The Mirage Merino Sun Hoody Review

My current go-to sun hoody from Zpacks/ Evolved Supply Co! The lightest of my UPF 40+ wool sun hoodies with excellent features like the zipper and a soft feel.

For the last three years I’ve been searching for the ideal wool sun hoody. Of the models I’ve tried, the Mirage comes closest to being perfect!

The short version:

• Sizing- I sized down in the women’s to a Small

• Things I love – The soft feel of the garment, light color!!!, the zipper is awesome and fantastic for extra venting, and durability seems pretty good!

• Minor drawbacks- I hand wash this item. It is also a wool blend (96% Merino Wool / 4% Spandex) and it does hold a bit more odor after many days of wear than a 100% wool. But, this is after days of wearing it!  

Evolved Supply co sent me one of the hoodies to try and review. I only ever review items that I use extensively and really like, and I was not paid for this review.

Fit and sizing

I found the fit to be a little tricky for this shirt, but honestly I’ve been experiencing this with a number of brands in the last year as patterning continues to change. Three years ago I was a solid medium across pretty much all brands, but now I seem to be a small in some! For reference, I am 5’7, 127lbs, 34A, with wider shoulders and a straight torso/waist. I also have a long torso, at 21 inches. A mens XS often fits me well.

For the Mirage I got to try on both the Medium and the Small. I was swimming in the Medium, especially in the chest area, where the extra fabric to accommodate larger chests was too much for my frame. The small fits perfectly! Not too tight in the shoulders, and with just the right amount of looseness everywhere to not be clingy but also it looks like the right size on me, with no odd folding of fabric around the boobs or excess around the hem.

Performance – 8 day trip!

The first trip I did with the Mirage sun hoody was an 8 day backpack in the Glacier Peak Wilderness in July 2025. It was the PERFECT shirt for this trip. On cool mornings it kept me warm under a windshirt on the move, and once the temps rose it was comfortable all day. We had usual summer mountain temps with highs that topped out in the low to mid 70s (80 on day one), and lows in the 40s. I literally put it on after I woke up and never took it off until the end of the day when I switched to my nighttime baselayer sleep shirt (Ibex Nuyarn zip).

The big reason I love wool is that it holds less funky smells. I am someone who dislikes being extra stinky on the trail and who cannot wear synthetic material because of how much it smells. I am not one of the lucky folks like my Dad who have a polyester-friendly biome and can wear synthetics for days and barely smell. If only, so, I wear almost all wool.

The Mirage did great on a very sweaty trip. Each day it would be quite soaked, and after a few days had salt rings across the torso. For the first four days I just let it dry in the sun in camp, and then day five it started to have a bit of a smell, so I rinsed it out in the outlet of a lake (don’t worry, well away from any camps or frog pools in fast moving water in case some sunscreen washed out). This helped a lot, and while it was never smell free like the first few days, I have zero complaints in this department given it was worn all day for EIGHT days.

How does it do in hot weather?

Comparing the warmth of various hoodies is going to be subjective, since we all have different baseline comfort zones and how hot or cool we run while exercising. I’ll try to give a bit of context about myself in the hopes it might help you.

About me/ how I run temps wise: As someone with a slight build and not much extra insulation around my core (small derrier and chest) who is built more like a beanpole than a pear, I tend to run cooler than most of my friends, especially at night. This is especially pronounced when compared to my friends who are 5’10 and 170-180 lbs of mountain crushing badassness. They will be in shorts and a tshirt, and I’m happy in my long pants and sun hoody. In hot temps, we all struggle, but I feel like I am less resilient to heat than these friends.

First, common wisdom is that Wool hoodies will always be warmer than polyester. In my experience, this holds true when you compare wool to the paper thin polyester ones out there that have a UPF rating of 15 (talking about you, OR Echo hoody). BUT, when I start comparing garments in the higher UPF ranges (40-50) the temperature difference becomes less noticeable.

