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If you’re not aware by now, I like seeing the things that the crew at Coalatree are doing with their unique combination of plastics and used coffee grounds to come up with clothing that’s comfortable, looks great, and is ready for outdoors action. Whatever you’re doing outside, layers are key to comfort, and the Coalatree Baseline Midlayer looks like a solid upgrade to your standard hoodie.
Not that there’s anything wrong with a hoodie. The full zip lets you adjust the warmth you need, as does a hood. But they’re generally made of cotton, which means if they get wet, they’re not doing you any favors. The Coalatree Baseline Midlayer, on the other hand, has a DWR coating on it to help you stay dry (and warm). Of course, many soft shells could do that, and many of them are also made of synthetic materials.
That means as you wash them, tiny bits (also known as microplastics) can come off, and get out into the water system, which many filters just totally don’t catch. With how they’ve made their material (again, out of recycled plastic bottles and used coffee grounds) for the Coalatree Baseline Midlayer, that’s just something that doesn’t happen. As a plus, that coffee helps your hoodie with its odor resistance. Only one way to see how that holds up against campfire smoke…
Then again, not all travel is into the woods, and you may want to take this along with you on a road trip, or even on the plane (whenever flying happens). Just as we’ve seen with prior Coalatree creations, the Coalatree Baseline Midlayer packs into one of it’s own pockets, keeping it in a tight, tidy package for when you’re not wearing it. For that matter, it would work well in a backpack, or even if you needed a quick (if not super fluffy) pillow.
So, yeah, if you can’t tell, I am really a fan of what I’m seeing here with the Coalatree Baseline Midlayer. The only drawback here is that the planned delivery in September means you’ll miss out having it for summertime camping (don’t underestimate how chilly mornings can be when you get out of a tent). Then again, you’ll have it for fall camping when you’ll want more layers. The campaign just launched today (already fully funded, and running through April 9), with earlybird pricing starting at $68 (a nice discount against the expected MSRP of $109). Check it all out at the campaign page.
