Gear Review: NRS Men’s H2Core Silkweight Hoodie

Better than sunscreen…

When Cristi and I landed in Savannah, GA last fall it was hot. Really hot. Late September temperatures were hovering in the upper nineties. Water temperatures were in the 80s. The sun was relentless.

I spent a few days out on the water early in our stay and did my best to cover up with the clothes that I had in the Casita. My Patagonia Capilene Cool Lightweight top kept the sunburn away, but it wasn’t the perfect tool for the job for a couple reasons.

First, both my Capilene long sleeve tops are fairly dark, so they were hot. Worse, something about the cut and fabric gave me instant saltwater chafe. Not fun.

I needed something better for the summer guide season. Something cooler that wouldn’t rub me raw. I would be nice if it had a hood for serious sun protection.

My friend Danny from NRS came to the rescue with a care package of kayaking goodies. There, in the box, was the NRS H2Core Silkweight Hoodie. Just what the doctor ordered.

We’re through the winter now and coming into the hot season. I’ve had a chance to put the H2Core Silkweight Hoodie through the paces. Here’s my take.

Fabric
The Silkweight Hoodie is sewn from a 5.4 oz. 92% polyester / 8% spandex blend. The fabric is about twice as heavy as my Capilene tops. It’s massively stretchy and feels cool against your skin.

Polyester is hydrophobic material that dries quickly. Spandex is nylon, which is hydrophilic and slow to dry. The high spandex content in H2Core Silkweight fabric makes it slower to dry than comparable polyester fabrics with a lower nylon content.

This is a feature. Not a bug.

Sun protection clothing should keep you cool. Slower drying fabrics cool your skin through evaporation. H2Core Silkweight is a heavy enough fabric, with enough spandex, that it holds water next-to-skin where it can evaporate slowly. Get it wet and it will keep you cool.

I wouldn’t want to wear this material as a base layer in a cold weather layering system because of the slower drying time. It would give you a chill. For sun protection, that’s just what you want.

Chafe Protection
Once you get your sun top wet you’ll face the problem of chafing. At least if you’re paddling in saltwater. I started kayaking in the Great Lakes and didn’t spend time in a marine environment until the early 2000’s. When I did I discovered that I have a real problem with saltwater chafing.

I’ve worn all kinds of rash guards, t-shirts and wind shells in an attempt to avoid chafing. Nothing worked. When I put on the H2Core Hoodie I expected more of the same. After several hours of surfing I was more than impressed.

No chafing.

Flat-lock seams and large panels under the arm help eliminate chafing.

I usually get a pretty good strawberry on the inside of my arm where it brushes against my chest or PFD. At the end of my surf session there was nothing. No rash. Not even the start of one. Wow.

Why not? Honestly, I don’t know. It might have something to do with the cut of the hoodie, which has no sewn seams under the arms. It might be the smooth, stretchy fabric or the flat-lock seams. Maybe the looseness of the cut helps. Maybe tighter is worse. Whatever it is, this is the first paddling top that I’ve worn that didn’t rub me raw. It’s a massive improvement over anything I’ve tried up until now.

Of course, one surf session isn’t definitive proof, but I’m cautiously optimistic. I don’t expect the H2Core Hoodie to be a miracle cure for saltwater rash. But it might be.

Bugs
Here on the Georgia Coast, the most prolific and annoying biting critters are sand flies. Gnats, no-seeums, sand gnats. Tiny little bugs the size of a flake of pepper that swarm in hordes at low tide and leave you covered in red welts. Cristi tells me that I’m not allowed to complain about gnats because that’s weak and what tourists do. So I’m not complaining. But I can think of at least one time when both of us were driven to the edge of sanity by an epic swarm that defied imagination.

The Hoodie blocks gnats. I have a feeling that it will be OK for larger biting flies and might work for skeeters. Once I get this thing back to the North Woods I’ll have a better idea. Or maybe a little later this season here in the Lowcountry. I hear the mosquitoes are on the way. Just waiting on a little rain.

