SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs 
The Outdoor Research Echo Hoodie is a lightweight breathable hoodie with a UPF of 15 which provides a moderate level of sun protection. It’s intended for use in hot weather during high-exertion activities such as hiking and trail running. While it has a hood, it’s best used with a brimmed hat and sunglasses to protect your face and eyes from the sun’s UV radiation. A loose fit layers well over other clothing while thumbholes at the ends of the sleeves provide additional protection for your wrists and the tops of your hands.
Specs at a Glance
- Fabric: Open Weave Polyester
- UPF: 15
- Gender: Men’s, Women’s also available
- Odor Control Treatment: Yes
- Thumb Holes: Yes
- Weight: 4.9 oz in a men’s XL
While I love the feeling of the sun on my skin, I take sun protection pretty seriously and cover up whenever I’m hiking or fishing. I watched my father, who was also a sun-worshipper, suffer through multiple medical procedures late in his life, all related to a lifetime of excessive sun exposure.
While gooping up with sun-tan lotion is one option, my preference is to wear sun-protective clothing and eye protection when I’m outdoors for long periods of time in intense sunshine because it’s simpler and doesn’t need to be reapplied periodically. That means I always wear a hat when I hike or fish, a long sleeve shirt, pants, sun gloves, and sunglasses when appropriate. But, the potential downside of a clothing-based approach to sun protection is it can make you sweat more during intense exercise and stink.
The thing I like about the OR Echo Hoodie is that it’s made with a loose polyester weave that fits great, dries really fast and keeps the sun off. The hood is very stretchy and large enough to accommodate a brimmed hat, which you need to keep the sun off your forehead, cheeks, and nose, while the hood keeps the sun off your neck and ears. The Echo still lets some UV through but provides enough protection, with a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) of 15, to keep you from getting burned. While a denser weave would increase its UPF, it would be at the cost of breathability and ventilation.
The Echo Hoodie is not a thermal layer like a fleece hoodie and the wind cuts right through it. It really is purpose-built for sun protection especially when it’s warm or hot outdoors.
The Echo has an added anti-odor treatment that is not silver-based. It works surprisingly well, once the garment has dried, which is good if you need to wear it for days at a time.
Recommendation
The Outdoor Research Echo Hoodie is a super lightweight sun hoodie designed to protect you from intense sunshine. Its fine open mesh weave pulls perspiration away from your skin as you sweat, evaporating it and keeping you cool. With a UPF rating of 15, the Echo is best used in conjunction with other sun-protective clothing including a brimmed hat, sunglasses, sun gloves, and other lightweight clothing layers. If you’re concerned about your exposure to intense sunlight the Echo Hoodie will put your mind at ease while providing the additional protection you need to prevent sunburn.
Disclosure: The author owns this product.
Compare 3 Prices
-
Backcountry.com$78.95$19.74View -
REI$79.00$59.73View -
Backcountry.com$74.95$59.96View -
Amazon US$74.95ViewAmazon.com Price: $74.95 (as of 04/18/2024 09:00 GMT-0400) Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
The Amazon Essentials Men’s Tech Stretch Long-Sleeve Performance Pullover Hoodie costs about one-third the price of the OR hoodie. I haven’t tried the OR shirt, but the Amazon-brand one works well for all the reasons noted in this article.
In my experience. Anazon essential clothing is very poorly made. Amazon does not provide a UPF rating for this hoodie and the customer reviewers, if they can be trusted, appear to wear it in cold weather and report that it falls apart after several uses. I own several OR Echos and they’re in a different league. I too worry about sun exposure after working outdoors as a carpenter for many years.
I own the Amazon product. It is much heavier and does not breathe as well.
I bought a couple of the OR Echo at a deep discount and already had two of the Amazon hoodies from winter. The difference is night and day. Amazon’s hoodie is very thick and works in winter for warmth. I would never wear that in the summer heat. The Echo is very very thin and light. If you can get the Echo on sale, it really is worth $32 for what it does.
Do you think this hoodie compares well to an ultra-light 30 UPF polyester button up sun shirt in terms of breathe-ability? Or better? My current button up is wearing out and I’m looking for a new sun shirt. And, not the standard UPF 50 button ups (too thick for hot weather , IMO), but the much lighter and breathe-able UPF 30 ones with mesh pits.
One thing I have to hand to the button up polyester shirt is how durable it has been considering the weight of the fabric. I wonder if the hoodie showcased here can hold up as well? (4 years of near daily use in late spring and summer. Washed several times per week.) I read some reviews stating it got worn out pretty quick from the backpack rubbing it while hiking.
I think it’s really hard to compare these two garments in any meaningful way. I wear UPF 30 nylon shirts all the time and get years out of them with near daily use. I also sweat like hell in them because they’re not designed for to be anywhere as breathable as this hoodie. They also don’t give me any ear or neck sun protection. Yes this hoodie is probably less durable but it’s also a heck of a lot more comfortable. Night and day. You can’t have it both ways.
Thanks for the write-up. I love this hoody. A comment on durability: I’ve had one for about three years, and the material is significantly more durable than it feels. I’ve bushwhacked dozens of miles in mine, and hiked thousands, and haven’t gotten any holes. The stretch helps resist damage, I think. I also use it as a base layer in winter since it absorbs so little water. I’ve used it for sun protection while snorkeling as well. It’s my only base layer anymore.
I have several of these hoodies and also like the product a lot. I was surprised to be reminded that it has an anti-odor treatment. Personally, I find that after a single activity that lasts several hours with intense exertion and sweating, that the hoody starts to stink. More so than other technical clothing I have my in gear closet such as a lightweight quarter zip from Patagonia and some other shirts from Kuhl. Obviously I’m going to wear it for days on end when backpacking but after a 3-4 hour hike I find this has already started smelling bad. That said, I love it for the qualities that you praised in your review.
have you compared it to the patagonia tropic comfort hoodie?
No. I’m perfectly satisfied with it.
How would this perform in the hot, humid SE? As light as it is, would it be to heavy? Also, would sending it in to Insectshield.com diminish the SPF value?
It’s probably be very warm. No insectshield will not diminish its UPF value.
So many great sun hoodies on the market at the moment but one thing they all fail at is fighting stink over time due to sweat. I would only go with a merino hoody, costs more but you can wear it all week long. Here’s a good overview of the tp two options in that segment of the market: https://www.backcountryskiingcanada.com/forum/bcs/category/gear-talk/topic/Best-Sun-Hoodies
I stink up merino in a day. I just rinse out a synthetic hoodie in water and it dries so much faster than wool.
I have been wearing various Echo tops for years now as my main base layer. They are very breathable and very quick drying and have proved durable. I add a windproof and/or alpha top depending on wind and temp.
This is my go to hoody for all my sunny weather trail runs. Running through a burn zone for miles the sun beats down on you, but you need the breathability. OR kills it with this product. I never over heat and I know I’m not getting a nasty burn while still staying fairly cool.
For SE humidity, as long as there is a bit of breeze the Echo works surprisingly well. I wore my light grey Echo on sunny, humid Cumberland Island GA with temps near 80 and was comfortable. By comparison, my Pata Tropic does not breathe as well and felt stuffy, tho I like it for slightly cooler temps. My Columbia button ups work in about same temps/,humidity as the Tropic Comfort. But no hood is a no go for sunny hiking. The Echo 15 upf rating seems dubious. For the SE US, works as well as 30 upf for me. In Rockies or desert the 15 may come into play. FWIW, Im fairly light skinned, but not like my sister w red hair – Scottish heritage family.