Outdoor Research Radiant LT Zip Top Review
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Whether you’re out for a cold weather hike, run, or out blowing up powder stashes while skiing or snowboarding, it’s always nice to have a nice fleece 2nd layer. I’ve been wearing these types of tops for years now on pretty much all my winter and cold weather activities. The activity I think I use them most is for running for when the temperature drops below 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit. For one, it helps keep my core warm as well as my fore-arms, one of the places on the body that gets cold easily for me. For hiking, I like them because they keep me warm enough on mild days and they are great layering pieces on colder days when you need to throw a jacket on over it. And although this type of long sleeve fleece is warm, it is very light and compactable in case you want to stash it in your backpack. This is all true for skiing and snowboarding as well.
Now on to the Outdoor Research Radiant LT Zip Top. I’ve been testing this fleece zip top for a month and a half while hiking, running, skiing. When running, I was comfortable wearing the Radiant with a moisture wicking shirt underneath in temperatures down to 15 degrees. The best temp for running in the radiant was 35 degrees Fahrenheit in my opinion. Not too cold and not too warm. While skiing, I wore it as a 2nd layer with a jacket over it. Hiking, I have only wore the Radiant as a 2 layer with no jacket over it and it seemed to do the job.
As for the features of the Outdoor Research Radiant LT Zip Top, I like that they added thumb holes. These come in handy when your forget your gloves or want to eliminate skin exposure between your glove and the sleeve. The sides of the Radiant Zip Top are made of a waffle like fleece material that is a lighter weight for added breathability and temperature regulation in warmer temps. To keep your valuables in check, there is a zippered chest pocket on the right side that is big enough to fit a smart phone, camera, wallet, energy bar, etc. The front of the Radiant opens up 1/4 down the top with a zipper. These days I pretty much only wear zippered base and 2nd layers as they help with temperature regulation and they just look better.
The Outdoor Research Radiant 1/4 LT Zip Top retails for $70 which is a standard price for higher end brands and zip tops. For more information on the Radiant LT Zip Top and other OR products, please visit www.outdoorresearch.com or www.amazon.com/outdoorresearch.