Fit
NRS sizing runs a little small. For most outdoor brands I’m a solid large. With NRS I can squeeze into a large, but XL fits better. This was especially true a few months back when I was pushing 225. That’s XL territory for sure.

I’m guessing I’m down around 190 right now. A little over 6 feet tall. 44 chest. That puts me at toward the top end of the the recommended size range for large on the NRS size chart. Lower end of XL. My H2Core Hoodie is an XL. The fit is loose through the body. There’s plenty of arm length for my 73-inch wingspan. The hem comes down well below my waist.

For me, the loose fit is cooler and more comfortable. I think it looks better too. Nothing worse than a middle age guy stuffed like a sausage into a rash guard.

Bottom line? If you’re looking at the size chart and find yourself toward the top end of the range, you probably want to size up.

Sun Protection
The H2Core Silkweight fabric is rated as UPF 50+. What the heck does that mean? It’s kinda like sunscreen. The bigger the number, the more protection you get. A UPF of 50 means that, when wearing the garment, your skin will receive 1/50th the UV exposure that you would on bare skin.

Do you need a shirt that is UPF rated? No. Common sense and personal sunburn experience inform us that wearing a long sleeved shirt of any kind will block a LOT of sun. I rowed the Grand Canyon in an old cotton dress shirt. It kept me from scorching and was cool next to skin. You don’t need a fancy shirt with a UPF rating to prevent sunburn.

That being said, clothing manufacturers go to the trouble of having UPF tested so we can compare things and opt for more protection if we think we’ll need it.

According to the interwebs, a cotton T-shirt has a UPF of about 5. Higher in a dark color. My old dress shirt might have been an 8 or 10 since it had a tight weave. Most outdoor clothing with a UPF rating comes in at 25 or higher. Much more protection. This matters if you’re spending the whole day out in the blazing sun.

At UPF 50, the H2Core Hoodie is the sun protection equivalent of locking yourself in the tool shed out back and curling up in the corner under the workbench. Less than 2 percent of UV radiation passes through the fabric. If you put this thing on, the Orb will not burn you.

I love that. Because I hate sunscreen. I hate putting it on. I hate how greasy it makes my hands feel on a kayak paddle. I hate feeling like I need to scrub it off when I get home. There’s pretty much nothing I like about sunscreen. So most of the time I use it sparingly. A shirt that works like a wearable awning is right up my alley.

The hood has a bit of lycra trim that helps keep it in place.

Features
It’s not just the fabric that makes the Hoodie a winner. It has a simple feature set that ticks all the boxes for sun protection.

Of course, it has a hood. With the hood up your neck, ears and dome are shaded. Wear it over a ball cap and the sun stays off your beak. The hood opening has a bit of lycra trim that keeps it close to your face. This tight fit helps protect the underside of your neck from reflected sun. A little sunscreen on your face and you’re good to go.

As I mentioned earlier, the sleeves are cut so there are no seams under the arms. There is a broad panel that runs from the bottom of your ribs all the way down the sleeve of the top. This has got to be a big part what keeps the chafe away.

The Hoodie is sewn with flat-lock seams which reduces bulk and chafing. This is standard for quality base layers and other garments intended to be worn next-to-skin.

Thumb holes allow the sleeves to double as minimalist sun gloves.

Cuffs have a couple thumb loops that help hold the sleeves in place for better protection. With your thumbs in the loops that back of your hands are covered down to your fingers. It’s not a problem to paddle with your hands tucked away like this. Much less of a bother than greasy sunscreen hands.

That’s really it for features aside from a little bit of reflective trim. No pockets, no drawcords. Everything you need, nothing you don’t.

Summer is Coming
I’m going to be wearing this thing a lot this summer. It’s going to be hot. And salty. And a guy from the Deep North needs as much sun protection as he can get. I’m not sure how long our time at the beach will last, but I look forward to paddling a bunch more while we’re here. When I head out, the H2Core Hoodie is the first thing I’ll grab.

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