Softshell Jackets

Cotopaxi Teca Full-Zip Windbreaker | Review

This simple yet effective windbreaker puts the fun into functional

Why We Chose The Cotopaxi Teca: Simple, functional and sustainable.

Windbreakers aren’t usually the most exciting bits of kit around but when they look like the Teca Full-Zip Windbreakers from Cotopaxi, you can’t help but feel intrigued. Coming in a variety of eye-catching colour combinations, this unisex number by the Salt Lake City based Cotopaxi will bring some fun to your outdoor-clothing wardrobe.

Made with lightweight polyester taffeta (the whole windbreaker weighs just 128g) and finished with a water-resistant coating, the Teca Full-Zip is ideal for running, travelling, camping, or just popping to the shops in. And because it’s so lightweight, the Teca Full-Zip can be scrunched down and put into your pack in such a way that you won’t even know it’s there until you need it.

“This means that material which might normally have gone to the landfill gets a second chance to show people what it can do”

The Teca Full-Zip isn’t the most complicated product in the world, but then it doesn’t need to be. It’s a windbreaker. Leave the rocket science kit for the Everest climbers. The Teca’s elasticated hood, cuffs, and hem combine with a simple, yet effective, shielded back panel vent to serve up a functional piece of gear that looks the part and does the job.

Each Teca Windbreaker, it’s worth pointing out, is built from 100% remnant fabric. This means that material which might normally have gone to the landfill gets a second chance to show people what it can do. Good for sustainability. Good for the planet. Good for everyone.

This product comes in a variety of eye-catching colour ways. Photo: Chris Johnson

With a simple yet effective elasticated hood. Photo: Chris Johnson

The Teca is extremely packable. Photo: Chris Johnson

Of course, what this remnant fabric stuff also means is that each colour the Teca Windbreaker comes in is effectively limited edition. So if a particular colourway in the range appeals to you now, be sure to get it while you’ve still got the chance. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Final word on Cotopaxi. Their company’s creed is “Do Good,” a creed they live up to by donating a percentage of their profit to addressing poverty and awarding grants. These non-profit partnerships hope to reduce preventable diseases, lower under-five mortality rates, improve primary literacy, and create entrepreneurial opportunities in the places where help is most needed.

Tester’s Verdict

Will Renwick, Outdoors Magic Editor

“Wearing the right clothing for a run in the UK is a difficult thing to get right. In our mild weather, run in a standard waterproof jacket and you’ll end up wet from condensation, then on the flip side going without one can often mean you’ll feel the cold or at least start out cold. That’s where a good windbreaker comes in handy though – and this one in particular has fitted the bill perfectly. It keeps the cold wind off you but still breathes well – I’ve felt minimal sweat build-up when I’ve worn it during cold weather runs.

“I’ve enjoyed using it for hiking as well, it’s so small you can just stick it in your backpack to whip out, say on a windy summit, when you need that extra layer over your T-shirt.”

Made from lightweight polyester taffeta. Photo: Chris Johnson

Trade Secrets

Evie Moe – Cotopaxi VP Designer

“The Teca windbreaker has set a new benchmark in the outdoors space for responsible, sustainable, yet functional and stylish outdoors gear. With its repurposed materials and lightweight, packable design and fun, funky, limited edition colorways, the Teca windbreaker is a unique, bold expression of color and style in the outdoors.”

Ben Doxey – Cotopaxi Product Designer

“The Teca Windbreaker has pushed the bounds in the outdoor industry with style, responsibility, and personality. Too often we find products that are all too similar to one another, lacking a unique voice. The Teca Windbreaker stands as a symbol that enjoying the outdoors does not have to be confined by any biases or stereotypes.”