Warmth & weight:
Living in England we get our fair share of rain, wind and general nasty weather. At first I was concerned the thickness of this fleece (10oz!) would be too much for my warm-blooded nature, but that concern melted away when I realised how versatile the Ranger is. There are pit vents located in the armpit area that do allow some airflow, but the main heroes of the garment are the pockets.

The Polartec® Wind Pro® fabric is super effective at insulation which is great for cold weather. We’ve had a lot of very windy weather here in the UK recently, but with the Ranger on my body heat is snugly retained. When performing any amount of physical activity however it could make you sweat in an instant. The mesh fabric used for the pockets allows a significant amount of air in to your core when left unzipped. With pairs of chest, upper arm and hunter’s (lower back) pockets, I found I had plenty of options for creating the best regulating combination.

As well as being the most effective airflow controllers, the chest pockets are brilliant for resting your hands in to keep them warm. At first I wasn’t sure about not having pocket in the usual just above the waist position, but they quickly became my favourite pockets.

They unzip downwards, which means if you don’t want to open them fully to rest your arms inside, your arms are resting on top of the zip slider. I’ve not encountered any slipping so far, so I’m gradually worrying less about this (they are YKK zippers after all). Inside is a tall thin patch pocket dividers that is perfect for holding a pen, a thin torch/flashlight, and even to drop smaller items into to keep them secure.

The base of the zip only sits slightly above the bottom of the pocket and while I’ve not had any items fall out of the pocket, but I’m definitely aware this could be a possibility. In addition to the patch pocket there is a D-Ring stitched to the inside middle of the pocket to secure items such as keys or any other item on the end of a lanyard. It’s good to know there are options for keeping items safe, plus I love to play with things in my pockets, so these work great for that too.

Each of these two pockets also have a media port, which is basically a re-enforced slit in the top of the pocket, to use for running headphones out of the pockets. I’ve not used these yet, but they seem wide enough for most headphone jacks. There is a surprising amount of space in these pockets; I can comfortably keep an Altoids tin in there with space to spare and without much visibility on the outside of the garment.

The upper arm pocket also has a media port that I’ve only just found. Obviously I haven’t used these but it is good to know they’re there. For some reason in my reading of the description, I’d completely missed that this pocket had a D-Ring and so it surprised me to find one in there. Like a number of Triple Aught Design’s garments, the Ranger Hoodie has a patched and a non-patched variation. The patched version has a 3” x 5” loop panel sewn to this upper arm pocket, to use for attaching morale patches to. This is quite a large panel and because of the backing, you can feel a little stiffness when packing the Ranger away and occasionally when moving your arm. It isn’t bad enough to be a negative, but it is something to consider.

The lower third of the back panel houses the hunter’s pocket. It can be accessed from either side and its width means you can get inside even when wearing a pack (unless you have a waist belt in use). As I’m often wearing a backpack, it would be uncomfortable to store anything with too much bulk. I find it really useful for a beanie, gloves maybe an extra layer or shemagh/scarf. It’s also great to have a vent in a position that gives your pack bearing back a bit of breathing space, especially on long hikes.

The final pocket is located on the left forearm. This is a great little pocket for stashing small items such as keys, torches/flashlights, pocket knives or a small amount of cash.

Colour:
The Ranger Hoodie is currently available in Black, Coyote and UE Grey but TAD have been rolling out new colours for most of their ranges, so I imagine this may change in the future. This one is UE (Urban Environment) Grey which, as you can see from these images, fluctuates between a green/grey to blue/grey. It seems to adapt to your surroundings somewhat, which links nicely to the invisible until needed nature of Tolkien’s Rangers. I love it.

Layering:
With its climate control and wind proof fabric this Hoodie is pretty flexible to whatever layering combination your environment demands. In colder weather I’ll wear a baselayer t-shirt and a second thicker baselayer (like the Quantum Half-Zip) underneath this. If it’s even colder I can still add another thin midlayer underneath the Ranger and not feel bulky. If the weather is warmer I can go down to just a t-shirt and still feel comfortable. Wearing an outershell/waterproof layer outside of the fleece also works really well due to its fantastically proportioned athletic fit.

I opted for my usual size, as I knew TAD constructed the Ranger with layering in mind. The single underarm panel that runs from waist to armpit and back down to your wrist really allows for a full range of movements.

Features: Cuffs
The Ranger has thumb holes that are built into the seam and are reinforced to keep them from splitting. They have a variety of uses including: keeping your cuffs in place when putting on an outer shell layer; bringing the arms of your hoodie down over your wrists for extra warmth; and a sneaky way to view your watch without pulling up your sleeves. I personally found the arms of the sleeves to be a little short for long periods of use as the stitching cuts in a little, but even with a thin pair of gloves on this is no longer an issue.

