfortable as a sweatshirt.

It’s Nice

My first impressions of the pullover immediately focused on how smooth and soft it feels while also being substantial. It is something you could wear to dress up any outfit, but still not be out of place in more casual settings.

Like all merino goods, it’s very comfortable to wear throughout the day, and I found it to err more on the side of not being warm enough than being too warm. Paired with a warmer t-shirt, or even a button down, you’ll be able to withstand weather nicely.

The cut is well tuned to wearing as a layer for your wardrobe. The sleeves and body have enough room to fit another shirt under it, though there will be a few dress shirts which may not work if the sleeves are not narrow enough at the armpit. Also, the collars of most my button downs don’t work well that’s the only hang up I have with it — it’s hard to wear a button down under this as a layer.

It Shrinks

One note about the pullover is that it will shrink the first time you wash it (even if you hang dry, even if you wash it in cold water), the pullover will shrink in the length of the body. Mine fit perfectly new, but after washing it, I find it to be barely long enough for me. Hopefully it won’t shrink any further, because I do like it.

This is something to keep in mind, if like me you have a longer torso — you might not be able to make this work. It’s on the cusp for me.

The Sizing is Weird

Speaking of the length, the sizing on this garment is odd. The sleeves and body length are shorter than you would expect from other Outlier goods. Your Ultrafine Tee will stick out well past the bottom. I’m sure there’s good reason for this, but I wish it was about an inch longer, as I find it harder to figure out what to wear under it.

Verdict

At nearly $200, this is not an inexpensive merino pullover. It is though, the nicest I’ve come across — which is about what I expect from Outlier’s Doublefine lineup. This will get substantial rotation this fall and winter. It’s very nice, but you pay the price for that — and luckily the return policy is solid enough to mitigate the odd sizing.

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I asked around on Reddit for opinions on a good lightweight sport coat to travel with. While there were a lot of the standard answers, there were far more people advocating wool over the other “travel” oriented options. Torn on this, I picked up the Taylor Stitch Telegraph Jacket in charcoal.

The Telegraph hits a nice price point, with wool, linen, and stretch built into the jacket. While they make several colors of this jacket, confusingly each color is often a different fabric, so these thoughts only apply to the charcoal jacket.

Fit

I would characterize the overall fit of the jacket as slim — had I chosen this jacket before I lost some weight, I don’t think I would have liked it. But given that I did lose that weight, the overall fit is quite nice. Use their sizing guide, as I find it to be spot on. I do wish they offered odd sizes, but that’s a minor nitpick, especially at this price point.

Fabric and Style

This feels and looks like a more casual jacket. It’s not a suit jacket, it’s a sport coat. The pocketing is very casual and there’s no lining or shoulder pads. The fabric looks normal. Yet, given the blend, the jacket breathes and moves exceedingly well.

I’ve worn the jacket around Houston (in the winter, still 90 degrees though) with my Wool & Prince shirts and while I was warm, I was not dying. It’s a fantastic layer for dressing up your look.

I don’t find the stretch mind blowing, but I do find the breathability to be awesome. Overall, I really like the fabric as it offers great hand feel and warm weather performance.

There are two things that make this jacket casual. The cut and the pocketing, also the complete lack of lining. At first I did not like that there was no lining, but I’ve since come to really appreciate this.

The Bluffworks Gramercy Blazer is a great jacket to use as a layer when the weather is cooler. The Telegraph, on the other hand, is perfect for warm weather.

Mine spent two flights rolled up and stuffed into different bags. It was generally abused and I can’t find any sign of wrinkles — certainly nothing which lasts. It’s comfortable to wear and packs down small.

Overall

Initially, I bought this jacket for date nights, to dress up my standard button down and Slim Dungarees. Generally though, I like the Gramercy much better for the cool weather in Washington. However, this Telegraph jacket is an instant winner for any warm weather — travel or not

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The OG Climbers are one of the most casual pants Outlier makes, and are made with active use in mind. The “OG” refers to the original material Outlier used in their pants — it’s the cloth which they founded the company on. OG cloth is insanely stretchy with a decent drape to it, resulting in a very comfortable, but casual look.

They feel thick, but when wearing them they are not overly warm as the fabric is breathable. They have a very soft feel to the inside, while the outside feels like a soft shell jacket. The Climbers are hard to describe because they can look “nice” from far away, but more casual the closer you get (particularly in Bluetint Gray) The Charcoal or Black would look a little dressier — but the give away is the pockets and seams — all of which are very noticeable.

