Cob Jockey

Note: This is a repost from two years ago, with some notes added throughout. I wanted to share it again, because I still have this same set of UA 4.0, it still looks brand new after two whole winters of wearing and washing for both CrossFit and riding, I can't live without it, and I hope some of you add it to your Christmas list!  I literally have not worn my winter coat a single time since I got this stuff, and that's not something most equestrians can say in Indiana.  Prices appear to have fallen too - I've seen the shirt as low as $45 on Amazon.  Enjoy!

Mother Nature has decreed that it's time to review my new Underamour 4.0.


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.  (Note: They do also make 2.0 and 3.0.  Don't bother with those unless you live in California.  4.0 is where it's at.)



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. (Note: I got rid of all my regular UA after writing this review and never looked back.)

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. (Note: really doesn't bother me anymore.)

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! (And edit, it has held up incredibly well for two years.  I'll get years more out of this set, making the cost per wear low).

That's a solid 20lbs of clothing right there.  Freshman year, 2007.

Equine college was fun!