Fast Dog & Inspire Jacket in the Rain

Two nights ago I was playing catch with our dog.  Inside.  We have a very looong apartment.  From the living room, I throw the tennis ball through the length of the room and to the far end of our kitchen (or beyond).  She runs to get it, and brings it back to her dog bed in the living room.  Sometimes I stand in between her and her bed so I can take the ball back from her.

This time, she ran into my leg!!  This might not be a big deal for most, but my dog is a retired racing pup who has reached speeds of 35.65 miles per hour in her 2 year racing career.  Over the course of 77 races, she ran at an average speed of 34.78 mph!  I'm sure she has slowed down in her older age... but still, she ran full speed into my leg!  All 60 lbs of her.  Ouch!

Ok, so maybe the bruise doesn't photograph very well.  It's much more blue than that in real life!  And it hurts to the touch.  Oww.  I'll move on.

Here's the most recent video I could find of the pup zipping around the in-laws' backyard:

That's not quite her fastest, but I couldn't easily find a clip of her running fast in a larger fenced in field we take her to. While she can run fast, this is what she usually prefers to do:

In other news, it was windy and rained here the last couple days, and yesterday I had a chance to wear my Run: Inspire Jacket in "the elements."  The raindrops beaded up quite nicely on the shell of the jacket.

 

Meanwhile, Molly sat on the back porch and watched the rain.

Brooks Infiniti Jacket Review

My Brooks Infiniti Jacket arrived in the mail today from Road Runner Sports.  I ordered it in a size Small, in Winter Plum.

Here's the jacket's description on RRS.
As I mentioned in my previous post, this jacket features:
-DWR coating
-360 reflectivity
-moisture-proof media pocket
-handwarmer pockets (I disagree...they're just mesh inside, no soft brushed material)
-cozy cuff with thumbhole loop

Here's a front and back photo:

Note: the logo is placed on the chest in real life; on RRS and Brooks, it shows the logo vertically placed at the bottom.  The real life one also doesn't feature the weird little panel near the neck that is shown on the product page.  Not sure what that's about...a 2009 and 2010 version?  Just pointing it out.

Sorry these are a little dark.  It's actually been rainy here for the past couple days and by the time I got home it was 5ish, but pretty dark, and the bedroom light wasn't helping my pictures much.  The flash was still going off.  Here is a front and back view while being worn (you can see where it's reflective).

Here's a shot to show how fitted it is through the arms/body.  The sleeves are still long enough with reaching and the body did not rise up much (however, this hits at the low waist/high hip on me - it doesn't hit as low as the Lululemon Inspire jacket I reviewed over the weekend).

Also, please disregard the strange wooden monkey with a hook in the background.  Long story.

Here's a view of the inside of the jacket and the media pocket inside the front left.  Note, these are mesh pockets, not what I would have considered "hand warmer pockets."

PS, regarding that cord directly under the media pocket. There's one on each side.  You can pull those to cinch the bottom of the jacket a little tighter.  When you cinch it, the excess cord ends stick into the pockets. Kinda weird?  Not a problem though.  Just an unexpected place to find the draw-cord.


This one shows the nice soft brushed material inside the collar (very soft!), and the little loop to thread your headphones along the inside of the jacket:

I don't remember what they call it, but there's a little flap of fabric at the top of the zipper so you don't scratch your neck/chin on it.  The patterned ribbon trim is concealed when the jacket is zipped up.  I think the edging gives the lightweight jacket a little bit of structure as you try to zip/unzip it.

Tab to hang your jacket; not made in China.

Venting at the sides (I pushed the outer layer up so you could see the mesh underneath; when worn it is hidden).

See, mesh is hidden!  The panel under the arms and along the sides is different than the top of the arms/front of the jacket.  Panels are "Aireplex Stretch" (a weather-resistant material with a little spandex); the top of the arm and body of the jacket is the Infiniti Shelter (wind-waterproof breathable polyester).

Here's a shot of the cuffs with thumbholes.  I folded back the outside layer to show off the cuffs.

Another picture I took of the jacket, unzipped.

Comments on fit.
This is actually the first Brooks item that I have ever tried.  I ordered a Small strictly based on my measurements and their size chart.  Their size chart says a size Small is meant for a 32BC-34BC bra size, 32-34 bust, 24-26 waist, 36-38 hip.
(I find it odd that they think 32BC/34BC = 32-34 bust.  My understanding is that a 32C would mean you have a 35" bust, with the letter indicating the number of inches of difference between bust and band measurement...but whatever).

