Outdoor Research Echo Hoodie - Women's Review

The Echo Hoodie is a 100% recycled polyester sun shirt with anti-odor properties. Uniquely, it features horizontally aligned thumbholes and a slot in the hood for a ponytail to stick through. The UPF rating is lower than most, but it still blocks about 95% of UV rays and is lightweight and breathable enough to ensure you'll want to wear it even on the hottest days.

Performance Comparison

Comfort and Fit

The Echo has a slim, straight, athletic fit and is made of soft, breathable, 100% recycled polyester. Our main tester, who has self-described "monkey arms," found the sleeves to be plenty long enough to use the thumbholes and have her hands covered and comfortable during movement. Uniquely, the Echo has a hole in the back of the hood, positioned for a slightly lower-than-middle ponytail. This feature works pretty well and helps keep the hood up even while running or biking, but it also looks pretty goofy. Still, it's a nice feature, and if you don't like the look, it's easy to ignore.

Outdoor Research has continued to improve the sleeve and cuff design of the Echo over the years. While most thumbholes on other models tend to run vertically (or sometimes at an angle), these run horizontally. The fabric in front of your thumb is a thin strip, and the hole is nice and large, making this one of the most comfortable thumbholes to use among the many we've tested. Because the slit runs horizontally, you're also able to pull your sleeves up without leaving a gaping hole on your forearms exposed to the sun. They are also some of the longest sleeves we tested, keeping them comfortable in motion without being so loose that they fall over your hands when you're still.

Sun Protection

With a UPF of just 15, the Echo has the lowest protective rating of any sun shirt we tested. That said, understanding what UPF actually means in terms of sun protection is key. The number of a UPF rating is the fraction of UV transmission — that is, UPF 50 allows 1/50th of UV rays through, which is roughly 2%, and blocks the other 98%. The Echo's rating of UPF 15 translates into a UV transmission of just 6.7%, which means 93.3% of UV rays are blocked. While several other models we tested also have hoods to protect your neck and ears, the Echo is the only one with a ponytail holder in the hood. This makes it much easier to have your hair up and still be able to wear the hood, adding sun protection to the neck and ears. A taller section in front of the hood also helps protect your throat.

Shirts with thumbholes offer additional protection for your hands from harsh UV rays. Because the thumbholes are horizontal rather than vertical and located very close to the end of the sleeve, they're slightly less protective when you're stretching to reach that next rocky handhold or garden tool. The sleeves are plenty long to help mitigate this, but they still can't quite match the coverage of other models with more fabric after the thumbhole to cover the backs of your hands.

Breathability

The Echo is one of the thinnest, lightest shirts we tested. This makes it great for traveling, as it can easily be stuffed into a tight corner of your suitcase or backpack. While it's highly breathable and thin, the lighter colors are a bit see-through with a dark bra or in bright lighting. This shirt could easily keep us warm enough through a crisp early morning run and cool enough while gardening in the hot summer sun. Our lead tester happily wore this shirt to place second in a half-marathon race on a hot weekend when most other competitors stripped down to their favorite sports bras. Truly, this is one of the only shirts we tested that we could comfortably wear to sweat in the blazing sun without feeling the need to push the sleeves up and expose our arms to harmful UV rays.

As one of our favorite shirts for running and being active, we were excited to read that the Echo has anti-odor properties. Being able to wear a shirt for several days and through multiple workouts is a huge plus in our book. Worn for everyday activities, the Echo does a decent job of fending off odors, though it can't quite combat the serious sweat we worked up on long runs. But this shirt performs admirably in a wide variety of conditions and activities. It easily remains one of our favorites to put on for just about anything, from peak bagging to errands.

Versatility

We think you'll like the Echo if you're into the hooded look. It's a relaxed but fitted shirt with a slim, straight cut that works best on straight-bodied people. With less of a feminine cut to the torso, the Echo fits best on slim folks with fewer curves, though sizing up can add space for more voluptuous ladies. Its breathability makes it a solid choice for the hottest days and sweatiest activities.

If you're concerned about fashion, sticking your ponytail through the hole in the hood could draw some smirks. But it's certainly a functional and helpful feature. The Echo now comes in numerous colors, with something to please just about every sense of style or favorite wardrobe color.

Durability

This is the metric where the Echo is the least impressive. Made of thin 100% polyester, it's breathable but snags a little too easily.

The material appears as a fairly loose weave, which undoubtedly helps with its comfort, stretch, and breathability, but also catches on things easily. Several previous versions of this shirt developed small snags in the fabric simply from regular washing and wearing. The later versions haven't, though the material is extremely similar in feel and look.

On the bright side, the Echo comes with a lifetime warranty against manufacturer defects (at the time of this writing), which is always a nice touch. It has flat, wide seams that add both durability and comfort, and the fabric is woven with ripstop squares to help prevent punctures from worsening. In fact, our lead tester had a bad fall on broken asphalt while running in this shirt with the thumb loops employed. Her palms suffered some serious skin loss and a few nasty cuts, but the Echo sustained only minor scrapes and hasn't frayed much more with several more months of subsequent wearing and washing.

Features

The Echo is unique among the models we tested in two aspects: the ponytail hole in the hood and the horizontal thumbholes (rather than vertical). However, it lacks any hidden pockets or ties.

Should You Buy the Outdoor Research Echo Hoodie?

The OR Echo is a supremely breathable shirt that's a great choice for any high-output activities. It's exceptionally lightweight and comfortable, with a slim, sleek fit you may love. Although the lower UPF rating and average durability aren't wow factors, we like the comfortable, horizontal thumbholes and impressive breathability. We also applaud the excellent selection of color choices. If you have a hard time considering wearing a long-sleeved shirt on a hot summer day, the Echo is the solution.

What Other Sun Shirts Should You Consider?