The item in this review was provided by Myles Apparel at a discount for review.

When I saw the Myles Elements Jacket was made from Polartec NeoShell, I knew I had to give it a try. While I wasn’t looking for a new jacket, I couldn’t pass this one up and ended up very impressed.

Material

The Polartec NeoShell membrane makes this jacket one of the most breathable (and the stretchiest) waterproof jackets I have ever worn. The magic of NeoShell is that it allows air exchange while still blocking 99.9% of the wind. This helps moisture and heat move from your body to the surrounding environment without having to built up as much of a gradient (difference in temperature and humidity between the two sides of the membrane).

The face fabric of the jacket has a subtle texture, giving it a less-technical matte appearance. While not noted as having a DWR coating, the fabric beads water well and resists wetting out. The texture carries through to the lining fabric, helping the jacket to never feel cold or clammy inside.

The jacket has 100% taped seams, ensuring no water sneaks its way in.

Performance

The NeoShell breathability and stretch makes this jacket extremely comfortable for many activities. While wearing the jacket, I never once felt sweaty, even when walking fast with a loaded backpack while traveling. The stretch adds to the comfort, enough so that you sometimes forget you are wearing a hard shell.

The zippers are YYK but are not waterproof, but for a jacket without a hood, this is probably not necessary. I found them to be easy to operate, except for getting used to the dual zipper sliders on the main zipper — it takes a little thought to get them lined up and the zipper all the way down through so it can be zipped.

The chest pocket and back slash pocket were well sized for me and hold a phone or wallet comfortably. Each has a port on the inside to allow for headphones to pass through. While it is advertised that the jacket can be packed into the chest pocket, I wasn’t able to easily fit it in. It does, however, roll nicely to about the size of a burrito. As far as the back pocket goes, it’s a nice touch if you are a cyclist. In any other case, I wouldn’t keep anything valuable back there (other than maybe an emergency $20).

Style and Fit

Not only does the Elements Jacket perform extremely well, but it can be at home both during a workout or at work. The texture of the face fabric, configuration of the pockets, lack of a hood, and unique cuffs help upgrade the looks.

As far as the lack of a hood, I wasn’t immediately sold as I am used to my rainwear always having a hood. After some rainy fall weather, I found that wearing a baseball cap kept the rain out of my eyes, and I didn’t have any other issues (like water running down my neck). Now if I were to be out in the rain all day, or out in heavy rain, I’d still want my jacket with a hood, but this is a tradeoff I’m willing to make for a jacket that is so breathable and looks sharp.

The unique cuffs are about 1/3 elastic that sits at the back of your wrist while the rest has a nice curve — a nice style choice and something different than a straight cuff with elastic or velcro.

The fit is a nice athletic cut, while allowing room for an insulation layer underneath. I also found the length to be great — it is a bit longer than my Outdoor Research Helium II Jacket, allowing me to wear my tall down jacket underneath without the bottom hem hanging out.

Overall

The Myles Elements Jacket has replaced my soft shell spring/fall jacket, and in many cases is the first jacket I go for. The excellent breathability, waterproofness, stretch, and style are what keep me coming back. I think Myles has a winner here, and I’m surprised Polartec NeoShell isn’t used in more jackets (the Filson Reliance is the only other one I’ve found and it’s $395 — double the Elements Jacket). If you are looking for a light layer/rain shell/wind breaker, this jacket deserves your consideration.

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

The item in this review was provided by Myles Apparel at a discount for review.

When it was time to look for new sweats for the cooler months ahead, I decided to check out the Myles Apparel Momentum Pant. After having a great experience with their Momentum Short 2.0 all summer, I figured it would be a good bet.

Fabric

The fabric is a 83% polyester, 17% spandex blend. The high spandex content gives the pants true four-way stretch. I would classify this as a mid weight fabric — heavy enough that it is suitable for the cooler months, but not so heavy that it is too warm to exercise in.