Anyway, with a 35.5" bust, 26.5" natural waist, and 36.5" hips, I settled on the small.  The bra sizes and hip measurement for the Medium sounded too big.  I think I made the right choice on size.  Though I felt that the shoulder seams came a little past my actual shoulders.  It fit me well through the bust, waist, and bottom of the jacket though.  I would have had room to layer a mid-layer fleece underneath, and I wouldn't run in much more than that.

I like the jacket, but I didn't love it.  It feels and looks like it was made well.  It is nice and lightweight.  The collar could have come up a little higher - if I'm going to be wearing this for wind protection in cool weather, I want the ability to zip it nearly up to my chin.  The sleeves look plenty long on me, but as I'm only 5'2" - I'd be concerned about the length of sleeves on someone taller.  For that matter, anyone with a longer torso might also find this to hit a little higher on the waist?

It's a nice jacket, and at $90 ($81 + free shipping if you have Road Runner VIP) it might be priced a little high? It is nice looking and fairly fitted - it's not like some boxier jackets that are out there.  Function wise, I of course didn't try it out in the rain or wind as I am not planning on keeping it.  I think it's probably a fair price for a well made, semi-fitted, (presumably) functional jacket, and like I said before, I like that it's not made in China.  Brooks has been around a while and seems to have a good reputation from what I can tell.

I'm a little surprised to say, I think I like the Inspire Jacket better than this one.  My reasons are: it is slightly longer in the body (who thought I'd say that, at 5'2"!?), has the awesome watch window, the hood option, a higher stand-up collar, and an extra back zip pocket if you need it.

Lululemon Run: Inspire Jacket Review

The Lululemon Run: Inspire Jacket came in the mail yesterday.  Be prepared for a LOT of photos.  You should be able to click on most pictures to enlarge them. 
[There are a couple that I screwed up in trying to format them where you can't click on them].

First off, here are the advertised features of the jacket:

• Technical running jacket perfect for layering as it gets chilly
• Glyde is light and breathable with a finish to protect from light wind and rain
• Perforation at collar and underarm for airflow
• Stowable hood
• Thumbholes keep sleeves down, & cuffins keep hands warm!
• Time-check: Easily check your splits through the watch window!
• 360° reflectivity
• Music storage and cord guide so you can stay plugged in

Here is the jacket zipped all the way up with the hood down, and with the little vent at the neck open:

 

Here are some hood shots.  The hood is cinchable on both sides, has a little bit of a visor, and in my opinion you still have pretty good peripheral vision with the hood up.  My hair is pulled up in a high ponytail for these shots, and the hood still fits and stays up.

When you are done with the hood, it is easy to stow away.  For the first picture, I just folded/rolled up the hood and tucked it in.  In the second shot, you can see how it lays nice and flat once zipped in.

After stowing the hood, it hides pretty well and you don't end up with a lumpy neck:

Here is the fabulous watch window feature.  With and without my watch underneath.  The outside water and wind resistent layer just pulls right over the top of the watch window.  Watch shown is a Garmin Forerunner 405.  This is a big watch; the face is 1" wide; Diameter of the silver bezel around the face is is about 1.75".

Don't want to use the thumb holes?  Just fold back the cuffs...

Pull the "Glyde" layer back over the top...

Look, no visible static thumbholes/cuffins!

Back pocket opening is 4.5" wide.  Pocket is about 5.5" deep (goes approximately to the seam down the middle of the back).  Here, it is shown with my state-of-the-art Motorola Razr phone (circa April 2008):

While some reported this jacket being tight in the shoulders, I find that I have great range of motion while wearing the jacket.

Back view of me reaching my arms forward while jacket is zipped up:

When I reach my arms over my head, the bottom of the jacket does not lift up to expose my stomach:

Back and front views of my arms reaching out to the sides; no tightness across chest or shoulders:

Here's what it looks like not fully zipped (not bad!), and totally open (a little sloppy because of the asymmetrical zip, but not awful)...

 

 And here are some reflective shots of the back, front, and front/45 degree angle:

There can be a little bit of a bubble-butt effect (see first picture), but you can pull down the back of the jacket over your bum to flatten the poof a bit (second picture):

 

What else...
It's a pretty matte-looking jacket; some pictures online have portrayed the other colors as looking a little shinier.  Here it is in natural day light, no flash.

