Spring Gear Review: The Versatile Women’s Stretch Ozonic Shell

Spring is here! For real this time…we think. That means bike rides, gloveless jogging, walking places, and long upward hikes. It also means cool winds, unpredictable temperatures, and rain. Instead of waiting for a blazing dry sun to hit the great outdoors, EDT has teamed up once again with LiveOutThere to test The Stretch Ozonic Jacket by inimitable Mountain HardWear.

Feature Highlights

Known for lightweight, good-looking designs, Mountain HardWear crafted this jacket with three mantras in mind: keep dry, be light, move effortlessly. Here’s how they do it. 

Patented Dry Q Active’s technology makes this jacket waterproof and breathable. The fabric pushes moisture away from your body and out of the jacket to keep you comfortable and dry.

The 40D stretch fabric is arguably the best feature of the Stretch Ozonic Jacket. This goes beyond the usual back, shoulder, and chest mobility to give you effortless, unrestricted movement no matter what you’re up to. So soft and flexible is this material you could literally perform yoga in it. 

Fit is sleek and true to size. I’m a 5’8” normal sized lady and this medium sized jacket fits great even with a fleece or thick layer underneath. The lovely lines and expertly stitched panels make you look like boss mountain bitch.

How Good Was It?

Waterproof: Yes, it is! We wore this jacket in wet snow, rain, and more wet snow. Once it hits the fabric, water sticks and beads like rain on a duck before slipping off. This beading also keeps water from raining off your jacket and soaking your pants.

Windproof: Tested on cold weather runs, walks, and windy early season bike rides, the incredibly light fabric blocks wind completely. Despite it’s weightlessness, the jacket keeps wind and drafts out. As in we could feel the pressure of the wind but not the cold!

Temperature Control: Typically running in a windproof, waterproof jacket is not recommended. Imagine running in garbage bag. The breathable tech in the Stretch Ozonic keeps the body comfortable and flushes out any moisture that can make you feel wet, hot, and then inevitably cold and uncomfortable.

Weight and Size: Weighing in at a teensy 8.4 Oz (or 237 G), the Women’s Stretch Ozonic is built to move. Literally weightless this jacket moved easily, invisibly really, on rides and runs. We forgot it was even there. Once it was time to take it off we folded it up and jammed it into our pocket.

Design Details

Pit zips under the arms are a reasonable few inches long and won’t don’t turn you into a human sail. On the inside, tightening toggles on the hood, waist, and cuffs keep any extra wind or rain from creeping in.

Who Needs One?

Anyone looking to keep dry, warm, and protected from wind during light to full-on sweaty activities. Made for hikers and trail runners this jacket could easily become a staple for frequent travellers, touring cyclists, and mass transiters/walk to workers.

If We Could Change One Thing

We’d add an interior breast pocket for safekeeping items we don’t want falling out of our pockets along the route like keys.

Get one @LiveOutThere

Deals and Discounts

Donate your old jacket and get $40.00 off your purchase of this jacket.

Lifetime Members of LiveOutThere.com can get an extra 10% off their purchase.