7Mesh Spruce Hoody and (Revised) Copilot Jacket

Oh, fitness... How I wish I had more of it, and whenever I feel like I have some pep in my get-up-and-go, I feel humbled by the North Shore mountains and deflate like an air mattress on a buddy's apartment floor. Uphills are hard and uphills are harder after a month of living like the French, on a cheese and pasta-heavy diet. I haven't felt this slow on the climbs in quite a while. The lactic acid that is burning through my muscles and the lethargy after a couple of hours of pedaling is hard to deal with mentally and physically. All that uphill, to get to downhill, in the cold, rain, snow. Terrible.

I get the garment paralysis. I stare at the sky and then gaze toward my pile of clean and somewhat clean bike clothes. I go through phases, favouring some and ignoring others. What will I wear this month? Who knows. Truth be told, I haven't seen the sun from the saddle since early October. Starting in Northern Provençe and all the way to Finale Ligure, rain followed me. Then It followed me home, to the North shore. It has been cold, wet and unmotivating to go out there to pedal the bike around. I asked for crutches; rain gear to test. I need to go ride my bike, no matter the weather. So a couple of 7Mesh tops showed up, more ready than I, but I complied.

7Mesh Spruce Hoody

The Spruce hoody is a new product for the Squamish company. You should expect performance from anything with a 7Mesh logo on it. The softest feeling, 3-season, bamboo-coloured garment showed up ready for action. There are three colours to choose from including bamboo, raisin and black. While the bamboo would not have been my first choice looking at the website, It is lovely in person.

The Spruce Hoody is a WTV 200 fabric, mid to outer layer. The new fabric is a lighter and therefore more breathable version of the WTV 300 found on the Cache models. The Spruce is advertised as an outer layer when the weather is cooler (below 12°C, 54F) or a mid-layer when things get a little chillier. The Spruce has no water resistance but the waffle pattern fabric does an admirable job of keeping the mist and a sprinkle of rain on the outside.

Much like bikes, I'd like to think that I am size Medium. It helps me center myself in a gigantic universe with really tall people. I am not tiny, I am just medium. Turns out both in frame sizes and clothing options, that may not be the case anymore. I was told to trust the sizing guide. Do not try to beat the system Deniz, just follow orders this one damn time. I measured my torso, and I measured again. Checked the chart and measured again. 5'9" guy at 160lbs who hasn't been to the gym in a while showed up in the small section. What the hell, I said and submitted my request.

The WTV 200 and the lack of rain protection makes the Spruce a very comfortable almost towel like fabric. The stretch and the feel on skin is excellent. I tried to layer and use it in a few different combinations for cold, pedal days. 10°C and misty, got the long sleeve merino base layer underneath and the Spruce on top. Opting to be bold and start cold, I packed the Yeti Turq Wind Breaker for the downhills. As soon as I hit the steeper parts of the climb, I started to sweat and kept sweating. At the entrance to Ned's, I had to put my Wind Breaker on otherwise I would catch a cold by the time I got midway down the trail. Lesson learned. I run warm and the Spruce Hoody is warm; find other layering options.

On the next ride, It was a little colder and rain a little stronger. I layered with a lightweight, short sleeved merino base. The Spruce took up the middle and the 7Mesh Copilot jacket fended off the rain. This was the same climb; 400-ish meters at a swift pace. I sweated less and stayed warmer but I didn't learn much. Was it the humidity? Was it my effort? What I ate for breakfast? How the hell do I know when a layer works or when it doesn't? It seems so circumstantial that I can only do it wrong. I love how the Spruce fits, however. It turns out their fit guide is good. My apish arms are well covered to my hands and there is plenty of room inside without a baggy feel. The stretchy material has a lot to do with this and it moves around with the body well. And yes the Hood fits over or under the helmet, if you need to be that person. I found that during my morning commutes, this was a nice feature as I start with an extended downhill.

7Mesh Copilot Jacket with the Spruce Hoody

The Copilot Jacket from 7Mesh is not a new release. and Pete did an amazing job dissecting it and where the GoreTex Paclite Plus fabric sits within a very complicated product line up , HERE

What has changed with the Copilot is the one zippered pocket it comes with and the Stash system that now allows you to strap the jacket to your bike, or anything else you want. The burrito pocket that Pete described so eloquently now resides on the tail of the jacket. It's a place where I don't like my pockets to be. I am usually not horribly bothered by a tail pocket but when it is the ONLY pocket on the garment, it is a problem. I know why there are no other pockets on the Copilot. It is mostly an emergency or just in case or a downhill primary jacket. It doesn't need to carry things for you, and if it does it can carry them on your back, out of the way of the chest fit. This is a problem if you ride with hip packs. Otherwise, carry on.

For a jacket that requires a compact footprint and decent weather-fighting abilities, adding packets would be a compromise. The pockets would be heatsinks and currently the well-breathing Paclite Plus sheds radiating, wet heat off your body. The Copilot deserves a place in your riding pile.

The colour options are blue, black, old-fashioned and elk. I think the old fashioned I received looks stellar in photos and in person. Again following the size guide, I landed on a small and it fits as the 7Mesh designers meant intended; form-hugging but not tight, with just enough room to stuff a Spruce Hoody underneath. If you would like to wear this over a puffy, size up. There is a sizable hoof on the Copilot and it works well. It is just big enough to swallow my size medium POC Kortal helmet. I would use it during an emergency rain storm or walking around on non-biking duties. The adjustable hood is very usable and it sizes down effectively.

The DWR coating on the Copilot has been effective as I found out last weekend shooting at the wet snowline on Seymour. At temperatures around freezing, I wore a long sleeve merino base, the Spruce Hoody and the Copilot. My hands were immediately wet and cold with the snow bombs coming down from the branches. I was trying to keep the camera dry with my hands and as a result, getting wet myself. As we descended towards sea level, the temperatures increased a couple of notches. I was never cold in my core on that shuttle-assisted day with my clothing choices. My feet were warm with the right merino socks and Leatt 4.0 shoes. I will need to figure out a better wet/cold glove option that leaves some photographic dexterity soon.

The Fate of GoreTex

It's no longer breaking news that PFAS-filled Goretex products are horrible for the environment, just like the chain lube that ends up in the water system and the oceans (in the Sea to Sky region particularly) and the microplastics and rubber we leave on beautiful slabs of Squamish. Make no mistake, mountain biking has not evolved around saving the planet one pedal stroke at a time. While most of us here at NSMB gladly ride our bikes to the trails instead of driving to the trailheads, we still rely on environmentally harmful technologies and processes to make most of our rides happen. We fight ambivalence in our own ways and attempt to reduce our effect on Earth and its inhabitants, from our food selection to our commuting habits.

Goretex also had to make some changes to be able to survive evolving times. The Copilot with Goretex Paclite Plus will also have to change the next time around.

This places the current jacket at a more reasonable 270 CAD, down from while stock clears. If you have considered buying one, now may be the time.

Together with Spruce Hoody, the Copilot jacket has earned a well deserved spot in my daily rotation this winter. While I constantly suffer through climbs overheating, I will always pick the wrong combination of clothing heading into the woods. While I may have moments of brilliance, picking the right 10€ TPU jacket once in a lifetime, It is good to know that a comfortable, breathable layer like the 7Mesh Spruce Hoody exists. The Copilot jacket is probably one that should be in most wardrobes in case of a downpour that can spoil a ride. Choose the heavier-duty Sky Pilot if you intentionally head out in the rain.

Spruce Hoody 160 CAD/144 USD

Copilot Jacket 270 CAD/210 USD