Also, the front left side pocket is where you'd want to stash your mp3 player as it has the place to feed your headphone wire through the inside of the jacket:

Last, but not least, hooray for not being made in China!

A note on sizing:

I ordered the black (clearly) in a size 6.  A Lululemon size 6 is meant to fit a 34" bust, 26.5" natural waist, 37" hip.  My measurements are: 35.5" bust, 26.5" natural waist, 36.5" hip.  Also, I'm 5'2".  So the bottom of the jacket may hit a little higher on those taller than myself.

Since many found this jacket to be tight in the shoulders while wearing their regular size or even with sizing up, I will note that I am finding my shoulders to be narrower than most.  My shoulder-to shoulder measurement across my back is 15.5."  My shoulder circumference (all the way around my shoulders, about 2" down from my shoulder joint) is about 35."

It's hard to provide a shoulder measurement for the jacket as it has raglan sleeves (diagonal seams from armpit to shoulder), so there is no shoulder seam measurement to provide.  Raglan sleeves normally work for a variety of shoulder widths, however, this jacket is not stretchy, so I can see how it might be tight through the shoulders if you are built more like a swimmer.  I can say that measuring armpit to armpit across the back of the size 6 jacket, I get 18."

Bottom Line:  I am very excited about this jacket, how it fits, and its features.  Now the test will be how it actually performs in the rain and wind!

PS,

On October 15th I stumbled across a little gem... If you want to see a video review of this jacket by the lovely folks at the Halifax Lululemon, click on the link here.  Starting at about 2:27, you can see the Inspire Jacket.  I love the videos they put out every week!

Fall/Winter Running Jackets

It's still balls-hot here in NJ, as we are expecting temps in the upper 80s temps today and tomorrow.  However, I thought that maybe I had a glimpse of fall last week so I started thinking of fall running.  It's been getting into the 60s and maybe even the upper 50s at night, so it's time to start planning my fall running gear. 

I have a Columbia rain jacket from about 7 years ago that I realized this summer is no longer very good at repelling water.  I ran in that a little last fall on rainy days, and it was doing its job at the time.  Not such a good option any more, so I am in the market for a new water-repellent jacket for running, rainy dog walking, and maybe even some camping if we get our act together before it gets too cold.

Here are some jackets I am considering:

Brooks Infiniti Jacket 
$90-100
I kinda like it in this shade, Winter Plum.
Check it out [here].

Picture from RoadRunner Sports

What I like:
-Wind and water proof w/DWR
-360 reflectivity
-Cozy cuff w/thumbhole
-Internal Moisture proof media pocket (good for mp3 player or small camera)
-side pockets

Hesitations:

-No hood (does it matter?)

Columbia Pave the Way Jacket
$140
I'm leaning towards black.
You can find it [here].

 

  Picture from Columbia.com                                 

What I like about the Pave the Way jacket:
-waterproof-breathable (so it shouldn't matter that there is no venting, I think)
-fully seam-sealed
-zip-closed security pocket on lower back (click on link above to see back view)
-reflective detailing
-waterproof pockets
-drawcord adjustable bottom hem
-high stand-up collar
-side pockets

Hesitations:

-Only color options are black and lemongrass.  Lemongrass, while highly visible, might be bright for my tastes and less versatile?

-No thumbholes. I don't know that they're necessary though.

-No hood, not sure if I care yet though

Columbia Turn n' Go Softshell
$68
check it out [here]
Columbia has it available in Corange, Mud (below), and Black; Altrec has it in Black, Mud, and Greenscape (dark ivy green).  I must say, I do like earthtones!

Picture of Turn n' Go Softshell in Mud, from altrec.com

What I like:

-internal media pocket with way to thread headphones through inside of jacket

-"reflective details" (though I'm not sure where besides on back pocket, maybe arm logo)

-zip-closed security pocket on back right (I like this!)

-chest pocket and side pockets

-pocket security tab for keys

-thumbholes

-"advanced repellency technology" to protect you from water and dirt

-Wind resistant

Hesitations:

-no hood

-is it reflective enough? (Does it matter since I have a clip-on light?)

Columbia Trail Twist Jacket
$68
[here]
Available in several colors: Corange/Grill, Tidewater/Deep Teal and below in Black Cherry/Grill and Black.

Photos of Trail Twist Jacket from Altrec.com

What I like:

-front and sleeve panels are wind-and water resistant

-back is "advanced evaporation technology"
-front pockets w/key tab inside
-stand up collar

Hesitations:

-no reflective detail?

