Article by Adam Glueck, Jeff Valliere, and Sam Winebaum
We love Odlo at RoadTrailRun. This Norwegian heritage now Swiss based brand is known for their base layers for all seasons which equip many national ski teams. But they don't just leave it at base layers as we found out in our intensive testing of the their run focused jackets.
Men's ZEROWEIGHT PRO WARM REFLECT Running Jacket ($190)
Specs, Fit and Style:
Adam: The Odlo Zeroweight Pro Warm Relect is an excellent run and nordic ski jacket that also happens to be highly reflective. Its headline feature is a wraparound reflective pattern on the shoulders, upper chest, and back. From any angle, the jacket is shockingly reflective, and I’ve had motorists and fellow runners ask me what I’m wearing because it’s so bright.
This reflective pattern wraps around the chest, arms, back, and shoulders. As well as being extremely reflective, I think it looks quite stylish.
The jacket is made of a windproof fabric with vents around the chest and back. There are two pockets located mid-chest (slightly higher than the waist band). The fabric is slightly less stretchy than the Zeroweight Warm Hybrid jacket (RTR Review), but has enough mobility for cross country skiing and running motions. The chest and back vents yield a bit of extra articulation around the shoulders.
There is a simple magnet at the collar that allows the jacket to remain closed even when unzipped. The jacket is sleek, reflective, highly technical, and precise fitting.
Out for a night test run
Performance:
This jacket is heavier than a wind shell, but not intended to be insulating per say. It’s good for running and skiing where the breathability will keep you from sweating and subsequently freezing in cold conditions. The arms and chest and back are made out of similar fabric, so expect similar levels of protection and insulation all around. The fact that the pockets are slightly higher on the chest than most jackets means at least for me that phones, keys, etc in the pockets bounce less while running.
In terms of insulation, this jacket is warmer than the Odlo Zeroweight Warm hybrid, primarily in the arms and back.
While it’s not a rain jacket, it is pretty weather resistant as well, holding up to snow, sleet, and light rain. As well as lots of miles on the road, I tested this jacket extensively cross country skiing. It held up for a 50km night ski, and more recently an eight hour 114km ski where the weather changed from 26º F and snowing to 30ºF and sleeting to 37ºF and raining. Throughout those tests, the jacket was able to wick sweat and keep me warm and comfortable for hours on end.
This jacket got me through 8 hours of skiing in mixed precipitation
Conclusions:
Although this jacket is designed to be highly reflective for running at night, I’ve found it’s combination of breathability, protection, and mobility to be excellent for running in all types of cold weather. If you’re looking for a reflective jacket for night running safety, it is an excellent option. Even ignoring the reflectivity, it’s an exceptional all around running jacket.
During the day in the mountains, the reflectivity is just a great looking pattern. At night it provides great visibility on the road.
Zeroweight Dual Dry Waterproof Running Jacket ($300)
Sam: The ultimate waterproof run jacket? As far as we know it is one of the lightest full featured jackets, at a mere 137g in a large. It is a full 3 layer (outer, membrane, inner) waterproof breathable jacket. The DualDry has a very, very stout 50,000 MVP breathability and a 20,000 mm waterproof rating.
We have yet to try a 3 layer or even 2.5 layer jacket with the very decent 20K waterproof rating to go with such a high breathability rating. This rating means you will be well protected from moisture and will not overheat and this is what we have found in testing from winter all the way through summer.
It was the gold medal winner at the worldwide 2020 ISPO sporting goods show in the running category: "The ODLO DUAL DRY ZEROWEIGHT WATERPROOF JACKET provides an innovative, flexible but water resistant layer and can be stored as a very small package. It can be used in different kinds of sport such as running, hiking and cycling. The jury is therefore convinced by its versatile usage."
Due to the fabric being so thin, and amazingly also translucent, it is not recommended to wear it with a heavy backpack. Head over to Odlo’s DualDry Water Resistant for heavier pack use. I have used it with race type vests with no issues. It is the ideal full weather gear to take along, just in case, for a run or hike as it weighs so little and stuffs down so small into its chest pocket.
Specs, Fit and Style
Jeff V: Sam has covered the specs very well above and this is a stunningly light waterproof jacket, almost impossibly so. I am testing a size medium, so my jacket is even lighter at a scant 125 grams or 4.4oz.. For such a minimal jacket, it is impressive how Odlo has managed to include so many features, such as a chest pocket, a fully functional hood with drawstring, elasticized stretch sections at the hem and wrist cuffs, seam taping, reflective details and light mesh headband within the hood, as well as a small loop snap to stow the hood.
I am 5’9” / 145lbs and fit is perfect in my normal size medium, without feeling baggy and I easily have enough room underneath for as much layering as I need, even as much as a light down jacket underneath without feeling restrictive or confining. The arms are just the right length for me and I appreciate the stretch at the cuffs to easily accommodate easily wearing and viewing any size GPS watch. Being so light and thin and with just enough stretch, I hardly know I am wearing it at all. As Sam says, it floats over the body and feels, well, like not wearing anything at all.
Style is subjective of course, but I really like the subtle dark grey color of my review sample and tech functional look, with a minimal athletic, but not too snug cut.
Performance, Conclusions and Recommendations:
Jeff V: The performance of the Zeroweight Dual Dry Waterproof Jacket has thus far been excellent. My review period has been in the winter, but I have tested through a wide range of conditions from temps in the single digits, up into the 50’s with various levels of layering underneath from just an Odlo Kinship Warm baselayer, but most often combining with a Yakwarm Midlayer in the 20’s - 30’s F (RTR Review of both here as well as for other Odlo base layers).
Mixed in were bouts of heavy wind and several snowstorms. The Zeroweight does a surprisingly good job cutting the wind, but being so light with no hem cinch and a touch short, I noted I had to pull the jacket down occasionally (again in heavy winds).
While wearing it in reasonably heavy (but cold dry) snowfall, the Zeroweight has performed surprisingly well, keeping me more dry and warmer than I expected. Since we have not had rain here, I have substituted with the sink and shower and will eventually soak out after a few minutes, but I can imagine that in light rain, will perform reasonably well.
Breathability is moderate, perhaps not quite breathable enough during the highest output efforts, but otherwise does not feel too clammy.
Overall I am incredibly impressed with the performance and lightweight versatility of the Zeroweight Dual Dry Waterproof Jacket and will for sure be a key piece of gear during the shoulder season, for running when weather is inclement and will become a mandatory piece of summer gear in my run vest for those high alpine adventures where I am counting grams and packing light. There is really no excuse NOT to carry such a functional, yet light 125 gram jacket!
Shop for Oldo Zeroweight Jackets and Zeroweight apparel at Gear.com HERE
Shop for Oldo Zeroweight Jackets for men and women at ODLO HERE
EUROPE Men's & Women's SHOP HERE
AUSTRALIA Men's & Women's SHOP HERE
AMAZON Men's & Women's SHOP HERE
3 comments:
As always thank you for your great work!!
Do you think that 50k breathibility rating is finally enough for hard workouts in warm weather?
Great review, thanks! I was wondering, how has the durability been since the review came out? I do feel like these ultra light raincoats may not be the most durable.. I would use it only occasionally, with a light hydration vest at most, so I would want it to last a few years at least.
@Jiske I can speak to the Zeroweight Reflect. It’s held up perfectly for me with no visible wear.
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