The knit of the fabric gives the pants a matte finish, more so than you would expect for a synthetic pair of sweats. While it won’t pass for cotton, it has a nice look that can blend into your wardrobe fairly well. The knit also makes for a soft hand feel, not the slick hand feel that many polyester synthetics have.

Fit and Finish

The pants have an athletic fit and the sizing seems consistent with their shorts. I sometimes find thighs of pants too tight, but had no issues here. The pant legs are also tapered at the ankles — not so close that they get caught on your socks, but close enough to help keep drafts out.

The waistband is wide and lays flat with some nice elastic stretch and a long drawstring. The elastic holds well enough that I have yet to need to tie the drawstring.

The front hand pockets are very deep so there is no worry about anything slipping out. While the depth is nice, they are wide enough at the bottom that my iPhone XS can start to fall sideways while walking. While not as bad as some pockets, it can still get annoying. This is where the hidden back zip media pocket comes in handy. In these pants (as compared to the shorts) it is large enough to fit my phone. If I’m out for a walk, it’s easy to slip it back there for a secure and comfortable carry.

The pants have a few other nice touches including a gusseted crotch for even more mobility and a color matching reflective stripe on each calf for visibility.

Performance

The pants perform well for my needs. Running pretty warm, I rarely exercise in pants, leaving these as my warmup, walk, and lounge pants for the cooler months. I’ve already had some pretty cool mornings (around 40 F) to test these out while walking the dog, and they kept my legs warm (even in a light drizzle). However, the fabric breaths well enough that I can wear them around the house and not get too warm.

While I haven’t given them a test during a whole workout, I’ve noticed the excellent stretch during warmups and can’t envision any mobility issues no matter the situation.

Overall

The Myles Apparel Momentum Pant has become my goto pant for cooler weather walking and lounging. The fabric has a great stretch while looking pretty “normal”. While I can’t pinpoint any one feature that makes these outstanding, I don’t feel a need to look further. The combination of fit, fabric, and comfort make these a great contender for your sweatpant needs.

For my use case (around the house sweatpants), I don’t think the value quite lives up to the $98 price. However, if you wear sweatpants for running, I think the hidden media pocket adds value. Also, if you like to wear athleisure around town, I think the cut of these pants is spot on.

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

The item in this review was provided at a discount for review by Ministry of Supply.

When I saw the launch of the Ministry of Supply Composite Slim Fit Polo, I was intrigued by the performance claims made with such a low merino content (15%). Since I was having trouble finding the perfect polo, I took a chance and gave it a try.

Material

The fabric is a jersey-knit 85% polyester/15% merino wool blend with four-way stretch. It is machine washable on cold and can be dried on low (although I would still recommend hanging dry).

The first thing that struck me about this fabric was how “natural” it looks. It doesn’t have the sheen of polyester and it drapes like a light cotton polo. It is the first mostly synthetic polo that I’ve seen that doesn’t have that technical look. Ministry of Supply claims they achieve this through “wool micro-fibrils”. While this helps the look and makes the fabric extremely soft to the touch, it does give the polo a bit of a fuzzy look when viewed at the right angle and the right light.

Fit

The fit of this polo is more slim than the Apollo 3 Polo. However, I did find the same size worked for me for both, especially since this one is more casual. If you ever plan to tumble dry, I would size up, as Ministry of Supply does note that the fabric can shrink (I didn’t see it with cold machine washing and hanging to dry). The length was also a bit shorter — perfect for wearing untucked (I found it a little short to keep tucked in, possibly another reason to size up).

The open collar also lends to the casual nature of the shirt. With only one button at the collar, it is intended that you leave the collar un-buttoned. The placket is shorter than a typical 3-button polo though, so I never felt like the collar was too open. The sewn-in collar stays also help to keep the collar looking sharp. Overall, the collar performs well and doesn’t look floppy or out of place like many other performance polo collars.