The Climbers are all about stretch. I actually took my kids to the “world’s largest bounce house” and spent an hour with them in it — the Climbers never once restricted movement in that crazy environment. This is why they are easily the most comfortable pants I own. I like these, but if you don’t like the look in the pictures, you won’t like them in person.

These are not core pants for me, they aren’t the pants I would choose if I could only choose one pair. However, if I can get away with wearing them, I wear them. They feel like a cheat code — they aren’t sweat pants or warm ups, they look better than that — but they are most certainly more comfortable than those pants.

Length

These are the longest pants I’ve ordered from Outlier, making them a good option if you find other Outlier pants too short for you. However I found them hard to wear at all before I hemmed them. If you are one to just cuff pants to avoid a simple hemming visit at the tailors, then be warned: that won’t work with these pants.

Durability

One of my biggest concerns with these pants was durability — the facing of the fabric, combined with the stretch gave me some pause when putting them through more abrasive moments. Having slid on the knees and gone down several make shift slides with my kids in that bounce house — I fully expected to see some pilling of the material in the knees.

However, my fears have thus far not been warranted as the pants still look brand new. These seem to be just as durable as my other Outlier pants while being much more stretchy and soft.

Leaf Pockets

If you notice the front pockets in the images, they have what Outlier calls a leaf pocket design. These pockets have almost a tab on the outside edge rather than connecting right to the side seam. It’s distinct and one of the design cues which makes these pants far more casual. It’s also an acquired taste and one of the reasons I don’t often wear these pants outside my house.

The leaf pockets are great for easily getting your hands in and out of the pockets, but I find that they tend to stick out a bit from the pants when you are standing. This is what allows your hands to slide into the pockets with ease, but it also gives an odd look to the pants. Also, if you like to clip things to the top of your pockets, then you’ll be unhappy as they don’t play well with clipping pocket knives and such.

Overall, I don’t love the look of these pockets, but for a lounging pant they are a non-issue. For wearing out and about, I find the pockets to be the biggest deal breaker.

Dirt Resistance

As with most Outlier pants, these are DWR treated and water and muck rolls off them. Dust, fine dry dust, does not roll off them. It’s even hard to wipe dust off with a wet cloth. After a day at a local farm with kids events, the bottom of my Climbers were so dusty that even wiping them clean didn’t help. They had to be washed.

That’s an odd property for a pair of pants made to be worn outside for active uses, and something I’ve yet to see in my other Outlier pants. I can only imagine this would be exaggerated on darker colors.

Verdict

I would hike in these, as they do a fantastic job of allowing you to move while still regulating your body temp. I do find they need more regular washing as dust settles in, and they tend to stretch out quite a bit (but a good wash brings them back to form).

These pants have fully replaced my warm ups and sweat pants — they are what I wear when I want to lounge or otherwise be exceedingly comfortable. It’s a bonus that they look a bit nicer than any other options which are this comfortable.

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

Note: this blazer was provided by Bluffworks for the purposes of this review.

If you’ve ever searched “travel blazer” then you are likely to know that most offerings look — well they don’t look particularly great. These blazers tend to focus more on wrinkle resistance and “secure” pockets than they do on style. So the more you look, the more likely you are to give up.

That’s where Bluffworks comes in with the Gramercy Blazer — the goal being to make the best blazer you can get for travel and life. They’ve set the bar quite high for themselves, so let’s see how they did.

Fit

Fit of any blazer, off the rack, is always a bit of a gamble and will largely depend on your body as much as it does the overall cut. That said, the Gramercy fits me very well, with plenty of room for a light sweater over my button up, or just the button up.

More than the fit itself, is how well the blazer moves as you wear it — this adds greatly to the comfort of the jacket. I followed the sizing guide very closely when choosing a size and that’s your best bet with this blazer.

The fit is also helped by there both being a standard cut and a slim cut. As someone who typically needs a long jacket, I found the regular had plenty sleeve length.

Looks

As I mentioned in the opening, the biggest issue you often run into with a travel blazer is that it looks like a travel blazer. The Gramercy looks nothing like a travel blazer. You might notice up close that it’s not quite a normal looking wool blazer, but you’d really have to look closely.

You give nothing up with this blazer. The Blue Hour color I chose is a fantastic and versatile color. It’s best to compare this with a standard blazer, than it is with other travel blazers — it’s too far ahead of the looks of any other travel blazer.

