Mountain Hardwear Review and Giveaway

One of my families favorite thing to do in the summer is go camping and of course while camping we love to hike and fish! We spend several weekends out of the spring/summer and fall months out camping in random places here in Arkansas and I have to say that I wouldn’t want it any other way! But as you know camping in the summer months can be rather hot and yucky so the one thing you want to make sure you have is the right clothing that’s light and very breathable so when a came across Mountain Hardwear and their line of clothing that would be perfect for our camping trips I just had to check them out!

About Mountain hardwear (Taken From Website):

In 1993, a small group of people who had weathered years in the outdoor industry decided to get together and form Mountain Hardwear. In addition to working in the outdoor industry, the Mountain Hardwear founders were avid outdoors people themselves and included:

Jack Gilbert, a practiced fly fisherman who is the former VP of Sales and Marketing at The North Face and former President of Sierra Designs.
Paul Kramer, also from Sierra Designs, an enthusiastic backpacker and snowboarder with numerous patents that demonstrate his love for pioneering design developments.
Mike Wallenfels, an experienced climber and mountaineer, whose Adventure 16 sales experience gives him strong insight into what consumers really want.
Paige Boucher, an avid backcountry skier with strong marketing experience from her years at Sierra Designs.

Founding Mountain Hardwear was the team's first demonstration of radical thinking; the company bet on experience and passion for innovative, technologically advanced products to bring together a product line within 90 days. Many in the industry thought the task was impossible, but the Mountain Hardwear crew worked fast and smart—and introduced two products that are still in the line today: the Exposure™ Parka and the Sub Zero™ Jacket.

More than a decade later, Mountain Hardwear has grown quite a bit. The company has over 90 people in our California office, more than 35 sales reps and associates across the United States and Europe, and representatives in Canada, Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand. And now, with the solid financial backing of Columbia Sportswear, Mountain Hardwear is free to develop even more cutting edge designs and products.

Even with all these changes, the team at Mountain Hardwear is still small, friendly and down-to-earth. Employees and representatives continue to share a passion for the outdoors along with a passion for making innovative, technologically advanced gear. We keep our outdoor knowledge sharp by sponsoring over 20 athletes and using their real-world challenges and experiences to continue to advance the technology and fabrics we build into our products.

Mountain Hardwear has always focused on bringing radical thinking to the gear we make. That's why we have a section in our website that talks about the innovation we've built into our products: the Evolution Tension Arch, patented zWeld™ construction, WINDSTOPPER¬ next-to-skin fabric development in partnership with W.L. Gore and the patented Quantum Expander™ for sleeping bags to name just a few. We continually challenge ourselves to bring technical innovation to outdoor gear and to create detail-oriented design features that anticipate users' needs. We combine that innovation and attention to detail with superior product quality—backed with a lifetime warranty that speaks for itself. Mountain Hardwear—Radical Thinking—again and again.

My Thoughts:

I was sent a couple of clothing items to review and I’m going to state up front that I love both of the items I was sent. I’ve taken them on our weekend expeditions several times since receiving them and I’ve yet to have a problem with either one of them. I have also found that the light weight fabric of both the shirt and the pair of shorts to be very breathable and it’s really kept me cooler on the really hot days! So now that I have that out of the way lets look at the items I was sent!

The first item of clothing I received was the Women's Canyon Cap Sleeve Shirt in Casper! Here is a little about the shirt taken from the website:
A new twist on our classic hiking shirt: same outstanding sun protection, moisture management and functionality, in a new flattering silhouette with stitch and button detailing.

Ok so I love this shirt it’s so light weight and comfy and it’s super breathable so that you don’t get near as hot on the 100 degree days as you would if you were wearing regular everyday clothing. I’m also loving the little zipper pocket on the left side of the shirt because it makes it super easy to carry my fishing license and extra money safely and with out the need of taking my purse! I am also in love with the style of this shirt it’s truly something I would have picked out myself if I was out shopping. And just between you and me I don’t just wear this shirt camping, hiking or fishing but I find my self wearing it when I’m having to go run errands and other odd and end stuff I have to do during the week. The quality of this shirt is top notch it’s been thru some pretty rough stuff lately I wore it when we went canoeing and of course the hubby tipped us over and the it got all muddy but once washed it came out just as clean and in perfect shape no ripping or loose threads.

The next item I was sent to review were the Women's Ramesa Short in Stone Green! Here is a little about the shorts taken from the website:
Clean front, with an inseam gusset, integrated belt and comfortable, conical waist for perfect fit and range of motion.

These shorts are super comfy and not in the range of what I myself call “shorty shorts” they are long enough I’m not worried about wearing them and people thinking something about it. I really like these shorts because as I’ve mentioned they are very breathable and comfy! I have also worn these shorts over my bathing suite bottom just to travel from the house to the creek and they dry super quick so I don’t have to worry about being wet all day incase of a pop up rain shower here or there. The quality of these shorts are just as awesome as the shirt! I have no complaints about either item I received, I’m a very satisfied customer.

Over all I’m now in love with Mountain Hardwear and the clothing items and I will be looking into expanding my adventure clothing with them in the future. They have really changed the way I look at my outdoor apparel and have set a high bar to the way I think about their outdoor gear! If you are looking for some high quality outdoor clothing for your camping, hiking, fishing or any other awesome outdoor activity I think you should really check out Mountain Hardwear they are trendy and very effective!

Buy It:
To purchase clothing for yourself visit their website!

Win It:
Mountain Hardwear has offered one of my readers either a shirt or the shorts like I reviewed in your size and color choice of course!

Mandatory Entry: Visit Mountain Hardwear and tell me another item you would like to have! Please remember to leave your e-mail address if it’s not visible in your profile.

Want or need extra entries? Check out how to grab em’ below! (Mandatory Entry must be complete for these to count)

1. Become a public follower of my blog (current follower count too)

2. Follow me on twitter @sgrant2005 and tweet this giveaway (can be done daily)

3. Subscribe to my feed via a reader

4. Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post and to Mountain Hardwear be sure to leave me a link (5 extra)

5. Follow Mountain Hardwear Twitter

6. “Like” Mountain Hardwear on Facebook


Giveaway ends July 25, 2010 @ midnight CST. Winner will be chosen at random, using random.org and contacted by e-mail and has 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion with the product listed above. I did receive the products mentioned above complementary for this review. No monetary compensation was received.