I just bought a Reed Chillcheater Aquatherm fleece shirt - ordered online and received from Reed a couple of days ago. I ordered a men’s medium (I am not a man, but tend to not fit well in women’s sizing, I’m 5’7" and 150 lb and a Men’s medium matched my measurements well). It was so tight and stiff I actually thought I was not going to be able to get the shirt off at one point. I had heard great things about these shirts but it was so terribly uncomfortable that I don’t think I could paddle in it. Do they stretch out at all? Any suggestions? I can’t return it since it came from England, and I am hesitant to order a larger size. Hoping someone has some first hand experience with these garments.
I also ordered a cag and a regular fleece shirt and those seem great. At least I justified the shipping cost!
I can’t help with your question but, have one of my own. I was wondering how hot the cag might be. Since I live in NC I am hesitant about buying one in case the cag gets too hot in spring or fall. After you try it on warmer days, I would love to hear about it.
Any input on how the Fleece shirt has been so far? I have a couple of them, as well as other Reed gear, listed for sale in the classifieds here.
I’m not a distributor. Someone locally had a box with bunch of brand new stuff in it listed for too good of a price to pass up, so I took what I could have use for and am selling the rest.
I never tried the Aquatherm on again, I’ll try to sell it after the race when I have more time. The Reed fleece shirt is fantastic and will definitely be my go to shirt for paddling in the winter.
I did not like the cag either and ended up selling it as well. (Still love the fleece, although I haven’t needed to wear it since Feb). It was fine except that the hood is not designed to be pulled down while wearing it. I found that highly annoying especially since here in FL it tends to rain off and on rather than continuously. Planning to replace it with a Kokatat cag soon. Also wasn’t a fan of the dark blue color of the Reed cag; much prefer the high vis orange of the Kokatat one. I like to be seen with all of the crazy powerboaters around here.
Most cags, the Reed one included, are one size fits most. They are meant to go over your PFD so are cut pretty huge. Unless you were exceptionally tall or large there should be no sizing issues.
I never really wore it after I realized that I couldn’t pull the hood down so can’t comment too much more on it. Seemed well made, as all of the Reed stuff is. Worth a look if you are OK with the hood and can get one without paying the overseas shipping.
Oh, OK, thank you. I’m looking at a different product, I realize. It’s the long-sleeve touring cag, which is sized and is really a jacket. I guess the Brits use the term ‘cag’ for more things than in the US.
I have some Reed gear I’ve been selling on FB marketplace. Here’s what I can tell you about their sizing. It runs a size small (Reed XXL fits like others XL). Their headwear is VERY tight. Overall their quality is great though. I wish their XXL was a bit bigger, because I have a dry top and touring jacket of theirs I wish fit me, but I’m going to have to sell.