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Super Speedy Summary Review

This ceramic coated hoodie from Vollebak is like nothing else you can own. Its a sporty stretchy breathable hoodie that’s just as good as a piece of outdoor sports clothing as it is with a pair of jeans at the weekend. Its covered in 60,000 ceramic mini ‘plates’ that make it incredibly resilient to wear and tear. It has two zipped pockets with high quality waterproof rubber zips.

In Depth Review

The first item I ever bought from Vollebak was their Ceramic ‘Condition Black’ Baselayer when they were a new startup and my website had exactly one review.

Since then Vollebak have grown to be the sartorial Richard Mille of outdoor clothing (someone on reddit nailed what they are about) and I’ve acquired a lot of their awesome stuff along the way. They have made Black Clothing that is high visibility, a shirt designed for everywhere on Earth that I ran an Ultramarathon in, Hoodies you can sleep and live in and jackets that glow in the dark or reflect like a butteryfly wing or deep sea squid. I’ve also reviewed indestructible pants and hoodie designed to last 100 years.

Space Age Material

The schoeller material is 4 way stretchy so its very comfortable to wear when running or activities outdoors, and it has flat lock stitching made of a stretchy material too so the seams don’t get stressed and come apart.  The arms are also slightly longer than I need which means I can tuck my hands inside the sleeve sections when they are cold and I don’t have gloves. 

This ceramic coating forms an abrasion resistant outer layer that resists bobbling and tears and general rubbing whilst still being breathable and comfortable.  Its like a Rhino on the outside and a teddy bear on the inside! This top is the thickest and warmest of their 3 layer system and the material is heat retaining which means that when I stop and start a lot when I’m on a long run I don’t get cold quickly from just standing around.  It’s also cut in a way that means there are no seams against my arms or in any of the places on my upper body that sees the most movement. I also noticed that the armpits have slightly thinner material to help with sweat which is great.

Fit

The hoodie has fitted tailoring, which is not an issue because of the stretch. Its also created with the synergistic ceramic baselayer and midlayer in mind so you can fit them or another layer beneath easily.

Pockets and Stuff

The hoodie has two zip pockets on the front for your hands or ‘stuff’. The zips are rubberized and waterproof and match the high quality centre zip. The hood has the ceramic coating on the inside which at first seems weird when it could have the fleecy lining, but actually you don’t notice it when the hood is up. There are also discreet and large pockets inside too to store things like your phone, wallet keys etc.

Verdict

Vollebak gear sells out fast. There is an ever growing list of email Vollebak fans that get a 48hr head start on new gear releases and these days their stuff can sell out before its released. Every piece of clothing Vollebak makes puts the mental in experimental, part sartorial superhero and part geek garment.

Find out more here.