Mountain Hardwear CoolHiker and CoolRunner Tees

Mountain Hardwear’s newest CoolRunner and CoolHiker tops incorporate a variety of innovative technologies that claim to cool you while keeping you dry and odourless. Being a natural skeptic, I had a tough time believing that a shirt could do all of that, so I put them to the test during a 6 hour hike in 27 degree heat.

Alright, so let’s talk about the CoolRunner tops first. The short and long sleeve CoolRunners are essentially the same, given the latter has sleeves, complete with thumb holes. While wearing both I felt a cooling sensation once I started to sweat, which is the Cool.Q ZERO technology at work. To explain it a bit, Cool.Q ZERO uses tiny lightweight circles of cooling agent that react with sweat to lower the fabrics temperature and enhance wicking. A similar feeling would be like dampening your shirt in a cold creek and then putting it back on, but without the garment being wet or heavy. It’s really quite amazing.

Below you can see the mens Mountain Hardwear CoolRunner Tee.

And the womens Mountain Hardwear CoolRunner Long Sleeve.

The CoolRunner Long Sleeve has built in thumb loops for those who like this feature.

To add to the top’s uniqueness is the Wick.Q EVAP System. This tech allowed me to keep dry throughout the entire hike. Claiming to be the industry’s leading wicking technology, I had very high expectations and to my surprise, was not let down. There is extra venting on the garments front and back to increase breathability, which made occasional small breezes really refreshing. Partway through the hike I switched to a cotton Tee, for comparison. It didn’t take long to notice the complete lack of breathability and build up of excess moisture against my back and sides. When I grabbed the CoolRunner top from my daypack to change back, it was completely dry and odourless, almost like I had never worn it.

The Garments fabric is much softer and more comfortable than your average exercise top. It’s still lightweight and breathable which helps for quicker drying, but resembles the feeling of bamboo more than anything else. The CoolRunners fit true to size, so I only recommend going up a size if you like your tops to fit a little loose. I went for the size Small, which you can see in
the above photo.

The fabric's exterior easily shows the built in venting.

The fabric's interior is where the  Wick.Q EVAP and Cool.Q ZERO technologies do their thing.

Check out this video which explains how Mountain Hardwear's Wick.Q EVAP technoligy works:

Now, how does the CoolHiker differ, you might ask? Though it does use the same Cool.Q ZERO and antimicrobial technologies it doesn’t have as breathable a fabric, or incorporate the Wick Q. Evap. System. It’s still able to wick away moisture quite effectively, but doesn’t dry as efficiently.

I found the garments fit to be about one size off. The small I ordered fit more like a medium, so I recommend ordering a size down from what you normally would. Besides that, the fabric is very soft and comfortable, much like cotton, and with no noticeable seam lines where a backpack would sit.

Below you can see the mens version of the Mountain Hardwear CoolHiker Tee and Song sleeve Shirt.

Verdict:

The CoolHiker is a great product, but in the end The CoolRunner is well worth the extra money and is the shirt I will now be using for running and hiking.

SPECS:

CoolRunner Tee and Long Sleeve
Price: $70 CAN CoolRunner T, $75CAN CoolRunner Long Sleeve
Sizes: XS - XL
Colours: Red, White, Blue
Weight: 111g / 3.9oz, Long Sleeve 140g / 4.9oz
Warranty: Lifetime

CoolHiker Tee and Long Sleeve
Price: $50CAN
Sizes: XS - XL
Colours: Purple, Salmon, White, Aqua, Blue
Weight: 122g / 4.3oz
Warranty: Lifetime

PROS:

CoolRunner Tee and Long Sleeve
- Efficient Wick.Q Evap Wicking system that keeps you cool and dry
- Cool.Q ZERO cooling technology that works really well at making sure you stay cool
- UPF 25 protection from the sun, extra if you get the sleeved
- Antimicrobial treatment that keeps you odourless and feeling fresh
- Venting system on front and back add breathability to fabric that helps you stay cool.
- Fabric is very soft and comfortable with neat detailing in silver
- The Thumb loops are a nice addition and fit well

CoolHiker Tee and Long Sleeve
- Wicking ability works great
- Cool.Q ZERO cooling technology that works really well at making sure you stay cool
- UPF 25 protection from the sun
- Antimicrobial treatment that keeps you odourless and feeling fresh
- Fabric is very soft and comfortable, much like cotton

CONS:

CoolRunner Tee and Long Sleeve
- Only 3 colours to choose from
- The white is easy to stain
- Fabric is slightly transparent in all colours

CoolHiker Tee and Long Sleeve
- Fabric is very simple and lacks in detailing
- The sizing is off, so you need to order one size small
- Takes longer to dry because there’s less ventilation
- Price is high for what you get

Rating:

CoolRunner Tee and Long Sleeve 9.5/10
Fit/comfort:                1.5/2
Coolness:                     2/2
Moisture Management: 2/2
Features:                     2/2
Quality/Price                2/2

CoolHiker T                   7/10
Fit/comfort:                 1/2
Coolness:                      2/2
Moisture Management:  1/2
Features:                      1.5/2
Quality/Price                 1.5/2

This is only our opinion. Do you disagree? Did we miss something? Are we totally out to lunch? Join the discussion in the forums here, and let us know what you think. People like/dislike gear for different reasons so chime in and we'll get a well-rounded evaluation.

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