I absolutely LOVE this jacket! I’m actually wearing it right now as I write this. As stated in my title, me and my Kor Preshell are almost inseparable. That said, sadly, the durability leaves something to be desired; the fabric suffered significant wear (and pilling) from a seat belt during a 2 ½ hour road trip, two weeks into ownership. I have worn the Kor during trail runs, cycling, and a few light hikes (no pack) in temperatures ranging between 65 degrees to the low 50s of which it performed superbly (remember, core temperature will be different for everyone). On one run, I got caught in a light shower and the Kor's performance did not disappoint. Despite the Kor's lackluster durability, I still reach for this jacket more than any other jacket in my collection, and I own many light high performance wind shells. This is primarily due to the cut, fit, fabric (feel), breathability, and stretch of the jacket - albeit not as stretchy as I would have liked. Speaking of fit and cut, for reference, I am 5’10 ½ ” with a fairly lean athletic build (around 156ish lbs) with broader shoulders than most and the medium (in Void color) is almost a perfect fit. I say “almost” because, while not a deal breaker, the hem (and sleeves) could do with another inch in length. Make no mistake though, the Kor has been one of the better fitting jackets I’ve owned. Ok, let’s talk about this durability issue and the marketed purpose of the jacket. While I do realize that any high performance fabric will at some point meet its match in the elements (and hard use), I remind you that my Kor was defeated by way of seat belt friction. And for the record, I drive a 2018 Jeep Renegade so we can rule out the whole deteriorated seatbelt theory. A lot of the Kor’s marketing is targeted towards rock climbing (“Big Alpine Routes” in description). The fact of the matter is that I have little confidence this jacket would hold up to even the mildest of rock climbing/bouldering, much less under the pack straps of an approach or summit pack, or even a running vest for that matter. Reviewer Gerbila123 mentions the same durability issues due to a lightweight pack. Also, while hand pockets can be nice, the featherweight nature of the fabric renders the hand pockets all but useless for carrying anything of weight such as a cell phone or headlamp - even a car key-fob will (in most cases) annoyingly flop around with any kind of tempo movement other than a casual stroll - I speak from experience. All that said, for some strange reason, my Kor has become my GO TO layer and now, due to it’s worn and pilling dodgy fabric, I reach for my Kor for almost every masochistic athletic endeavor in a bid to find its limits which has been satisfying to say the least and has surprisingly held up to much of the abuse. Would I purchase again, YUP!
Troy B., backcountry.com
November 23, 2019