Review: Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Jacket

Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Men’s Jacket

As the days get a bit longer and the winter turns from spring and summer, it is always important to have a lightweight hoody in your pack. The temps can swing and the trails seem to get longer so it is important to have a versatile jacket that is good for multiple conditions. I was sent the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Jacket to put it to the test. Here is my review.

As a disclaimer I would like to mention that I was given the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Men’s Hooded Jacket so that I could write this review. All opinions on this page are our own and based on our own experiences with this jacket. I am not compensated for the opinions on this review. Your experience with the Jacket may be different. This site uses affiliate marketing links. If you click a button or link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

From Mountain Equipment

Before I get into my review of the Lumiko Hooded Jacket, I wanted to let you know what Mountain Equipment has to say about their jacket. From their website, they say, “With performance stretch fleece fabric and a slimline Active fit the Lumiko is an ideal lightweight fleece layer for everything from climbing close to the road to big days in the Alps.”

Here is a bit more on the specs before the review.

Specs

Price*

$119.95

Sizes*

Mens: Small – XXL

Colors*

Acid/Ombre, Ombre Blue/Cosmos, Medieval Blue, Majolica/Cardinal, Fern/Ombre (shown in blog), Topaz/Majolica

Weight*

9.5 ounces

Features and Technology

• Lumiko stretch fleece for warmth and comfort
• Active fit
• Coverstitched seams throughout for next-to-skin comfort
• Grown-on hood
• YKK® centre front zip
• Zipped Napoleon pocket
• Low bulk cuffs
• Weight: 270g / 9.5oz
• 93% recycled Polyester, 7% Elastane

Fabrics

93% recycled Polyester, 7% Elastane

All information from Mountain-Equipment.com and subject to change. Check the website for full details and options.

What I liked about the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Men’s Jacket

There is a lot to like about this jacket from Mountain Equipment. The Lumiko Hooded Jacket is lightweight, has an athletic fit and incorporates nice details into the design to maximize comfort and functionality. Here is more details about what I like about the jacket.

Fit

My favorite part of the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Men’s Jacket was the fit. I have tried some European based brands before and I have always found them smaller or tighter fitting that American brands. Many don’t even offer XXL sizes. So I was happy to find a XXL in the Lumiko. The other thing that I liked was the stretch and flexibility on the fit. Trust me, I stretched this jacket to its limits!

Despite being a bigger and rounder fella, this jacket fit me really well. It is a tighter, more athletic fit that kept is snug to my body without being tight. I liked the fact that it isn’t super lose and baggy as the tighter fit helps to keep it from getting caught on rocks or branches while hiking or climbing. The tighter fit also makes it easier to throw on a rain jacket or wind breaker over it if needed.

While the fit is tighter, the stretch in the fabric allows a lot of flexibility in movement. This is designed for hiking and climbing and I found a full range of motion that wouldn’t be restrictive when it comes a climb or scramble. I felt like I had full range of motion in this jacket.

Warmth

If you are like me, you may have your doubts when it comes to thin jackets and warmth. I think this goes back to my childhood before all the fancy new technologies in clothes. We would have to have these giant coats that made us look like a giant marshmallow! These days, the tech has gotten much, much better.

That is the case for the Lumiko Hooded Jacket. This jacket is only 9.5 ounces and is super thin and stretchy. The stretch fleece though still does a great job of holding in the heat and I was very comfortable wearing this as my top layer while hiking in the spring in Colorado. It is also thin and tight enough that you could always wear it as an insulating layer on colder days.

The jacket does a pretty good job of blocking the wind, although that is not what it is designed for. You also will need a shell if you are dealing with really rainy weather. However, the stretch fleece dries quickly so if you are just trying to clear off the sweat or morning dew, the Lumiko should dry quick and have you ready to go very quickly. Overall, this is a really warm layer, especially for how thin it is. I would suggest having it with you for those spring, fall, and early mornings in the summer for the extra layer of warmth and comfort!

