Deviant

Recently purchased the Homeschool Dangermare jacket and received the base layer as a gift. I had read about Cocona fabric before and ending up getting a killer deal on the jacket. Saw the company name tossed around a few times in outerwear talk here so thought I'd do a review:



The jacket:

Aside from what you may read, there's no insulation in this jacket. For myself that's a non-issue, as I wanted a shell, but some of the sites you'll find this are a little off on that. This review is of the Homeschool Dangermare in "Night" color. The "night" color is black, with maroon accents under the zipper flap, and the jacket logo. I had originally picked the Misty, however the color is a much more light blue than what you'll find pictured on the interweb. The jacket material is a much softer feel than I've had before. I'm guessing this is from the Cocona, but it's definitely not your traditional shell feel.

• Zippers - It's Riri zippers on this jacket, the zipper pull is actually on the left. Underarm zips have a meshed lining, and have had no issues with snagging or getting stuck.
  
• Fit - Relaxed but not overly baggy by any means, there's most certainly room to layer, but it doesn't have the "park rat" style to it at all.
  
• Breathability - Legit. This thing really does breathe like they say it does. I've read varying specs of 25,000 to 30,000 rating, but I'm extremely impressed by how well it works.
  
• Sizing - I'm 5 foot 8, about 155 and the medium fits me well, with room to layer.
  
• Hood - Aside from the breathability of the jacket, the hood is great. It's what they call a "wind hater" hood, there's raised flaps that extend up to your cheek with a lowered area in the middle so you can breathe easier. Based on my experience it does a great job of keeping the wind off your face when it's coming from the side. It also comes up to the base of my goggles. The hood has a nice cut to it, so that it's not in your peripheral vison when you have it up.
  
  Few things that may affect your decision if you're purchasing this. There's no wrist gaiters. Personally I never cared one way or the other about them, so this is a non-issue for me. There is a powder skirt and has jacket to pant connections. There's only a couple interior pockets, a goggle pocket and pass pocket. The exterior has 5 pockets, including a chest pocket with an hole to route your headphones from the inside. Wrist closures kinda tuck back into the sleeve when you don't have them pulled tight.

Overall it's a great jacket, no crazy color schemes, and a really nice fit. All seams are fully taped, and no issues at all with stitching or quality. While I don't ride the PNW, we do have quickly changing weather conditions and it really works well. The breathability is outstanding.



Base Layer:

I received this as a Christmas gift from a family member and love it. Again this is Cocona fibers blended in. It's very light, but very warm. It is not a compression fit, but rather a semi-close to body fit. The odor resistance really surprised me on this too, few park days on it, still no smell whatsoever. From going from the slopes to the (way too warm) bar, normally I'd be a sweaty mess. This stuff works better than I expected. The base layer is also longer than most I've had before, tucks in and hasn't come out. The colors are a little loud, so it's not something I'd wear by itself while hiking or biking. As with the jacket, a size medium fit my height and weight.

SGboarder

A few additional comments (I have the exact same jacket).

Agree with most things the OP wrote, esp. the great breathability and the soft feel of the jacket.
Some minor corrections/differences:

• It has a mesh lining, so it is not a 'true' shell (but OP is correct that there is no insulation material).
• While there are no wrist gaiters, the sleeve adjusters work as thumb loops (similar to the Burton AK jackets).
• Pockets are not great: Zippered pockets are quite small. Access to pockets with flaps is a little awkward and the flaps are strangely cut, making me concerned that things might fall out.
• Not a huge fan of the hood and collar (which are kind of integrated because of the 'cheek flaps'). Hood shape is kind of weird: When wearing it, I cannot get the face opening tight enough despite using all the adjustments. When not wearing it, the hood folds down in a weird way, dragging the back of the collar/neck area down while the front still stands up.
• The neck opening is just too big for me, so I always need to wear a neck warmer/scarf with this.
• Hood is too small for use with my helmet: I can fit the hood over the helmet, but it pulls the jacket up.

Overall, still a good jacket that I will use for slightly more technical use, compared to my padded Burton DryRide jacket for resort riding.
Got it for a $80 at Whiskeymilitia, which is a killer price for a highly breathable (almost) shell.

killclimbz

I agree the pockets are a little weird. On the flip side, if you forget to zip them shut, they do a good job of keeping your stuff in there. I've done it few times and the items have stayed in place due to the design of the flaps. I haven't tried the hood with my helmet on, as I rarely want that. I'll have to check it out. I am using the current years jacket, so there might be some tweaks to the design. I wish the main zipper was a double, so that I could unzip the jacket upward to make getting to my beacon a little easier when I am wearing all my crap. Minor gripe though and most people won't have this issue.

Overall, I really like the jacket. It's been my go to this season so that says something.

Weipim

Does this one have storm skirt zip? Cuz my nightwith doesnt and its anniying

ShredLife

no wrist gaiters is a +. they would just shorten the life of the jacket if these shells are really what they're made out to be.

mesh liner??? you mean there is a separate, loose layer of mesh flapping around between you and the shell like some cheap warm-up/track suit? fuck that. i'll never buy anything with that bullshit.

i like the idea behind the collar but if it come up to your goggles that's too high. i like to ride with my collar zipped all the way up ~90% of the time and this seems like it might be too much. i will only buy jackets with this style of one piece hood/collar (no collar behind the neck just hood) so the design is good with me - but if it has a mesh liner it is not a shell and i wouldn't wear it.

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Triple8Sol

I saw these pop up on Clymb and also WhiskeyMilitia several times. I was definitely interested in supporting a local company making what looks to be nicely designed/styled outerwear at deeply discounted prices. However, the deal-breaker was when I confirmed they had no wrist gaiters. Some people might not care, but I know I'm not the only that that refuses to buy another jacket without them. Not even those uncomfortable thumb strap deals that Burton does. Are you listening Homeschool? Add some legit wrist gaiters, at least to some of the non-entry level jackets, like Airblaster, Nike, Holden, 686, etc... all do.

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killclimbz

You know I am not big on wrist gaiters at all. As long as the jacket has cuffs. I guess some people like them. I find em sort of annoying actually. Interesting point though.

Weipim

From my thermal layer and base layer i hve 2 wrist gaiters dont need a third one

luckboxing

I have the Naked Raygun jacket from last year, which is pretty similar.

The waterproofing/breathability is amazing and it shows no signs of wear after 25 days or so.

I originally ordered a medium, but found it a bit too big so sent it back and got a small (5'10" 140lbs). Unfortunately, I can't zip it up with a helmet on without asphyxiating myself. I really wish they made it without the whole wind hater flaps.

The pockets are pretty silly, it would be so much better if the zipper flap went the other way. The Riri zipper was pretty stiff and got caught a lot when I first got it, but it's significantly better now.

Anybody have this year's stuff? I would definitely give them another shot if they fixed a couple minor things. Certainly a quality product and you can find them for an absolute steal.

treedodger

what is the cocona fabric?