Gear of the Week | Devold of Norway - Expedition Women Hoodie

Devold advertises the Expedition Women Hoodie as two-layer wool underwear (100% merino wool inside, 90% merino wool and 10% polyamide outside), which is said to be particularly warm, moisture-regulating and extremely hard-wearing.

First impression

The workmanship was impressive at first glance when unpacking. The material looks high-quality and hard-wearing, the seams appear robust. You can tell that the hoodie is designed for cold winter days (the name "Expedition" says it all), as it looks thick and fluffy. At 235g / m², the weight is actually surprisingly light for the "extra warm" category. However, the weight saving is "eaten up" again by the additional hood, so the ski top cannot necessarily be described as lightweight overall. I initially wondered whether a hood on a woollen underwear top made sense, as you usually wear a few layers on top, or whether it's just a nice, stylish design gadget so that you still look a bit "hip" in your underwear. In any case, I was looking forward to my first days of skiing with the hoodie, because it couldn't possibly be warm enough for me old frostbite.

And this warmth is really great when it's really cold outside. Thanks to inversion weather conditions in the valley, we often had temperatures in the double digits below zero in the mornings when we were out touring and I still wasn't cold on my upper body. At higher temperatures towards spring, the hoodie is too warm as underwear under another fleece or similar. However, it can easily be worn on its own as a shirt (also thanks to the nice design) and even in December it was sufficient as a sole top on warmer days on the ascent when there was little wind.

About wind. In practice, the advantage of the hood quickly became apparent: On the tour ascent, when the jacket has found its place comfortably in the backpack and it does get slightly windy, the hood is a nice extra treat to keep your head warm, which you can actually use if you're too lazy to take off your backpack right now. I've never used the thumb holes on the cuffs myself - but that's certainly a matter of taste.

The hoodie also impresses with its moisture-wicking properties. Even after sweating a lot, the hoodie wasn't too damp and dried really quickly, even under a damp fleece. And it also impresses with its "odor properties": I hardly dare say it, but even after five ski touring days in a row in the hoodie (it was supposed to be properly tested...), you could still be seen wearing it in the breakfast room of the vacation guesthouse without anyone turning up their nose.

Conclusion

In the meantime, I've worn the hoodie on around 20 ski days and have actually become a real friend of it. The quality is right, it hasn't shown any signs of wear yet (even after washing) apart from a few peeling fluffs where the ski trouser waistband rubs. The comfort and material properties are right, as is the design - in my opinion, the hoodie is worth every penny so far and will hopefully remain a faithful companion for years to come.

Here is the link to Devold's website with more information.

In addition to the hoodie tested here, Devold's Expedition series also includes other models with a zipper or optionally without a hoodie. Click here for the overview.