UF PRO® Hunter Sweater

As cooler days draw closer, equipping yourself with proper technical clothing is quite essential. The Hunter Sweater from UF PRO® is an interesting solution that completes the Slovenian outfit series.

This lightweight, hybrid-designed blouse may serve as an intermediate or outer layer (i.e. when worn under a coat or a thicker polar jacket). Due to the fact that the majority of my gear boasts the Pencott Greenzone™ camouflage scheme I obviously opted for a model with the same pattern.

The Hunter Sweater blouse worn during wet and cold days in Sweden.

CONSTRUCTION AND CRAFTSMANSHIP

The sweater is essentially made of two types of polyester (hence ‘hybrid-construction’). The outside (apart from the side contours and armpits) is composed of wind and water proof polyester in Greenzone camouflage. This fabric features significantly richly saturated colours in comparison to other materials with the same pattern (i.e. NyCO).

The inner lining as well as the side contours have been made using brown 37.5™ mircopolar, provided by COCONA Inc.

Because these side parts haven’t been covered with any additional layer of polyester, they contribute to the blouse’s overall breathability and flexibility.

The garment is designed with raglan-style sleeves (the sleeves are extended in one piece to the collar and cover the wearer’s shoulders from the front and back). The blouse’s backside is a few centimetres longer than the front – thanks to this, wearer’s the lower back isn’t exposed when one bends over.

The sleeves are equipped with strong elastic cuffs which prevent them from being rolled up, but taking into account the sweater’s primary purpose – to be worn on colder days – don’t seem to be a big disadvantage. The cuffs’ circumference cannot be manually adjusted.

Each sleeve possesses two flat pockets, one on the arm and the second on the forearm. Both are sealed with American-made YKK zippers equipped with additional loops. The loops prove most useful when accessing the pockets while wearing gloves. All zippers are covered on either side by flaps made of fabric, protecting them from exposure to external contamination and atmospheric conditions.

I have however noticed the scarcity of velcro patches for ID, badges etc., that are usually located on sleeves in similar outfits. On the other hand, thanks to this the camouflage pattern remains undisrupted (UF PRO use olive velcro patches for their garments).

The blouse is opened and closed with a YKK zipper which reaches the solar plexus. There is micropolar layer sewn underneath the zipper to prevent it from scratching the torso. A similar layer of micropolar is also sewn into the blouse’s collar to provide additional comfort.

The designers have sewn a small loop onto the sweater’s interior upper section – a great little detail if you want to hang it on a hanger.

The overall craftsmanship is of the highest quality. The stitches are strong and aesthetic, no loose threads or strings visible.

USE

I’ve been using the blouse for around seven months. I wore it at shooting practice, camping, fishing and hiking trips. Usually I had a thermoactive shirt underneath – just the blouse itself provided me with proper breathability and thermal insulation. On colder days I supplemented it with a thicker polar that I used to wear on the blouse.

The blouse features excellent water repelling capabilities – it may not be entirely waterproof, but even after a couple of hours in light rain / showers I had a dry back, although the blouse’s outer polyester layer was wet. Some of the photos featured in this review were taken in the rain.

The Hunter Sweater’s great advantage is that it’s extremely lightweight, and takes up little space when folded – so it can be taken almost anywhere, anytime (i.e. in a backpack).

The blouse is an excellent product with a simple but well thought out construction. I’m really very happy with it. It’s not the first UF PRO® garment I purchased and by no means the last!

The Hunter Sweater in Polish environments (winter/spring season)