Comments on: This Week’s Gear Review: OR Zealot Spreads Religion

By: Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:34:58 +0000

Great Blog! Really enjoyed the last post, full of handy tips and interesting comments!

By: Lou

Lou — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:44:53 +0000

Good points you guys.

I tested Zealot yesterday by taking a long walk in a drizzle with it over a puff jacket and it had plenty of room. The cuffs are indeed simple elastic, but the sleeves are long enough and the cuffs stretch out enough to pull them over the glove gauntlet.

They couldn’t make a jacket this light and still have things like Velcro cuffs. Perhaps nearly as light, but not this light…

This thing is impressive, but I wouldn’t make it my primary winter hardshell, though I’d use it for my backpacking rain shell in places like Wind Rivers or Colorado Rockies.

By: Ron E

Ron E — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:38:37 +0000

I usually wear size L and have found that the OR Zealot L allows me to easily wear it over my softshell (or even a light puffy coat if the weather gets really nasty, although this is a bit of a tight fit). My experience is that the Zealot has ample room for layering/ease of movement without being boxy.

By: Tom G

Tom G — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:24:15 +0000

Lou, one problem I always find with superlight jackets of this type is that the maker often cuts weight by triming the fit really close. This is fine if you are going to wear the jacket while moving fast and you don’t need many layers, but it’s a problem in a real emergency situation where you need a storm shell over maybe a down jacket. You can probably mitigate this by purchasing a size larger, or with a heavier waterproof insulation layer, but it would be nice if the clothing manufactures would make a hard shell that really functions with a soft shell system for limited emergency use.

By: Ron E

Ron E — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:16:04 +0000

I’ve been using the Zealot for the past year and have been extremely happy with it. Yes, it stays in my pack most of the time, but its light weight and small packed size means it’s an easy decision to pack it rather than leave it at home. The OR Celestial pants, made of the same material, are also in my pack (7.8 oz./221 g for size L). That gives you complete hard shell protection, when required, at less than one pound. When I’ve needed to use these shells, they have performed admirably.

OR seems to be paying a lot of attention to making clean, light, functional and affordable clothing right now. You may want to check out their soft shells and puffy jackets (this year’s new Fraction even has a hood) as well.