Outdoor Research Freewheel Half-Zip Hoodie Review: A Versatile Layer For Cool, Mostly Dry Conditions

Outdoor Research (OR) has been producing a huge range of outdoor apparel for many years. A couple of years ago, the brand officially entered the mountain bike market with the launch of its Freewheel line of apparel. Now OR is using its decades of material and design expertise to craft a full lineup of mountain bike shorts, pants, shirts, jackets, and accessories for both men and women.

The Freewheel Half-Zip Hoodie is one of the brand’s cool-weather pieces. This hooded pullover has a bike-specific cut, is made from a durable double-weave mid-weight polyester blend, and is claimed to be both wind—and water-resistant. It also claims to be breathable and quick-drying, with movement-mirroring stretch. 

I’ve had the Freewheel Half-Zip Hoodie since the spring and have recently had the chance to test it on shoulder-season rides featuring a wide range of weather conditions. I’ve been putting it through its paces to see if it performs as claimed in the conditions its intended for and how it compares to other mountain bike jackets.

OR Freewheel Half-Zip Hoodie Details

As the name suggests, this layer has a hood and a half-zip, pullover design. It’s made from a bluesign-approved blend of 92% recycled nylon and 8% spandex. This double-weave material has a tighter knit on the outside and looks/feels like a softshell. Inside, it has more of a grid texture and is brushed for a soft touch on the skin. It is claimed to be abrasion-resistant and provide UPF 50+ protection.

The bike-specific cut includes a drop tail, articulated shoulders, and angled wrist cuffs to suit the riding position. It has an attached hood that fits under a helmet and avoids seams on top of the shoulders for comfort with a backpack. The front zipper is 13 inches long and is arguably more of a ⅓ zip than a ½. The hoodie has a single zippered pocket on the left chest. This pocket is large enough to fit my ancient iPhone 11, but it might be a squeeze to fit larger phones.

The Freewheel Half-Zip Hoodie comes in Black, Jupiter (red), and Summit (like a lavender grey) for men. The women’s version comes in Black, Summit, and Neptune. The men’s version comes in sizes S to XXL, while the women’s is offered in XS to 4XL. There’s a small OR logo on the chest, and the brand name also appears in relatively small print on the lower back. My size medium weighed 400 grams on my scale.

Fit and Comfort

I’m a huge fan of brands that include the model’s dimensions and the size they’re wearing in the photos on the website. I find it to be very helpful when trying to decide on the correct size, as I’m often on the cusp between a medium and a large. Based on the photos on the OR site, it was easy to choose the Freewheel Hoodie in a size medium, as the body and sleeve length looked spot-on for my man Zachary in the photos. 

I’m exactly 6’0” tall, and the medium fits me just right, too. Both the body and the sleeves are the perfect length, and the relatively slim, contoured fit through the torso is how I like my clothes to fit. It’s not tight or restrictive for me, but if you have a more muscular chest, sizing up might be a good idea. I had no problem layering it over my regular short or long-sleeve riding jerseys. Likewise, you can slide a shell right over it, and it makes a good mid-layer, too.

Off the bike, the Freewheel looks pretty unassuming and like it might just be a casual hoodie. On the bike, it maintains the same subdued look, but the bike-specific cut becomes more apparent. When in the riding position, the dropped tail, angled wrist cuffs, and articulated shoulders work well to keep things comfortable and gap-free. There’s no binding or restriction as the stretch material is forgiving and moves with you. 

Inside, the inner face of the material feels pretty good against the skin. It’s not soft like a cotton hoodie, but it deftly avoids feeling like polyester thanks to the slightly raised gridded texture and softer, brushed finish. I found this to be especially nice when it was inevitably soaked with my own sweat or the rain.

Weather Resistance

OR calls the Freewheel Hoodies’ material both wind- and water-resistant. Resistant is the operative word, as it does resist both, but not completely. It is not windproof, and while it does block some wind, it definitely doesn’t block all of it. It takes the edge off of biting winds on cold days, and the bit of airflow that passes through from the outside is one of the main reasons this hoodie breathes as well as it does.  

In very light sprinkles, passing showers, and splashes from puddles, I found the Freewheel to shed water relatively well. In more consistent or heavier rain, however, the face fabric got overwhelmed pretty quickly and started to absorb moisture readily. This is definitely not a rain jacket, nor does it claim to be — OR’s Freewheel Rain Jacket is for properly wet conditions. But even when wet, the brushed interior face of the fabric felt surprisingly good against the skin.

Warmth

The Freewheel Hoodie isn’t insulated, but the mid-weight material provides a bit more warmth than just a thin wind shell. The gridded and brushed interior of the fabric creates a touch of loft and seems to provide a little bit of warmth. At the same time, the slight bit of air that passes through helps keep overheating at bay.

The coolest ride I’ve taken in it so far was about 50 degrees and a little rainy. I unzipped it on the climb to let heat escape and successfully avoided getting too warm. It seems like it should work well in temperatures down to around 35-ish, assuming you layer properly.

Breathability

The Freewheel Half-Zip Hoodie isn’t the most packable layer around, and it seems intended to be a piece that you put on and leave on for cool-weather rides. As we all know, it’s easy to generate plenty of body heat while riding, so breathability is super important. Fortunately, this material breathes surprisingly well, and the half zip opening helps cool things down if/when you find yourself heating up. And, if/when you do get super sweaty, the material manages to feel good against the skin, instead of plastic-y and fake, the way many technical fabrics can.

Versatility

The Freewheel Half-Zip has a style that’s not out of place around town or when doing other outdoor activities. I’ve worn mine casually to the grocery store, the brewery, and the airport, and it looks darn good with a pair of jeans. I’ve also worn it on hikes and backcountry ski tours, and it has worked well in those applications, too. Sure, it’s a mountain bike garment, but it isn’t so bike-specific that it isn’t useful for anything else.

What’s Not to Like?

I touched on two points above that I’ll reiterate here. This jacket is neither windproof nor is it waterproof. If you’re looking for either of those things, you’ll want to look elsewhere. Those aren’t necessarily cons, mind you, but important things to consider based on your needs and expectations.

With a half-zip, the Freewheel Hoodie is a pull-over, so it isn’t quite as easy to put on and take off during a ride. It does open up plenty to pull it on and off over a helmet, but it’s simply not as convenient as a full-zip jacket. 

At 400 grams, it’s roughly double the weight of many packable wind layers. Its packed size is also roughly double that of those lighter packable wind layers, too. It’ll stuff into a larger capacity riding backpack or vest, but this jacket does not really fit into my smaller Evoc hydration vest. As mentioned above, if I’m putting this jacket on for a ride, I’m assuming that it’ll be cool enough to leave it on for the duration. Thankfully, there are plenty of crisp and mostly dry days in the spring, fall, and even winter that’ll be a great fit for the Freewheel half-Zip Hoody.

My Takeaway

The OR Freewheel Half-Zip Hoodie is a relatively unique cool-weather layer. This mid-weight pull-over hoodie has an athletic, bike-oriented fit that works great on the bike. It resists wind and fends off light doses of water, but I found it best for brisk and mostly dry days. It’s not the lightest or the most packable, but it’s breathable enough to put on and leave on for most of my shoulder season rides. 

The fact that it fits great and is comfortable against the skin makes it a no-brainer for cool/cold rides when I’m not expecting rain. The subdued style and solid colors also look great off the bike, making this layer a versatile option that can play a bunch of different sports or complement your casual wardrobe.

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