Weight

The Lumiko Jacket is really lightweight and has a small profile which makes it easy to store in the pack and have for those emergency situations. The weight of the jacket is just 9.5 ounces. The fact that this jacket isn’t an air-insulated also makes it easier to pack. We have all been there, with a puffy jacket that just won’t pack down! Well, you won’t have any issues with this fleece. It is thin and doesn’t trap air so it can be folded or stuffed really easily into a pack.

Despite that, it still maintains the warmth you get in a fleece. Just without the extra space taken up. The 9.5 ounces is also a really good weight for most day hikes. It is less than a pound so it shouldn’t be too much of an addition to a pack.

The Hood and the Hems

Some of the smaller details that I really liked about the Lumiko Hooded Jacket were subtle but I found them really nice. The first part would be the hood. Mountain Equipment calls it a “Grown on” hood. Which I believe means that it is more of a continuation of the fabric instead of a full separate piece. However, I am not a clothing designer so I could be wrong. Either way, the hood is small and light weight which helps it form a tight fit to the head. This keeps excess wind from filling within the hood and helps keep the face a little warmer. It also helps to avoid that flapping and noise of wind getting caught in the hood. I really like this smaller style of hood, especially hiking in the mountains of Colorado.

The other detail I really liked is how they do their cuffs and hems. The wrist cuffs are really narrow. Despite the small size the elastic in them keeps for tight seal without a lot of bulk at the wrist. This is super helpful when you are trying to get gloves on. There is no big cuff getting in the way of the glove. Plus, the tight cuff can help holding the glove down for a bit of a seal.

The same small hem is used around the waist of the jacket. This keeps the bottom of the jacket tight to the body and allows for that “second skin” feel to the jacket. It also helps to prevent the jacket rolling up the back underneath a pack. I have that happen with a lot of looser jackets but not once in the times that I hiked with this one.

What I didn’t Like

While there is a lot to like about the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Jacket, they will take away my blogger card if I don’t find something that I didn’t like. For me, that one thing was the zipper.

There are a couple of things I noticed about the main zipper that I wasn’t too keen on. To start, the zipper was on the left hand side. I didn’t realize that every other jacket I have has the zipper insert on the right until I tried this one and it felt a bit awkward. I will chalk that up to the European version of a jacket and me not being very worldly.

The other problem I had with the zipper was that I found it small and a little hard to manage. This was more true when the weather was cold and I had gloves on. It was hard to get the zipper lined up and I would have to take my gloves off to function with the smaller hardware. I didn’t have the same problem with the pocket zipper. I think because the pocket is a closed system. The zipper isn’t a deal breaker for me but I wanted to make you aware of the concerns that I had.

Video Review of the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Jacket

Before my final thoughts here is a quick video review of the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Men’s Jacket. If you enjoy the review make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to be the first to see my new content.

Wrap Up of the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Men’s Jacket

Overall, I really liked the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Hooded Men’s Jacket. I really loved the fit of this. It is really kind of in-between a jacket and a hoody. However, it fits more like a performance hoody. The athletic fit is tight to the body but extremely flexible and doesn’t restrict movement at all. It also is really lightweight so it is easy to just keep in a backpack for those cool mornings. One of the more comfortable jackets I have one as well.

The only thing I didn’t like was how the zipper functioned. It was small and hard to navigate, especially with colder hands or gloves on. It caused a few too many moments of fiddling with it. But overall, the jacket is designed really well and seems to be of high quality.

If you are looking for an easy hoody or lightweight jacket that you can easily store in your pack, the Mountain Equipment Lumiko Men’s Hooded Jacket might be a really good option for you!

More from the Fatman

For a list of other products that I have reviewed you can check my Product Review page here. If you have any products you would like me to review or any comments you can email me at fatmanlittletrails@gmail.com or you can follow me on any of the below social media platforms. Happy Hiking!