The hybrid garment UF PRO Hunter Sweater as part of the last fall-winter collection was represented in the autumn of 2014 by UF PRO brand, which belongs to the Slovenian manufacturer UNI-FORMA. The manufacturer stressed out a jacket as a compact, comfortable and light garment that is relatively warm part of camouflage equipment (now jacket is actual in prints of MultiCam and PenCott GreenZone only) for external wearing together with different models of tactical vest and plate carriers, as well as an additional thermal efficient layer.
The using of model Hunter Sweater MultiCam started at the middle of this summer, but fully-featured application began just in the autumn with the cold weather. The blouse had ordered directly on the manufacturer's website and has been shipped in 1.5 week. The product is supplied in a firm cardboard box, jacket is packed in the package and a transport waterproof shell (45 x 36 cm), which has a design of an envelope, as a pillowcase, and according the own feeling its outer side has a scratchy cotton-paper structure. Besides the packaging of a sweater, the shell has been used as a bedding and pillow, which beforehand had been stuffed by jackets, blouses, etc.
The mix of materials is used in the blouse makes it a hybrid model. A polyester blouse produced with technology micro fleece 37.5 COCONA is a base of the sweater. Its outside fabric is elastic and smooth, inside it has a fluffy cloth. The material is subjected to very quick loosing of the original appearance, the rigid elements of equipment (trouser belt, plate carriers, chest rigs, backpacks rig straps, etc.) with their long-term friction make pills mostly at inside of the cloth.
37.5 Technology is designed for quick absorption of body moisture, draining it out and drying a body. Besides, according to developers’ information, 37.5 technology partially absorbs the heat released by a body and brings it back. In practice, the jacket UF PRO Hunter Sweater was used actively with temperature range 0 - +15 degrees, strong wind and light intermittent rain, while under the jacket only the different thermal underwear (Sekri PCU Long Sleve Shirt, ATAKA Level 2 or Potomac Long Sleve Shirt) was used. Really, jacket quickly has removed moisture out and it has dried up quickly, and only unimportant short-term "overheating" was felt when the vest had been wore on top and air temperature overcame 12C degrees.
It's notable if you wear under a jacket usual t-shirt of cotton or something close to this one , UF PRO Hunter Sweater loses its "breathing" properties. T-shirt quickly takes moisture, does not hurry to give it outside, cools rapidly at stops, and produces a feeling of cold and moisture. Thus, it’s especially significant to decide on a proper thermal underwear mostly made of synthetic fibers.
The micro fleece fabric outside is defended by a thin sheet of a nylon with rip-stop armoring. Nylon covers the back, the front part of the torso, the sleeves and an outside of the collar, as well as partly its inside. It’s understandable that the material outside is treated by water-repellent, during a brief rain the water drops have been "reflected" and trickled down, not settling on the surface. According its structure and density the material resembles a fabric used in windbreaker jackets Adventure Tech Level IV Windshirt and WildThings Windshirt WT 1.0.
Generally speaking, the jacket UF PRO Hunter Sweater has a tight fitted cut, the internal sweater volume will not permit to wear a lot of clothes, no more than 1 or 2 layers of heat-keeping underwear. In the real sense of the word the jacket is pulled over the inland layer of the clothes. The jacket design provides rather high collar, the central buckle to the middle part of the torso with the YKK zipper, zipper has a low profile configuration, which doesn’t provoke any discomfort when wearing a body armor vest. The jacket sleeves are slightly elongated, the cuffs are not regulated but supplied by rubber bands. Totally, there are only four pockets: each sleeve has two patch pockets with YKK zipper.
The general quality of producing UF PRO Hunter Sweater has a high level, all seams are smooth and without visible damage, protruding threads are presented only in a few places of fabrics joints and exclusively at the inside. The sweater elements functionality didn’t cause any claims. The only thing is that model has no drawstrings at a jacket bottom, during wearing flowing shirt in pair with a backpack or vest, often rides up and opens the waist. It possible to remove a problem only tucking the jacket into the trousers, plus this solution significantly reduces the damage of micro fleece itself.
You can order military tactical blouse UF PRO Hunter Sweater directly in the official company’s shop, the jacket price without delivery cost is 100 euros. The jacket is available only in two colors - MultiCam and PenCott GreenZone (polyester is used instead of nylon). The total weight figures of the product for size M (medium) is about 380 grams.
UPD.Review of UF PRO Hunter Sweater, after one year using
Little more than a year ago, the Slovenian brand UF PRO, which progressively is becoming the one of the market leaders of manufacturing high-quality military-tactical uniform clothing, gave us to overview its hybrid jacket-blouse UF PRO Hunter Sweater. The jacket was used in different conditions as the main exterior layer, and also as an additional heat-insulating barrier, mainly during the autumn and spring, and sometimes in a relatively warm winter months.
As known, jacket UF PRO Hunter Sweater is made by a combination of elastic micro fleece which is mainly contains polyester fibers with a thin layer of nylon camouflaged with rip-stop armoring and water repellent, that has to be renewed after every 2-3 washings. In practice, the claimed materials, except some nuances, have justified the declared characteristics not badly. Materials really block the wind well, perfectly save a heat and drain the excess moisture outwards and relatively quickly dry in active using.
The so-called technology 37.5 from Cocona works, and to feel this work well is possible especially comparing between both the usual heat-keeping underwear and a fleece warm layer of underwear of the same thickness and fashion. Really, materials perfectly drain a sweat out and dry it quickly using the body temperature, without any discomfort, feeling of humidity and coolness, as it usually occurs when a thermal insulating layer absorbs a sweat and then begins to cool.
The previously mentioned "nuances" apply only to the general potency of the used materials. Fleece layer rather quickly becomes fluffy because of the equipment elements frictions, including the trouser belt, if the external nylon reinforcement does not exist, the fleece layer view would be poor, especially after long-term interaction with the plate carriers. Rip-stop nylon also has appeared not strength enough, abrasions and small holes / cuts have appeared very quickly on it thanks the contact with shrubs and conifers.
Besides the strength of the used materials, there were direct questions to the cut of UF PRO Hunter Sweater. The main and the only problem that has taken place for the all period of the jacket using was its length, it is not long enough. Additional some 5-10 centimeters and it would be practically perfect. Wearing jacket over the trousers the first one almost immediately "jumps" up thereby opening the lower back. To take away the problem is possible by tucking a sweater inside trousers, but the length is still not enough; to fill it back repeatedly time to time is a real necessity.
Besides other things, I was questioned many times what size better to choose. I usually wear M (Medium), so order a jacket of the same size. Jacket really fits and sits tight, and is quite stretched. I’ve worn it in 3 variants: clothing next to the skin, over the thin thermal underwear and even in combination with thermal insulated underwear and thin fleece shirt 1/4 Zip Fleece Pullover Condor Outdoor. It really good stretches and at the same time perfectly keeps its original shape.
- Обзор гибридной военно-тактической куртки UF PRO Hunter Sweater
- Обзор военно-тактической куртки UF PRO Hunter Sweater, после года использования