Travel Features

There are three features of this jacket which make it a travel blazer: washable, no wrinkles, and pockets. I’ll talk about laundering it later, so for now let’s focus on the other two.

The blazer comes folded up (who knows how long it sits like that) and yet there were only light creases in the sleeves. I’ve left it wadded in the corner, I’ve driven on long drives with it on, and otherwise done things with it that I might not normally do with a blazer. For the life of me, I can’t see a wrinkle. I’ve not folded it up and shoved it in a suitcase for travel, but then again I would tend to wear this on the plane, not pack it.

It’s really good at resisting wrinkles.

I get annoyed with people slapping a few dozen pockets on a jacket and calling it a travel jacket. It’s beyond silly. Bluffworks is walking a fine line here.

There’s your standard exterior breast pocket, as well as two hand pockets on the front. There’s nothing non-standard about these pockets, which is refreshing. Inside the jacket there’s a bevy of pockets. There’s two inside breast pockets. The left features a button closure, and a dedicated pen pocket which is nicely confined from the main pocket so your pen doesn’t scratch your phone. On the right there’s a zip close pocket. Which has a zipper pull that never jingles and never gets in your way.

Moving down the inside of the jacket there are two more pockets you’ll need to open with a seam ripper (if you want, I’d recommend you don’t). These are both giant pockets and can hold a lot of stuff. They have no fastener to secure them closed, but they are deep.

The issue with these pockets is when you put anything with weight in them. Doing so tends to quickly telegraph through to the front of the blazer and causes the bottom edge of the blazer to bulge. It’s not a great look. You could drop a small notebook or some business cards in here, but you need to be careful. If looks are your top priority, I’d leave the pockets sewn closed.

Lastly there’s single pocket which vertically zips closed at the back tail of the blazer. It’s an odd pocket, and Bluffworks shows it being used to hide cash. I can see that, as cash wouldn’t be too bulky or uncomfortable when you sit down. Otherwise, the pocket can almost be forgotten about.

What sets this jacket apart for me, is that even though it has these “standard” travel features, they don’t detract from the jacket. If you want to wear this as a normal blazer, you can, and you won’t pay a penalty for choosing one with extra pockets. Well done.

Material

My single biggest concern with this jacket was the material. All Bluffworks says is: “100% technical, breathable quick-dry polyester. Mechanical stretch.” When I read a statement like that I think of something that will make a swishing sound as you wear it, and won’t really stretch.

I was wrong on both accounts.

Let’s look at stretch first. Stretch is incredibly important for comfort, and mechanical stretch means there’s not stretchy fabric like spandex or elastic in the garment. And yet, you might think there is in this blazer, because it stretches a bit. Not enough where you feel like it’s a stretchy jacket, but enough that you appreciate it when it does move with you, which is perhaps a better way to describe it than using the word stretch.

So what about the hand feel? The fabric is soft and smooth. There’s no more sheen than on my wool suit, and it makes no more noise than my wool suit as the material rubs against itself. Simply put: if I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t think this was polyester. It doesn’t look or feel like it.

The jacket feels great. The material is great. It’s breathable while being heavy enough to have solid structure. However, it won’t be warm.

Wash It

A couple weeks ago Bluffworks sent an email telling you how to wash your Gramercy blazer. Now if you’ve owned a blazer before, you know you take it to the dry cleaner. This blazer can be put in the washing machine and will be no worse for wear.

The instructions are simple:

1. Wash on medium temp
2. Dry on medium heat for 10min
3. Hang to finish drying.

Normally I would file this under “good to know”, but given that I didn’t spend my hard earned money on this blazer, I decided to give this a go and see what happens.

I washed the blazer following those steps almost exactly (I dried it for only 8 minutes as I had to leave the house). When I first hung it to dry it looked a little sad — droopy. However, after it fully dried (took about 8+ hours) it looks exactly as it did before I put it in the wash. That’s a bit more magic.

Looking at it very closely I can tell that the lapels have lost a little bit of the press, however that seems to have gone away after wearing the jacket again. You would think machine washing a blazer would be a catastrophe, and it would be, except with this blazer.

Overall

One issue I always run into is what to wear when I travel. Often a button down is all I need, but sometimes I get a slight chill — this blazer is going to be my new go to. It looks sharp, performs well, and is comfortable.

I was worried about a lot of things with this blazer, and they were almost all immediately proven wrong when I pulled the blazer out of the box. I really love this blazer. Bluffworks calls it the “ultimate travel blazer” and I concur.

You can grab one from Bluffworks here.

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