.png)
Californians are not invited to this party. Not that they want to be.
For Christmas, my Grandma got me a set of Underarmour 4.0, which is for "brutally cold" temperatures, according to the box.
Summary: It is so much warmer and more comfortable than traditional UA, I can't bring myself to ever wear my traditional Underarmour again, after wearing it for two years.
The inside is a waffle pattern, which the manufacturer says traps pockets of warm air underneath. They're incredibly soft and comfortable against the skin. On the shirt, the big waffles extend throughout the entire shirt. I'm showing you it inside out:
On the pants, the big waffles turn into tiny waffles just below the knees, which is great for equestrians:
 |
| Also shown inside out, and shown with optional dog hair. |
Unfortunately this is where my one equestrian problem is with them: they don't have rubber cuffs on the inside of the pants, so if you are putting breeches or tights over them, they roll up your calf and have to be pulled back down. It's a minor annoyance given how awesome these things are, but it does bug me.
 |
| Also, thumbholes. |
Now for the performance. And keep in mind I have Reynauds and don't handle cold well at all.
To really test it, I rode in this stuff with just a thin vest and summer tights over it in 35 degree weather and my core stayed so hot, my hands didn't get cold even though I wore summer gloves too. It was in the indoor - UA4.0 is definitely not meant to be windproof, so I wouldn't do that outside.
I also wore it with one polar fleece shirt and a puffy vest over it for my lesson at PHS, when it was 28 and snowing, and I was so hot I got sweaty - but I stayed dry because those waffles wick moisture like crazy. It's truly remarkable how much warmer it keeps me than traditional UA.
 |
| This is what the outside back of the pants look like. The waffle pattern does show through summer weight riding tights, but not through winter tights and breeches. |
But even better, it's so much more comfortable than traditional UA, which always left me itching with red horizontal lines on my arms when I took it off. I felt strangled by it, and always raced to the bedroom to take it off as soon as I got home. The 4.0 stuff feels like pajamas, I could happily wear it all day. I am so much more lazy about taking my barn clothes off when I get home now (much to my husband's dismay).
 |
| She bought the shirt one size too big because XS was sold out. I wish it was the right size, but it doesn't bother me like this. |
All that said, if you go to buy it, you're going to find it's expensive - about $170 for the set. (Shirt) (Pants). You guys know how frugal I am, and I am telling you: this is worth every penny if you live in an area where it is regularly below 40F. I probably wouldn't have worn my super heavy insulated Carhartts and equestrian team coat through college if this stuff existed back then. I plan on taking good care of it, because I can't afford to replace it and I can't live without it now!
 |
| That's a solid 20lbs of clothing right there. Freshman year, 2007. |
 |
| Equine college was fun! |
That looks AMAZING. I find traditional UA shirts pretty comfy, but that just looks so. warm.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can't undersell how comfy it is. I just left it under my pajamas until I went to bed after taking that picture last night!
DeleteOoooh.... me thinks I needs this.
ReplyDeleteYou do. :-) I am enabling!
DeleteSince my forecast looks similar to yours...a few questions.
ReplyDelete1) How high does the waistband go? My current UA's go up really high with a narrow waistband and I hate it.
2) Wondering what your old UA were like? Mine are just the kind of silky material with a little fuzz to the inside.
My upper body is usually pretty good warmth-wise, but my legs still get frozen with the UA I have under TS breeches. Thanks for the review!
Sure!
Delete1) It sits at my hips, like low rise breeches. The XS is a little small on my CrossFit thighs so it's hard to pull them up any farther, but they are definitely not high waisted. It also has a wider (about twice the width) waistband than the regular UA.
2) Mine are as you described. Silky on the outside with a slightly fuzzy inside.
You're welcome!
One tip that might help the rolling issue you're running into with the pants: I wear wool socks all winter, but when I ride, I put on my UA/long john layer and a pair of coolmax liner socks from a hiking store, and then my fleece lined breeches with wool socks over top. My coolmax socks are quite thin and a) hold my UA down when I wrestle my butt into my breeches and b) help wick moisture away from my feet inside my riding boots, helping my toes stay much warmer. I definitely want to try some of this stuff now - great review!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea. I have really thin socks for summer, I should try layering with those and seeing if it helps. Thanks for the tip!
DeleteSeconded! I do the same thing: I put on my long johns, then my socks, then my breeches. The socks totally hold the long johns down.
DeleteI think the top fits OK, other than the sleeves being a bit long. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think this type of UA is supposed to fit as tight as the old compression style.
ReplyDeleteIt's fitted, but not compression, you're right. I think my chest just makes it look like it fits pretty well. It's too long/baggy pretty much everywhere, but I wanted to wear it too much to return it.
DeleteI'm going to have to get the top. i think I can get by with fleece breeches but when it drops below 30 I just can't keep my upper body warm - even with UA coldgear shirt and 3 hoodies :( thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I know the feeling. The top is my problem area too. If my core stays warm enough, I don't lose my fingers and toes.
DeleteThose look amazing!!
ReplyDeleteCannot understate, they are awesome!
DeleteThis is fancy! I think probably too hot for my climate, but I love how thin it looks and how warm you say it is.
ReplyDeleteProbably so, although as a chronically cold person, I even wear it in the house (64F) sometimes and it doesn't get too hot. They have 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 now. I think it just depends on how many layers you want to wear - I haven't been wearing my winter coat at the barn lately.
DeleteThose look awesome. The $170 isn't in my budget any time soon, but I'll stow it in the back of my brain for later. :-)
ReplyDeleteThose look super comfy. :D
ReplyDeleteSo very thankful that generally I don't need layers that thermally active, even with working outdoors year round. I have a set of silk long underwear (cannot be kept on indoors - makes me nauseous) but they are really thin and don't make my other clothes feel squeezy.
Can you put your UA bottom layer into your breeches first, and then put them on?
so fancy! yeah...I don't think I'll be too disappointed if my weds night gets cancelled.
ReplyDeleteLet me know they do in that 5 degree high on Wenesday! ;) it'll be about that "warm" here on Thursday...
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously considering getting these now (Hi from Chicago! I think you are the closest blogger to me.). I've been looking at Smartwool the past few winters, but these are less money and wouldn't be scratchy.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at the 4.0 gear and wondering if I'd be too hot... this from someone who wears ski pants to ride when it's below 40. That stuff sounds right up my alley!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like some awesome gear. I used to run a farm in super rural northern Michigan, I bet that would have been a fantastic investment then. Alas! Now I'm a California girl ;)
ReplyDeleteI looked at this stuff in the store but was having a tough time justifying the price tag so I bought a different brand instead and now after your review I wish I hadn't! This would certainly be the week for it here since today our low was -25 and our high was -1 :(
ReplyDeleteooh nice!! thumb holes are pretty much my jam, lol, and i wear my technical running type shirts (some UA knockoff) pretty much religiously at the barn. glad you found something that works for you!
ReplyDeleteamazing! this stuff sounds amazing.
ReplyDelete