-no hood, thumbholes

-not entirely waterproof 

Lululemon Inspire Jacket
$158
[here]
Available in black, senorita pink, and lolo purple.  Leaning toward black for versatility.  This is the only real-life picture in black that I've come across so far.

L: Picture from Lulu website; R: Picture from Lululemon Dallas Galleria Facebook page

What I like:

-Protection from light wind and rain

-Perforation at underarm and collar for air flow

-Stowable hood

-Thumbholes & cuffins for warmth (no need to run with gloves)

-My FAVORITE feature: a watch window, so I can see my GPS watch without pushing my sleeve up, and without needing to wear my watch on TOP of the jacket sleeve

-side pockets, zip pocket at back left

-internal music pocket, and place for headphones wire

-360 reflectivity

Hesitations:

- Price.  Is it really worth $158 when there are other jackets out there?

Final Thoughts.

Important features to me:

•  Reflectivity is great since daylight hours are rapidly disappearing. I do have a clip-on blinking light though.
• Water/wind-resistance because fall can be wet and cold.  And it's not going to stop me from running.
• A Pocket somewhere on the jacket.  Preferably the zipping kind so things don't fall out. 

Nice features:

• Stand up collars are great for keeping your neck warm, plus you have the ability to unzip as you warm up.
• Comfort cuffs are nice; snugger fabric around the jacket's arm opening keeps the wind from getting up there. 
• Fitted. I don't like lots of baggy clothing for running.  All of the above options seem to have a somewhat shaped or active fit. 

Not sure if I need them:

• Thumbholes/Cuffins are great for running without gloves, but I own thin SmartWool running gloves.
• Internal media pocket is nice to have, but in a downpour, I will not likely be running with music.
• Hood is nice, but depends on my visibility with the hood up.  Do I have any peripheral vision left?  Does the fabric make a loud noise whenever I turn my head?  I have moisture wicking baseball caps and a Lululemon Brisk headback to keep my ears warm.
• Any additional warmth/thickness.  I am planning to use the jacket as a layering piece, so I can adjust what I wear underneath according to the weather.  Anything from the Lululemon Swiftly Tech L/S to something a little warmer like the Lululemon Run:Energy Pullover or Brisk Pullover (running luon) or my heavier Marmot Powerstretch half-zip fleece (All of these items have thumbholes, actually...)

 - - -

I think the Trail Twist is at the bottom of my list of the jackets I summarized in this post because it doesn't seem as well-equipped for a soggy run.  I really like the Brooks Infiniti Jacket and the Columbia Pave the Way Jacket.  The Columbia Turn n' Go Softshell isn't bad.  I like many features on the Lululemon Inspire Jacket.  But $158 is a lot!! 
 
 

The Brooks Infiniti Jacket I can get through RoadRunner Sports (I'm a VIP) for $100 $90 + an additional 10% through Friday evening (special promotion due to a website glitch the other day?)  That brings it down to $81.  I can also get 5% cashback if I launch my order through Ebates (that's $4.05 back to me in about a month or so).

The Columbia Pave the Way would be $140 + free shipping at Columbia (Free Greater Rewards program gets you free shipping), + $7 cashback through Ebates.  Which is actually not that much less than the Lulu Inspire Jacket.  The Turn n' Go would be $68 with $3.40 cash back.  Lululemon gives you nothing.  That jacket will be $158. period.  

To get free shipping and 10% off all orders at Road Runner Sports-- online and in-store-- for one year (at a cost of $1.99), click here.

To join Ebates, for occasional coupons + cash back, click here.
Currently you can get:
-5% cash back on orders from RoadRunnerSports.com, columbia.com, onlineshoes.com
-4% at backcountry.com
-3% at REI.com

When shopping, I always make sure to check and see what kind of cashback percentage is available through Bank of America's Add It Up program.  If I use my BOA debit or credit card that is linked to this program, there are a number of stores that give you cash back.  You can look at discounts by store, or search for a specific item.  I.e. If I search for the Brooks Infiniti Jacket, I see it is available for $100 through bagsbuy.com +13% cash back, or through onlineshoes.com +10% cashback and free shipping.

Ahh! 

Not sure what I want to do.

What do you like to wear for cool/wet fall and winter running?  Any experience with these jackets, or are there other great jackets out there I'm overlooking (I'm sure there are!)