Macenstein

Gracie’s Gear, makers of the infamously awesome Power Pouch Sports Bra (Macenstein rated 9.5 out of 10), have come out with a new piece of exercise apparel meant to make jogging with your iPod easier, their new HOODIE.

Now that the weather’s getting colder (well, in the Northeast, at least) those of us who do our morning jogs are finding it a little too chilly to be running around in only a jogging bra. Already here in NJ, while it may still reach 75 or 80 during the day, at 5:30 AM it’s a “brisk” 45 degrees, so many of us will be looking for something with a bit more coverage. Enter the HOODIE.

The HOODIE is your standard form-fitting, quarter zip jacket with a twist. Like the Power Pouch Sports Bra before it, Gracie’s Gear has added a special iPod-friendly zipper pocket to the device to help make listening to your favorite tunes while exercising easier. The pocket is actually divided into 2 sections by a thin piece of material, allowing you to put your iPod, keys, or money in one section, and your hands in the other. The “iPod section” is accessible through the side holes of the main pocket, so you can quickly reach in and skip songs or adjust volume (assuming you have a non-touch iPod). There is also a cable cord management hole, allowing you to thread your headphone cable up through the pocket to help try and keep it out of the way.

Overall the HOODIE is very comfortable. Like their sports bra, it’s made from a special fabric designed to “sweep sweat and heat away for rapid evaporation and maximum ventilation”, and it seems to do just that. The material makes The HOODIE the perfect light-weight workout gear for these late summer/early fall mornings (or evenings).

Issues

My main issue with the HOODIE is the way it holds the iPod. I found their Power Pouch Sports Bra did a much better job holding the iPod in place during workouts. This is because the fabric of the sports bra was quite a bit tighter and more form-fitting, leaving little room for the iPod to move. This is really just a fact of life with the design of any exercise hoodie in general – you can’t make them too much tighter across the abdomen – but I found running with a full-sized iPod in the pocket to be a bit distracting, as it would “slap” against me with each stride. Of course, using the HOODIE with the light-weight iPod shuffle this was not a problem. I don’t have a nano to test it with, but I would assume the nano would fall somewhere between the two, and likely be OK. However, I would imagine a most cell phones would also be a problem.

I might also suggest a slightly different cable management scheme. I would think that either adding an additional “loop” near the HOODIE’s collar that you could thread the ear bud cable through might aid in keeping the cable from flopping as you run (although if you wind it around the iPod in your pocket to an appropriate length, this issue can be minimized). Another take would be to allow the cable to be threaded on the INSIDE of the garment.

Conclusion

Currently available only in black with pink trim, the HOODIE is a great workout garment for those of us who like to get our workouts over with before the sun comes up. The HOODIE’s pocket does a good job holding lighter-weight MP3 players such as the iPod shuffle, but users of full-sized iPod may want to stick with an additional jogging armband.

The HOODIE by Gracie’s Gear

Price: $66.50

Pros: Comfortable, looks great, lightweight, has dual section zipper pocket for carrying various “essentials”, great hoodie-style workout outfit even without an iPod

Cons: Because of the lower pocket placement (compared to the Power Pouch), full-sized iPods can “bounce” against you during workout; maybe $6.51 too expensive