My review of the KETL Mtn Apparel brand Nofry Sun Hoodie
Posted: Apr 26 2025 10:28 pm
If TL;DR, just about perfect. The only con is that I’ve pulled two threads with a snaggy finger nail. (But KETL claims “If you ever damage any of your apparel, we'll repair it for free, for life.”)
I’ve worn my new Nofry sun hoodie on six outings now. Four here in Phx doing training hikes (wearing my backpack) in a mountain preserve. Two days on the LSM Section of the AZT. All have been very comfortable. Much more comfortable than my previous setup, which I thought was good. (A 32 Degrees brand Cool T-shirt (very breathable) with a Columbia brand button-down backpacking shirt (not very breathable), that latter which I typically wore unbuttoned for ventilation.) The Nofry is so light and so smooth (no scratching on my skin) that I forget that I have it on. (I can’t even feel if the hood is hanging behind me.) I don’t have any impulse to roll up the sleeves in the sun (to relieve heat). I’m kicking myself for not looking into this sooner.
(I hadn’t considered hoodies before because, aside from the counterintuitive reality that a hoodie can keep you cooler in the sun, most can’t be opened from the front. (Not button down.) But the Nofry has snap closures that open down to your cleavage/hairy chest. Good enough for me.)
In Phx I first wore it on a 90 F day in the afternoon with thickish altostratus clouds. (No direct visible sunlight.) Then around 1 pm at 96 F in the bright sun. A few days ago and today in bright sun, temps 90 and 80, two miles and four miles, respectively.
On the trail, a coolish 70 degree late afternoon with thick clouds and a strong breeze at times. For that day, I wore a thin shell windbreaker over the hoodie. I was able to control temperature by zipping/unzipping the shell and rolling up the sleeves on the shell half way.
It does what it says, in that it keeps the sun off your skin and so keeps you cool. Even more so when there’s the faintest breeze. (Even from walking in still air.) Think “Evaporative Cooling.”
Color choice is important as it goes to solar absorption. (I chose “Cloud.”) I recommend visiting this site, which has performed some good science in their review of hoodies. While they haven’t yet published their review of the Nofry, they are testing one now a report that “it already outperformed OR Echo (by a small margin) on the air pass through test!”
Do I noticeably sweat in the heat when there’s no breeze? Yes. On my back, where my backpack rests. But 1) it’s not the soaking sweat that I had with my previous setup. And 2) the moment there’s a breeze, it starts to dry quickly. In fact, in the Phx heat it provides a delightful chill whenever there's the slightest breeze blowing through it.
In my two days on the LSM, it barely took on body odor. (Less stinky than my previous setup.)
I haven't run into catclaw with it yet. So I can't comment on if it catches on thorns. (That was an advantage to my previous set up with my shirt. Nothing could grab it.)
I bought a L and a M size because 1) I wasn’t sure about fit and 2) they give you a 10% discount for buying two. (But I found a discount code for 15% on line.)
The L is a bit baggy, but baggy is what I want for the summer because I want something loose fitting. And the arms fit me better than the M in that they extend easily to my thumb junction. The only downside to the L is that the hood is very large and can flop over my eyes.
(Apparently they purposely make their hoods big because they expect that you’ll pull your hood over your hat. But I find that the hoodie material is more comfortable than the head band in my broad brim hat. So I adjust the hoodie where I want it on my head and use my hat to anchor it there.)
There is no cinch cord for the hood. The top snap will cinch it up well. But because the hood proper is so huge, if you're not wearing a hat over it (to anchor it) the hood will blow off in a breeze if facing a breeze.
The M is a taper fit of sorts for me. If I use the thumb-holes then the sleeves pull a little tight. I was going to exchange the M for a L (they were going to pay both ways for the exchange), but I decided to keep the M and use it for sleeping. In fact, I wore both the L and M while sleeping Friday night along the LSM trail, with both hoods on, which obviated the need for me to bring a sleeping hat/cap. Stayed warm. And again, they are comfortable sleeping clothes.
So now I guess I look like a “hoodlum” from the “Hood” when I backpack. I try to mitigate that by wearing my big hat. But how I look isn’t important. Keeping the sun off my arms and keeping me cool are what's important.