There is an adjustable locking (elastic) drawcord that runs around the base of the garment to allow for even more shutting out of the elements. I’ve not ever needed to use this, as the cut is so good that I don’t find the bottom of the hoodie curves outwards. Occasionally they annoy me, but most of the time I don’t even notice them, plus it is good to know the feature is there if I decide I need it.

Features: Ranger Eyes
As you can see the Ranger has the traditional Triple Aught Design 1″ square of loop for attaching ranger eyes or glint tape. It comes with a TAD logo patch in a colour matching the hoodie. It is always a nice touch to be able to remove all external branding of an item. I often use one of the amazing MK 4 Cyflect Glint & Glow square patches, by ru-titley-knives, that are specially designed for TAD gear (see our review of his gear ) as they glow so bright. I recently used one of these as a locator for a night time woodland walk with a youth group I help out with. It was great to be able to stick one of these markers on the back of my hood using one of the two 1″ square loop panels stitched in here (only available on the patched version).

Features: Aero Hood
In another description of Aragorn Tolkien writes, “he wore a hood that overshadowed his face”. The peaked hood of the Ranger Hoodie can also overshadow your face (much to my sons amusement) if it’s not fully done up. The fit of the hood is snug, but not tight and can accommodate a baseball cap or beanie with no problem, but it probably wouldn’t work well with a helmet (it might be possible if not zipped up fully, depending on the dimensions of your helmet). I find a hood will often ‘stick’ to my short hair when I turn left or right and then rest out of place when I turn my head back. The Aero design of this hood means that it stays in place better when turning, however having a single main panel of fleece at the back means it sucks into the back of my head pretty tightly. That said it is this unique shape that means it lies very flat when not in use, which is beneficial when layering.

Features: YKK Zippers
YKK Zippers are great. I’ve not had these fail on me yet, so I was glad to see each of the zips on the Ranger are YKK. Each zip has a garage to park in which keeps them from being caught on anything, prevents any dirt clogging up the puller and also reduces any rattling. The main zipper even has a more substantial chin flap to house the slider. This is great news for any bearded man who is tired of getting his hair caught. I’ve had chin flaps that require a bit of effort to get the slider into, but this one provides a smooth gliding experience. The grosgrain ribbon zipper pulls are nice to grab hold of, even with gloves, and lay flat when not in use.

The main zipper had a bit of a learning curve. Not only does it attach the opposite side to every other zip I’ve had, but you have to manage slotting two zipper sliders on before you can zip it up. This is trickier than it sounds as both sliders have to be fully pulled down to begin putting the two sides together, otherwise the zip doesn’t work. I have to admit it took me a week or so of fumbling around with the zip and having it not work, before I found a good groove.

The reason for the two sliders is to be able to open the zip from the bottom up, in addition to top down. At first I was frustrated with this and couldn’t see the point of it, but I found a great use for this dual zipper. When wearing a sternum strap you can use it to quickly cool down or access pockets on a layer under the Ranger, without having to undo the strap or navigate the slider underneath it.

Packing:
The Polartec® fleece is dense in nature and it takes up a considerable amount of space when packing. I will almost always choose to wear it or strap it down to the outside of a pack, rather than trying to cram it inside. I believe this is a necessary compromise for the warmth the fabric brings to the table. This does mean that taking a Ranger along either requires a large amount of free space in a pack, or a way to attach it to the outside (the Transporter Tails on TAD’s FAST Packs are ideal). This all said when I considering bringing the Ranger along for a trip or outing I’m confident in its ability to adapt.

Note on different generations:
The version currently available on the website is their 2013 generation and is discounted due to an imminent update to the product. By looking at their updates to the Ranger LT model, I’d guess that they’re planning to update the Aero hood design to the 2014 three-piece design, which would be a welcomed improvement in my mind. Another change the LT model experienced was a sleeker internal construction, which could only be a good thing.

For such a staple of the TAD product line I think there’s definitely a chance of new colour being made available. I’d definitely expect to see the wildly popular Deception, Chimera and possibly something like Combat to replace the Loden Green.

A very reliable source suggested to me that these updates will be released in March this year. This Hoodie is well worth every penny it costs, so start saving now. Learn more in the link above and don’t forget to be following us  somehow (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as right here on Tumblr) for more updates on the new Ranger re-release.

*I am aware this garment is (most likely) named after the U.S. Army Rangers. Interestingly, Tolkien’s Rangers were very similar in nature if you look into it. Perhaps he even based his own Rangers on these incredible warriors.