Full Review of the Cocona Xcelerator Jacket

Jacket:

Good:

The fit of the jacket is amazing. The hood fits over a climbing helmet great and the pull tab in the back of the hood was great for sinching it down when I wasn't wearing a helmet. I really like how the sinch for the waist is in the hand pockets. The lack of pitzips made this jacket much more comfy to wear than my other jackets like Arc'Teryx. The cuff velcro seems very sturdy and really helps keep cold air out when you'r all zipped up.

Bad:

The two front pockets are right where my backpack straps go. So, It's kind of a pain to get RawRev bars out without moving my straps over. 

Fabric:

Good:

It's definitely more soft than other hard shells out there. I like that. It's less noisy. The "C's" printed on the inside look really cool. That definitely is a good way for people to recognize that it's made out of Cocona. Kind of like when you see GORE-TEX on something. You know it's quality (although not very breathable). When I see the C's on something I'll know it's wicked breathable. 

I haven't really had a chance to take the jacket to any extreme climates. I want to see how it holds up self arresting on ice. I did that in one of my jackets that has GORE-TEX PRO SHELL and it didn't get a scratch. I don't think Cocona will hold up as well but the benefits of the breathability really are worth it.  

The jacket breathed like nothing I've ever worn. After our climb last weekend I took off my hydration pack and noticed that the back of the jacket was wet. My sweat had evaporated everywhere else except where the pack inhibited it to. I couldn't believe the my sweat actually worked it's way to the outside of the jacket. I did get a little warm hiking with it zipped up half way. It almost needed pitzips but I tend to hike really warm. I was only wearing a wicking shirt underneath and it was about 35 degrees out.

I was summiting a small peak in the jacket. The winds were about 20-30 MPH and I only had my wicking shirt on under it. I was toasty. It didn't feel like any wind got through the jacket. I'll have to see how it does in stronger winds on Rainier this Summer. 

Bad:

This might be too extreme of a test. Please let me know if I'm expecting too much. I wore a wicking t-shirt from our hike the week before that hadn't been washed yet. The pits smelled a bit already. I wore the jacket over it and by the end of the hike the jacket smelled pretty bad. I had to wash it. Is this not what the jacket is intended for? I need to try it on a multiday backpack trip and see how it holds up. 

2nd Test of Cocona Xcelerator Test Jackets

We hiked up Mailbox Peak again for the second test of our jackets. There was quite a bit more snow this time so we actually got to see how they held up in different conditions.

Again, they were very breathable. It almost feels like this jacket could be your "Jack of all trades" jacket. It breathes like a lightweight fleece or simple windshirt. But it does so much more than these. I'm actually going to use this as my hardshell on Mt. Rainier this summer where temps go below zero and winds can reach upwards of 100MPH.

While we're working hard on the way up, the jacket keeps our body temp regulated like nothing I've ever worn. However, when we reached the top of the mountain the winds were insane. They were right around 30-40MPH with gusts probably double that. I know it's that windy when you can barely stand without falling over. That's what the gusts were like.

Even with that high of wind we were still comfortable with just our Cocona baselayer on underneath. Yes, we were a little cold standing in the wind with no insulation but none of it got through our jackets. That's pretty amazing for jackets that are so breathable.

Check out the video below to see Cocona in action.


Cocona Jacket- Second Test from Kyle Hart on Vimeo.