Am kinda looking forward to trying it out on a 100 degree day, just to see how it - and I - perform.
I’ve worn my new Nofry sun hoodie on six outings now. Four here in Phx doing training hikes (wearing my backpack) in a mountain preserve. Two days on the LSM Section of the AZT. All have been very comfortable. Much more comfortable than my previous setup, which I thought was good. (A 32 Degrees brand Cool T-shirt (very breathable) with a Columbia brand button-down backpacking shirt (not very breathable), that latter which I typically wore unbuttoned for ventilation.) The Nofry is so light and so smooth (no scratching on my skin) that I forget that I have it on. (I can’t even feel if the hood is hanging behind me.) I don’t have any impulse to roll up the sleeves in the sun (to relieve heat). I’m kicking myself for not looking into this sooner.
(I hadn’t considered hoodies before because, aside from the counterintuitive reality that a hoodie can keep you cooler in the sun, most can’t be opened from the front. (Not button down.) But the Nofry has snap closures that open down to your cleavage/hairy chest. Good enough for me.)
In Phx I first wore it on a 90 F day in the afternoon with thickish altostratus clouds. (No direct visible sunlight.) Then around 1 pm at 96 F in the bright sun. A few days ago and today in bright sun, temps 90 and 80, two miles and four miles, respectively.
On the trail, a coolish 70 degree late afternoon with thick clouds and a strong breeze at times. For that day, I wore a thin shell windbreaker over the hoodie. I was able to control temperature by zipping/unzipping the shell and rolling up the sleeves on the shell half way.
It does what it says, in that it keeps the sun off your skin and so keeps you cool. Even more so when there’s the faintest breeze. (Even from walking in still air.) Think “Evaporative Cooling.”
Color choice is important as it goes to solar absorption. (I chose “Cloud.”) I recommend visiting this site, which has performed some good science in their review of hoodies. While they haven’t yet published their review of the Nofry, they are testing one now a report that “it already outperformed OR Echo (by a small margin) on the air pass through test!”
Do I noticeably sweat in the heat when there’s no breeze? Yes. On my back, where my backpack rests. But 1) it’s not the soaking sweat that I had with my previous setup. And 2) the moment there’s a breeze, it starts to dry quickly. In fact, in the Phx heat it provides a delightful chill whenever there's the slightest breeze blowing through it.
In my two days on the LSM, it barely took on body odor. (Less stinky than my previous setup.)
I haven't run into catclaw with it yet. So I can't comment on if it catches on thorns. (That was an advantage to my previous set up with my shirt. Nothing could grab it.)
I bought a L and a M size because 1) I wasn’t sure about fit and 2) they give you a 10% discount for buying two. (But I found a discount code for 15% on line.)
The L is a bit baggy, but baggy is what I want for the summer because I want something loose fitting. And the arms fit me better than the M in that they extend easily to my thumb junction. The only downside to the L is that the hood is very large and can flop over my eyes.
(Apparently they purposely make their hoods big because they expect that you’ll pull your hood over your hat. But I find that the hoodie material is more comfortable than the head band in my broad brim hat. So I adjust the hoodie where I want it on my head and use my hat to anchor it there.)
There is no cinch cord for the hood. The top snap will cinch it up well. But because the hood proper is so huge, if you're not wearing a hat over it (to anchor it) the hood will blow off in a breeze if facing a breeze.
The M is a taper fit of sorts for me. If I use the thumb-holes then the sleeves pull a little tight. I was going to exchange the M for a L (they were going to pay both ways for the exchange), but I decided to keep the M and use it for sleeping. In fact, I wore both the L and M while sleeping Friday night along the LSM trail, with both hoods on, which obviated the need for me to bring a sleeping hat/cap. Stayed warm. And again, they are comfortable sleeping clothes.
So now I guess I look like a “hoodlum” from the “Hood” when I backpack. I try to mitigate that by wearing my big hat. But how I look isn’t important. Keeping the sun off my arms and keeping me cool are what's important.
Am kinda looking forward to trying it out on a 100 degree day, just to see how it - and I - perform.
