For those unfamiliar with KUIU clothing and their naming conventions, Peloton is KUIU's synthetic line of Toray fleece fabrics and 240 represents the weight of material. At present KUIU offers their Peloton line in either 97, 130, 200, or 240 with 97 being the lightest and 240 the heaviest. Each weight retains their own unique characteristics and features. Now this is not your typical full zip hoodie and at a price of $159 depending on your color choice this is probably going to be the most expensive hoodie you own but having worn this piece all season and in a variety of conditions it’s worth it.
The Peloton 240 is feature rich. The weave of the synthetic polyester looks almost like a reverse waffle pattern which helps block wind while remaining breathable. I can vouch that this is more than a marketing gimmick. I wore this hoodie on an early November deer hunt in upstate New York. Temperatures ranged from 30-60 degrees with wind gusts into the 40 mph range. After a few hours in my stand I began to feel the wind cut against my cheeks (the ones on my face and the underneath my wool pants). But never once did I feel the wind chill my back, chest, and arms. If I am being honest this hoodie blocks wind better than most high end soft shell jackets I own but weighs less, breathes better, moves quieter, and provides greater range of motion. And like most soft shells the Peloton 240 is fleece backed and it's a very comfy fleece at that. Now I wouldn't go giving away your soft shell just yet. As with most products there is a give and take. And when it comes to the Peloton 240 what you gain in weight savings and maneuverability you lose in durability. After climbing a few pine trees there was some visible wear to the material but nothing catastrophic. If you are hard on your gear just keep this in mind when utilizing this hoodie as an outer layer.
The rest of the hoodie is as thought out as the material used to construct it. The sleeves are raglan cut so that no seems sit below the shoulder straps of a backpack, tree stand harness or suspenders. The sleeves also feature reinforced thumb holes for easy layering and the cuffs are design in such a way as they almost act as finger-less gloves when utilizing the thumb holes but tuck back comfortably when not.
One of my favorite features of the Peloton 240 is its hood. A good hood is one of those things that goes undervalued when shopping for hoodies because most people have never experienced a good one but it can literally make or break the success of a hunt. Many a KOTA Team member have come to full draw on an animal only to get tangled up or unable to gain a solid anchor point because they never practiced shooting in their hoodie and when it came time to draw back they found it was in the way. KUIU is not the only brand to solve this dilemma but they have designed their hood far better than most. The Peloton 240 hood fits tight to the head and zips just below the chin. It's large enough so that most users (I have a medium to slightly larger head) will be able to fit a hat comfortably underneath it but isn't so big that it cuts off peripheral vision or flops around when down. When you turn your head in the Peloton 240 the hood moves seamlessly with you so that it's easy to forget you are even wearing it. Look side to side or up and down and the collar naturally sucks in towards your neck which makes anchoring at full draw or getting a good cheek weld on your rifle as effortless as if you weren't wearing a hood at all. And the breath-ability of the Toray fabric means that you can still hear the environment around you.
Another great feature that KUIU incorporated is in their pocket design. The interior of the side pockets utilizes a lightweight and perforated mesh material which is super soft to the touch. This design cuts down on weight and actually warms your hands via your own body heat. Slip some hand warmers in these pockets and the thin perforated material allows your hand warmers to double as body warmers. It doesn't quite compare to warm apple pie but on a long cold day it's pretty close.
As far as the color palate, the Peloton 240 is offered in olive, Vias, Verde 2.0, and black. I opted for one of the remaining brown version from KUIU had on their outlet page which blends nicely with a variety of camouflage patterns. Overall the Peloton 240 is a feature rich hoodie that allows for maximum range of motion and above average wind blocking ability that makes it a great secondary piece worn over a good next to skin base layer. The Peloton 240 is available on KUIU's website with certain colors available at a discounted rate on their outlet page.
www.kuiu.com
