Ergodyne Thermal Vest and Jacket

I first heard of Ergodyne about five years ago and since that time they have become one of my go-to companies for quality work wear. Some of their gear, like their Argon-filled vest, is pretty bizarre, but they also have more traditional products. For the last few months I’ve been wearing their CORE Performance Thermal Vest (6463) and Thermal Jacket (6465). While those products not as exciting as gas-filled outerwear, they do live up to the quality level I have come to expect from the company.

The CORE vest is a fleece-line polyester shell—light but still very warm. Properly layered underneath the vest, I had no problems spending the morning outside in 20-degree weather. A drawstring waist can also be cinched up to reduce heat loss.

Ergodyne added a few subtle touches that anyone in construction can appreciate. They reinforced the tops of the shoulders with an extremely durable fabric called Armortex. So when you haul 2x4s around on your shoulders, you won’t damage the vest. It’s a nice feature and it works.

And there are pockets everywhere; along with the normal fleece lined hand pockets up front, there are two breast pockets, one of which is perfect for a small flashlight. There is a zippered document pouch in the small of the back and an inner pocket at the left breast with a hook and loop closure. All of the zippers are YKK, a chunky-looking and heavy-duty brand.

One of my favorite things about the vest is the height of the collar. When fully zipped it covers the entire neck and then some; it’s like wearing a large, rigid turtleneck. On cold or windy days, I’ll zip it up and tuck my chin into the collar, completely protecting my neck and lower face from the elements. I also like that the vest is stylish and will leave the customer with a good impression if you show up in it to work or quote a job.

The CORE Performance Thermal Jacket is the same as the vest except it has sleeves. And everything about it—except for the sleeves—is great. The problem is, the fleece lining of the sleeves is very loose inside the poly shell. This makes the jacket difficult to put on because your shirt sleeves get caught up in the fleece. Once it’s on I have to locate the ends of my shirt sleeves and pulling them down. It’s a nice jacket but the problem with the sleeves is annoying enough that I stopped wearing it because I have a similar jacket from Blaklader that does not have a problem with its sleeves.

But even if the sleeves were perfect, I’d probably still go for the vest. I’ve always liked the core warmth and arm flexibility that vests provide. Because the Ergodyne vest is so light and thin, I can put a larger coat on top of it if the weather gets really nasty. The jacket doesn’t have this flexibility.

Something worth noting about both the jacket and vest is that printed on the back, in between the shoulder blades, are the words, “Be Tenacious.” Thankfully, they’re black letters on a dark gray background, so it’s not too obvious. Personally, I wish it wasn’t there because I don’t like wearing clothes with logos and slogans on them.