Mountain Hardwear Coolrunner Shirt Review
If you’re like most runners, avoiding the heat during the summer months is nearly impossible. We do everything we can to avoid the heat from waking up at 5am to run before the sun comes up and sprinting from tree to tree to get a little shade. As I write this review in May, the heat has not struck too bad in Colorado, but knowing it’s around the corner, I am getting my gear ready for 90-100 F degree days. This is where the Mountain Hardwear Coolrunner Shirt comes into play because this shirt, both long sleeve and short sleeve, are my best friends.
What’s Cool Q Zero All About?
Cool Q Zero Technology
Over the last couple years, Mountain Hardwear and it’s parent company Columbia have been working hard on incorporating a cooling technology into some of their warmer weather clothing lines. For Mountain Hardwear, the technology is called Cool Q Zero. The basic concept is there are small circles on the inside of the fabric that activate a cooling technology when it comes in contact with sweat or other liquid. As start to sweat pretty quick in the warmer months, this cooling technology almost instantly kicks in after a few minutes of running. The technology doesn’t drop your body temperature a ton, but they says it’s typically between 2-5 degrees. Learn more about Mountain Hardwear Cool Q Zero This fabric is used on both the front and back of the Coolrunner Short Sleeve shirt, but not on the sides.
And Wick Q Evap?
Mountain Hardwear Wick Q Evap is a fabric made by Mountain Hardwear that is super efficient at drying out fabric. This fabric is used on the sides of the of this shirt.
Mountain Hardwear Coolrunner Shirt Performance
MH Coolrunner Shirt technology mapping
Having tester an earlier version of the Mountain Hardwear Coolrunner shirt last year, I can attest that this shirt will become one of your favorite hot weather active shirts. The shirt came in white last summer and left the color of a light brown after wearing it almost half of the summer. For this reason, I recommend getting this shirt in a color other than white. There are lots of great color options such as a vibrant orange shown in the picture on top of this review. The fit of the Coolrunner short sleeve shirt is just right, not too tight and not too loose. In my humble opinion, the shirt provides the perfect fit for the average athletic body fit. I am 172lbs and 6 ft tall and the size medium fits just right. Another nice feature of this shirt is the antimicrobial finish which helps keep the stink out.
For those wanting to protect their skin from the sun, the Mountain Hardwear Coolrunner Shirt comes with UPF 25 which keeps you protected in most environments. For long runs, I personally like the long sleeve version because that way I get the sun protection and without clogging on the pours on my skin with loads of sunscreen. However, this does not protect the rest of your unprotected skin, so be sure to wear your sunscreen!
Final Thoughts
The Mountain Hardwear Coolrunner Shirt, both long sleeve and short sleeve versions are a runners best friend when the temperatures start to spike during the summer months. At a price of $69 for a the short sleeve shirt, this shirt is not the most friendly on your pocket book, but after wearing the shirt every other day during the summer, you’ll be sure to get your money’s worth.
