Westcomb Skeena Wool Hoody LE

1st Look: Westcomb Skeena Wool Hoody LE

Reviewer Info: 5’ 10”, 135 lbs.

Fit Type: Relaxed

Size Tested: Medium

Color: Charcoal

Features:

• Schoeller WB-400 Wool blend fabric
• 16 SPI Double Needle construction
• Laminated YKK zippers
• Articulated sleeves
• Fixed Storm Hood with 3-way adjust
• Adjustable waist system
• Velour lined hand pockets
• Velour lined collar, chin, wrist, and waist hem
• Center Front zipper with windguard
• Internal media pocket

Days worn: 7

MSRP: $299

At first glance, the Westcomb Skeena Wool Hoody appears to be an exercise in contradictory thoughts on garment design: Casual vs. Technical.

The Skeena isn’t the only jacket out there trying to strike that balance, but what sets it apart in this regard is its unique shell fabric, which is what initially caught my attention.

Fabric

The fabric of the Skeena Hoody is a 3-layer softshell with a synthetic/wool blend for the outer layer, something I’ve never seen before. (These days, you don’t see many natural fibers make it in to technical pieces.) By blending wool into the outerlayer, Westcomb takes all of the “techy” look of softshells out of the picture.

The face fabric looks convincingly wool-like. It doesn’t have quite as much pile to it as a typical pea coat—in fact, the outer wool layer is actually thinner than the fleece liner layer—but it is plenty convincing in both look and feel.

It also has a good DWR (specifically, the Schoeller NanoSphere DWR), so water-based compounds roll right off.

The face fabric has Lycra blended in, too, so the jacket has a surprising amount of stretch. I give Schoeller fabrics two thumbs way, way up on this outer wool/Lycra blend. They’ve created a unique fabric incorporating natural fibers into a technical laminate without sacrificing the aesthetics of the wool. Very cool.

The next of the two remaining layers is a water- and wind-resistant acrylate laminate. Though I haven’t yet had much of a chance to test the waterproof-ness of the acrylate laminate, the jacket has been essentially windproof to date, with no noticeable wind getting through in ~20mph gusts.

Like a traditional softshell, the third layer is a fleece lining that is laminated to the face fabric and acrylate laminate. The fleece lining in the Skeena Hoody is very soft and provides most of the loft for the jacket.

Features

The Skeena hoody is relatively barebones feature-wise. Two main exterior zip pockets, one zip interior pocket, draw cord hem adjust, and a three-way full function adjustable hood with laminated brim. That’s it. The Skeena is a very simple jacket, which is something I definitely appreciate. In my opinion, more often than not, more features tend to cause more problems than they solve.