Performance

I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of this polo. The 15% merino content definitely performed above what was expected in the odor department. I can trust that I will get at least two wears, more if I’m not sweating a lot. Even when I wore the polo with a backpack and jacket and took a brisk (sweaty) walk from my train to hotel, I was able to get a second wear. Even better, since the fabric is light and drys quickly (with no wrinkles), it would be easy to give the polo a wash in a hotel sink and count on it being dry the next day. While it will never beat a 100% merino polo, it certainly performs admirably.

Even in pretty sweaty situations, I found the moisture wicking and drying properties to be excellent. I never felt very sweaty and the fabric never felt heavy with moisture.

Overall

This polo is worth consideration for a more casual look. The combination of the jersey-knit fabric, open collar, and slim fit keep it casual while still looking sharp. The odor resistant properties are there, even though the merino content is low. At $85, I think this will be a hard polo to beat.

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

The item in this review was provided for review purposes by Mizzen+Main.

Mizzen+Main has three dress shirt lines, Spinnaker, Leeward, and Blue Label. The Spinnaker is their original line, focused on comfort with their highest stretch fabric. Leeward and Blue Label are made from a dressier (but still stretch) fabric, with the Blue Label adding a placket, a pointier collar, and convertible cuffs for the most dressy look.

I was able to give the Bowie Navy & White Windowpane shirt from the Leeward line a try.

Material

When looking for a performance dress shirt, the look of the fabric is key. The polyester/spandex blend (85%/15%) Mizzen+Main has designed does just that, it looks normal. It drapes nicely and doesn’t have that synthetic sound. Close up, it does have a slight texture but the feel and appearance are smooth. The spandex gives it a noticeable four way stretch and the lightweight nature makes it comfortable in warm weather. However, it is thin enough that I would not wear the white grounded prints without an undershirt.

Fit

With the three fits offered in this shirt, it should be fairly easy for everyone to find a good fit off the rack. I find it is one of my best fitting shirts. The back darts help to keep from having extra fabric around the waist, and it is long enough to stay tucked in.

The spread collar feels just at home with the top button open or with a tie, and removable collar stays keep the collar straight.

The only issue I have is how stiff the cuffs are. While nice on the collar, the stiffening material seems a little too much to me for the cuffs. They just hold too much of a crease to look completely normal.

Performance

When wearing this shirt, you almost forget you are wearing a dress shirt due to the four way stretch. While some shirts are so stretchy the drape looks off, the sweet spot has been found here.

Another key attribute of a good performance dress shirt is its wrinkle resistance — this shirt does a great job. There were some wrinkles out of the package, but a quick steam took care of them. Other than that, I haven’t had any wrinkling issues. After a cold wash, hanging the shirt to dry takes care of all the wrinkles — so much so that it looks as sharp as a pressed shirt. This is something that I do not get with my merino dress shirts.

I’ve worn this shirt in the heat and found it to remain comfortable. The lightweight fabric does a good job of keeping you cool while wicking moisture without feeling heavy (since it dries very quickly).

The final question — how is the odor resistance? I can get just one or two days from this shirt. Since it is 100% synthetic and has no odor resistant treatment, that should be expected. However, since the fabric dries so quickly and doesn’t seem to pick up wrinkles from washing, you can get multiple wears by hand washing and hanging to dry overnight.

Overall

I liked this shirt more than I expected. It looks nice, performs well, and is very comfortable. I see this shirt fitting in anywhere you’d normally wear a dress shirt. If you need to dress it up further, I’d take a look at the Blue Label line. While it can’t beat a merino dress shirt in odor resistance, it excels in all other categories — all while looking more formal.

Ben’s Thoughts

I last had a Mizzen+Main shirt from this collection about 18 months ago, but my recollections echo what Steve said above. It surprisingly looks normal and the stretch was stellar. The odor resistance is not there. The collars and cuffs on mine were thicker like Steve notes and I remember that being the most odd part of the shirt. Overall it’s a very good shirt and looks very ‘normal’.

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