For example, in hot weather, the Mirage feels a little warmer than my Arc’teryx UPF 50+ shirt, but neither one is going to be great or airy on a 95F day in the sun. High UPF clothing has to have a tight weave and thicker fabric to block the sun’s rays. Remember, just because you didn’t sunburn does NOT mean that you still didn’t get the cancer causing rays. UVA/B go through fabric differently, and the cancer causing one goes through the lighter fabrics more readily.

I took the Mirage on a hike with just these conditions – east side of the crest, 7 mile uphill slog of a backpack to camp, late start with trailhead temps at 95F. It was HOT outside. Too hot for me, as someone who is not acclimated to heat. So, I rolled up my long pants legs, and tucked the mirage waistline hem up around my sports bra so my midriff got a little wind while in the shade, and I was fine. I wasn’t comfortable, but I wouldn’t be comfortable in a bikini in those temps and exertion level.

When hiking in the desert southwest last fall, the Mirage was great on days in the high 70s to low 80s.

Moisture and wicking

Wool does not wick/evaporate in my experience as well as polyester. I know this is important for some people, but honestly I don’t care if my shirt is damp or totally sweaty. My pack sits against by back, it’s going to be sweaty and no special fabric is going to ameliorate that. But, unlike polyester or synthetics that feel super clammy and cold against my skin, wool layers can get super saturated and still feel ok and less wet. For me this makes a huge difference when I stop for a short break or to take a lot of photos. I don’t get as chilled as fast as I do when I’m wearing synthetics and it’s cooler outside.

When it’s hot, all shirts will get sweaty and I just don’t worry about it. In camp, I set up my tent and if it’s warm I keep on the sun hoody as the dampness cools me off in the sun and dries the shirt. If it’s getting colder or I start to chill, I pull the shirt off and lay it in the sun to dry and put on my camp layer.

The Mirage will take a bit longer to dry when super saturated compared to a synthetic, but I’ll happily trade that for comfort on my skin and less stink.

Durability

After the first 8 day trip the Mirage did have some pilling (this is expected and common), and it didn’t impact performance one bit. The shirt did some medium bushwhacks with me, plus hours each day under my pack. No tears, and the fabric is still soft and comfy.

I did end up hand washing it, as I felt like the one time I machine washed on a cold regular cycle the thread on the seams was tighter until I stretched it back out again gently. And boy did it need a few washings after that Glacier peak trip! The light lovely mint color got SO dusty from the dry PCT sections we hiked, and the shoulder areas were very discolored. A few washes with dishsoap and some gentle scrubbing in my hands, and it looks good as new.

With fabric this light, I always recommend hand washing.

I used the shirt on other hikes last year- more backpacks, and day hikes in Utah. It has held up well so far. Obviously I’m not putting a thru-hiker level of wear on it, but I think for most hikers it will do great.

Price

One of the other things I love about the Mirage is how the price is on the more reasonable side compared to many others. At $99, it is on the far lower end of wool hoodies, which I appreciate! Hoodies from Ibex and Icebreaker are much more expensive at $150 and $170 (ooof), and many other brands fall above a hundred. And while 100 seems like so much for a shirt, it is unfortunately where the market is now after tariffs, inflation, and overall price increases across the outdoor industry the last few years.

Hope that helps!!

For those wondering, here’s the other wool shirts of hoodies I’m trying or want to test:

• Arc’teryx Lana hoody- I think a 50/50 wool poly blend, I like how light it is, but UPF rating is not listed, and it’s low based on my UPF card tests.

• Ibex Springbok – just bought this on sale. Had to size down, the M was a CRAZY size and fit, huge and wide. Small is better, but feels a little short. Also thicker fabric that will for sure be too warm on hot days

• Not tested because of the very low UPF ratings- Smartwool thin layers (you can see through these like crazy, probably upf 15-20 at best).

• Want to test- Outdoor Vitals Tern, Voormi River Run, and the Icebreaker MerinoFine Ace once they have a better color than skin tone pink.