One of the main challenges of athletic gear is finding comfortable apparel that doesn’t limit your range of motion. KÜHL offers a wide range of men’s and women clothing that do just that by utilizing advanced fabrics and performance driven designs. In this review we’ll specifically be looking at two items in KÜHL’s extensive lineup, the men’s Dynawool Skuba Hoody and the Resistor Lite Chino Tapered pants. The Dynawool Skuba Hoody retails for $189 and offers Dynawool PowerFlex fabric for breathability and thermal regulation. The Resistor Lite Chino Tapered pants retail for $119 and are marketed as the perfect summer pants. Note, KÜHL offers the pants in two variations: Klassik (i.e. straight legs) or Tapered. Both apparel pieces follow KÜHL’s different by design philosophy that makes them equally at home in the office or on the trail.
The KÜHL Dynawool Skuba Hoody and Resistor Lite Chino pants offer casual style with high performance fabrics and design.
| Rating | 9.2/10 |
| Retail Price | $189 (Dynawool Skuba Hoody) / $119 (Resistor Lite Chino) |
| Likes | + Looks and feels good in the office or out on the trails + Excellent range of motion for high-intensity activities + Scuba-style hoody keep face protected from wind chill |
| Dislikes | – Lacks bold color schemes or graphic options |
| Where to Buy (US) | Dynawool Skuba Hoody / Resistor Lite Chino Pant |
DYNAWOOL SKUBA HOODY
It’s clear from the construction of the KÜHL Dynawool Skuba Hoody that this isn’t your standard hoody. The hoody is sewn together with numerous panels and strategically placed seams to offer exceptional freedom of movement. As the product name implies, this hoody features a Scuba-style hood opening for additional protection from the elements. That means the full-length front zipper up extends to the top of your mouth when fully closed. The hoody offers excellent wind protection with premium touches such as the top zipper garage and a wind blocking backing layer along the full length of the zipper. You’ll also find KÜHL’s signature thumb loops on the sleeves for additional warmth.
One of the main features of the Dynawool Skuba Hoody are the advanced fabrics. The patented Dynawoold PowerFlex used for the hoody combines 71% polyester, 24% wool with 5% spandex. As with other athletic gear, you should only wash the hoody in cold water preferably without fabric softener and air day it on a flat surface. KÜHL describes the fabric as a luxurious, breathable, high-performance merino wool blend that offers superior stretch. Marketing jargon aside, the hoody feels soft with medium thickness and nice elasticity. Even with the relatively low Merino wool content, the hoody offers the excellent breathability and thermal regulation that Merino wool is known for.
KÜHL lists the fit on the Dynawool Skuba Hoody as athletic with a slimmer fit than their regular items. A medium size worked well for our 6’1” 165lb tester and found the overall fit to be consistent with the sizing chart. Compared to running jackets like the Gore GTX or cycling jackets such as the Ale PR-S Delta, the Dynawool Skuba Hoody fits more loosely to accommodate multiple layers underneath it. The sleeve length and overall vertical length are on point with just the right amount of coverage. We were impressed with the breathability of the hoody as it can easily be worn as mid-layer or outer-layer depending on the temperature. It’s an attractive hoody that looks good in the office or around town and yet offers a wide range of motion for hiking or other high-intensity activities.
RESISTOR LITE CHINO TAPERED PANT
KÜHL has developed the Resistor Lite Chino pants to combine the iconic Chino look with advanced fabrics to allow it to tackle trails. The pants mean you don’t need to compromise by purchasing delicate casual Chinos and separate rugged hiking pants. KÜHL offers these pants in a multiple popular colors: khaki, dark khaki, carbon and a creatively named pirate blue. Despite the emphasis on hiking or other high-intensity activities, the Resistor Lite Chino pants have the classic Chino design. There are also a few premium details such as a reflective and adjustable cuff which makes the pants perfect for commuting. You can simply roll up the cuff to expose the reflective tape and tighten the cuff to prevent it from rubbing against a bike chain and improve your nighttime visibility at the same time.
In terms of construction, the Resistor Lite Chino Tapered feature Kuhldry X-Kanvas Lite fabric, KÜHL‘s proprietary blend of cotton, nylon, and spandex which gives the pants a lightweight and breathable construction. The fabric is not only soft to the touch but stretchy which allows you to easily hike or bike with it. We appreciated the attention to details with the reflective tape along the rear pockets and the stealth cell phone pocket in the rear that’s perfectly sized for modern cell phones. The 32/32 size fit our 6’ 1” 165lb tester very well and was so comfortable it was hard to not wear it daily. If you plan to use it for cycling, we’d recommend going with a darker color option though as the light khaki color does show bike grease marks more readily.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the KÜHL Dynawool Skuba Hoody and Resistor Lite Chino both offer modern style that’s comfortable on or off the trail. Both items feature advanced fabrics and careful construction that doesn’t limit motion. We were impressed with the versatility of the pants and hoody as they look equally good around town as they do on the trail. The Skuba Hoody in particular features a Merino wool blend that offers excellent thermal regulation along with a fun scuba-style hoody that protects your face wind chill when fully zipped up. Similarly, the Resistor Lite Chino pants offer classic Chino style pants with a lightweight breathable fabric that’s also comfortable hiking or cycling with. The only improvement we’d would have liked to see are more vibrant color or graphic options. That said, if you’re looking for pants and hoodies that can be worn in the office or trail comfortably then you should consider the KÜHL Dynawool Skuba Hoody and Resistor Lite Chinos.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by KÜHL. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.