Several weeks ago, the folks over at Elite Hockey sent Hockey World Blog basically their entire catalogue of base layer clothing, which includes a variety of compression and loose-fit shirts, pants and shorts in several different styles. The members of Hockey World Blog split up the clothing, choosing each a top and a bottom to review. This review will cover the Elite Pro Vent Loose Short Sleeve Top.
Product: Pro Vent Loose Short Sleeve Top
Size: Large
Color: Goldenrod/Black
Design and Construction:
What makes Elite Hockey base layer products unique is the combination of charcoal bamboo fibers that are interknit with polyester and spandex to enhance strength, durability and stability even after numerous wash cycles. According to Elite Hockey, the bamboo component is a natural eco-sustainable resource that is thermo regulating, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-odor and hypo-allergenic. These characteristics of bamboo are permanent; they remain far after the competitors fabrications with wicking treatment are washed off
The Pro Vent Loose Short Sleeve Top comes in two different color combinations: Goldenrod/Black and Black/Black. I’m not a fashion expert by a long shot, but the gold and black look great together, so I opted for that color combination over the black/black, which looks a little plain in my eyes. The shirt is predominantly black with gold accenting on the front and back near the shoulders and armpit area. Elite’s crest sits right in the middle of the chest on the front, while the name “Elite” is visible on the left arm and on the back of the shirt. None of this branding really sticks out, and the Elite crest on the front flows well with the overall design.
The shirt also features strategic ventilation around the shoulders and arms to help keep you cool. On the front, the golden stripes are actually very fine stitch work with black ventilated material in between the stripes. On the back side, around your shoulder blades and neck, the golden areas are the ventilated parts of the shirt. This is a pretty cool design element of this shirt and shows a real fine attention to detail during the design phase.
Fit:
From the get-go, I was really impressed with the fit of this shirt. It’s a little snugger in the shoulders and across the very top of the chest, but looser around the arms and everywhere else – which is great because the shirt doesn’t feel too tight on my beer belly. Even with the slightly snugger feel around the shoulders, I haven’t had any issues with the shirt hindering my movement. The shirt moves well with my body as I skate, twist and maneuver. I haven’t noticed any drawbacks in this area. In fact, most times I don’t even notice that I’m wearing base layer clothing.
Performance:
The best part of this shirt by far is the anti odor capabilities. My wife absolutely hates it when I come home “smelling like hockey.” Well, I came home one day after hockey wearing this shirt and she couldn’t smell a thing. She got right up next to me and said she couldn’t even tell I had just been playing hockey in the shirt. In fact, some days I wear this shirt all day as an undershirt and then go to hockey immediately after work and still the shirt doesn’t retain any odor. As some of you are probable aware, this can be a big issue for similar shirts from other brands that just seem to reek after you wear them. This isn’t an issue with the Elite Pro Vent Loose Short Sleeve Top at all.
I’ve worn my Pro Vent Loose Short Sleeve Top in a variety of situations and am pretty impressed so far. When I use it playing hockey, the shirt helps keep my body temperature regulated and even. I’ve worn shirts by other brands before that clearly don’t do this, but I haven’t had any issues with the shirt trapping heat and overheating my body, or vice versa and keeping me too cool while I’m playing. I’m definitely interested to put this shirt to the test in warmer weather to see how it holds up, but so far I really like its ability to keep my body temperature at an even level. In conjunction, it’s very good at wicking moisture away, too. It’s not like I’m not sweating when I play hockey, but whenever I take the shirt off my body is very dry.
Overall Impressions:
Elite Hockey has made a very good product with the Pro Vent Loose Short Sleeve Top. I personally love the fit, and am incredibly impressed with the shirt’s anti-odor capabilities and its ability to regulate my body temperature and help keep me cool when I’m playing. I’ve used a handful of different base layer shirts and this is one of my favorites. It definitely compares well to top-end products from Nike or Under Armor, and definitely outperforms other low-end products from other manufacturers that I’ve used. And at $39.99, you won’t really be spending any more on the Elite shirt than you would from a name-brand company.
