Trip Reports, Campsites & More
Columbia Sun Protective Hiking Apparel
Summit Valley Hoodie and Wanoga Pants
During the summer I am always on the lookout for sun protective clothing that’s actually comfortable to wear. See, I get hot very easily, and I do not like being hot (if it was up to me the A/C would be on in my house on April 1st). That means that for most of the summer I’m living in shorts and t-shirts, the lighter the better. However, I also don’t love sunscreen, and I most certainly do not love the idea of skin cancer. Unfortunately, if I’m living in shorts and t-shirts and not wearing sunscreen, then that last idea is probably going to become a reality at some point. That’s why I was so excited when Columbia reached out with an offer to try out their new line of lightweight, sun protective clothing*. They offered me their new Summit Valley Hoodie and Wanoga Lightweight Pants to test out, and I was happy to oblige. I brought both items with me on a recent two week trip to the UK, Switzerland and France. I did a ton of walking and hiking over those two weeks, and had multiple chances to put the hoodie and pants to work. So let’s see how it turned out.
Comfort & Materials
Both the Wanoga Pants and the Summit Valley Hoodie are designed to be lightweight and focused on comfort. The Hoodie is a polyester blend and the Wanoga Pants are a combination of Nylon and Elastane (read: spandex). Both live up to that goal of being both lightweight and comfortable, the hoodie in particular. The polyester blend felt soft against my skin and light enough that at times I’d forget I was wearing long sleeves.Â
As far as the Wanoga pants go, that little bit of elastane is there to provide some stretch when you’re moving around. I found that this too lived up to expectations. The pant material is light, and allowed for good movement. I never noticed any restrictions whether I was walking, sitting or awkwardly contorting my body to pick up a pack.Â
Fit
I’m typically a medium when it comes to shirt sizes. For pants, I’ve got a 32 waist and usually find that 32/32 fits very well. For both pants and shirts, I prefer slim fit or athletic fit, as regular fit clothing sometimes feels pretty baggy to me. In the past, I’ve found that Columbia’s medium sizes fit a touch big on me and I was wondering if it would be the same for the hoodie and the pants. It wasn’t! Or, more accurately, while both the hoodie and the pants felt a bit looser than I’m used to, it was more a feature than a bug.Â
The Wanoga pants fit very well around the waist and ankles, while providing a bit of extra room for airflow around the thighs. I found that they stayed on very well using just the drawstring that comes with the pants and without the need of a belt. I liked the fit in the seat of the pants and found that they were tight enough that I didn’t feel like they were going to fall down, but loose enough that I could move around comfortably.Â
Similarly, the Summit Valley Hoodie fit well across my shoulders and neck, and loosely along my arms and trunk. This gave a nice combination of easy air flow without feeling like I was swimming in the clothing.Â
Columbia Technologies
Both the pants and the hoodie are designed using Columbia’s Omni-Shade technology. This is where the sun protection comes in. Columbia’s website says the technology is rated to UPF 50 and blocks both UVA and UVB rays. I’ve got no reason to doubt this, I certainly didn’t get a sunburn while wearing either the pants or the hoodie, but I will note that the tag on the hoodie says it protects up to UPF 40, not 50. Regardless, both the pants and the hoodie kept me sheltered on some pretty bright days.
The Summit Valley hoodie also incorporates Columbia’s Omni-Wick technology. This is meant to keep you dry by pulling moisture away from the skin and to the top of the fabric. I would say this was reasonably successful as well. I wore the hoodie on some pretty hot days, and at no point did I feel uncomfortably sweaty.
Finally, the Wanoga pants make use of Columbia’s Omni-Shield technology which is meant to repel moisture and resist stains. I can’t really comment on how successfully it does this as I didn’t wear the pants in wet conditions. That said, after wearing them a few times they still looked and felt clean.
Breathability
The Summit Valley Hoodie is light and thin and feels like it should breathe well. And it does! Columbia combines it’s Omni-Shade and Omni-Wick technologies in designing the shirt. As mentioned above, Omni-Shade is meant to provide that UV protection while staying breathable, and Omni-Wick is meant to draw moisture to the fabric’s surface. I’d say that both technologies seem to be working in Summit Valley. I stayed relatively cool and comfortable despite temperatures that got into the high 20s some days.
The pants don’t have quite the same focus on breathability. While the material is still lightweight, and feels much thinner than most hiking or trekking pants I’ve worn, it does feel a bit more substantial than the hoodie. That’s not a bad thing! While the pants weren’t quite as cool and breathable as the hoodie, they felt a bit more durable. Which, as the next section will show, is important.
Durability
I’ve only had these items for about six weeks, so I can’t speak to the long-term durability of the materials. However, I did notice some short-term concerns with the hoodie. After about two wears I started to see threads pulling loose across the chest. I trimmed those down, and haven’t seen any more evidence of pulling, but it does leave me wondering if the material is so thin that it may have sacrificed longevity. The pants have, so far, had no problems.
Features & Style - Summit Valley Hoodie
The hoodie comes in Skyler (blue), White and Sage Leaf (kind of a lime green). I went with the Sage Leaf and really dug that colour. It’s got a nice, light, summer-y feel to it and goes well with darker coloured pants and shorts. As far as features go, it’s a pretty basic garment. There are thumb holes in the sleeves, and the hood is well designed, but otherwise it’s a basic, but nice looking shirt.
Features & Style - Wanoga Lightweight Pants
The Wanoga Pants come in Flight Grey or Black. I went with the Flint Grey and, to be honest, it looks pretty close to white to me. While the Hoodie was a pretty basic shirt, the pants have a few more bells and whistles. They comes with five pockets, including one that zips up on the right thigh (I love zip up pockets! Great for phones, wallets and passports). There is also a built in drawstring to supplement the button that fastens the pants together, meaning that you can get by without a belt if you need to. Probably my favourite added extra were the buttons around the hem to let you roll up the pants legs and keep them in place to give some more airflow around your ankles and shins.Â
The Verdict
I love the look and feel of the Summit Valley Hoodie. It’s a comfortable, stylish shirt that works either as your only layer or on top of a t-shirt. It lives up to its billing as a good, long-sleeved sun protection option and it’s lightweight material was nicely breathable (which is a must for any summer wear here in Canada). That said, I do have concerns about the durability given that it started to pull after only a few wears. I think it would work well for me as a daily use or day hike shirt near home, but I’d be worried about it fraying quickly on an extended canoe trip or backpacking trip.
I’m also a fan of the Wanoga Pants, and didn’t run into the same problems with durability. They’re comfortable, flexible and breathable, all of which are important in a summer pant. They also provide enough in the way of pockets and accessories that they’re useful when you’re loading up for a big hike or walk around a new city.Â
** Just to be absolutely clear, Columbia provided both the pants and hoodie for me to try out. However, I have not received monetary compensation to write this review and these are my actual impressions of the clothing, not a paid advertisement.
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