Cotopaxi Teca Calido Hooded Review

Often, outdoor apparel can be frumpy or overly technical. The Cotopaxi Teca Calido breaks this mold with a sleek, stylish look of vibrant colors and cool pockets, making it a fashionable piece to wear around town. The hood, hemline, and cuffs are elasticized, helping seal out rain and wind. The two zippered handwarmer pockets, the two large inside pockets, and the inside chest pocket (which doubles as a stash pocket) give this jacket plenty of storage space. One side features vibrant colors, and the other side of this reversible jacket features a single muted tone with larger pockets. The reversibility adds to the style of the piece. While not meant for rigorous activities, this piece looks good.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

The Cotopaxi Teca Calido comes with 60g of recycled polyester insulation, which did an adequate job of trapping heat and keeping us warm. The elasticized binding around the hood, hem, and cuffs helps to seal in warmth, and the hood offers a bit of additional protection. It's not intended to be a full-on winter jacket, but with adequate layers, it will keep the wearer decently warm. It shines on casual evening walks or early morning coffee missions in spring or fall.

Weight and Compressibility

Our size medium weighed in at 12.45 ounces, which is quite lightweight. However, it's not nearly as warm as some other jackets in this weight range.

One of the nicer features of this jacket is that it can be stuffed into its chest pocket. It has a clip-in loop for attaching it to a backpack or a climbing harness, and we liked the narrow burrito-style shape that it made.

Comfort

The Teca Calido has a slightly tighter fit, and our broad-shouldered testers found it slightly restrictive when moving their arms about. The polyester feels smooth against the skin but slightly slick. We generally liked the jacket's texture but found the cut to be somewhat uncomfortable and ill-fitting. It wasn't really suited for activities requiring a good range of motion, like climbing or cross-country skiing, but we think it's fine for short neighborhood walks or casual outings.

Weather Resistance

The Teca Calido uses a DWR finish on the polyester outer to protect against the elements. The hood was well-fitting and helped protect against a bit of weather. The jacket fared okay when we wore it during light rain or snow, but when the precip got heavier, our testers found themselves wet. Though it still provided some insulation when wet, the it's thinness kept it from being one that our testers liked for active pursuits in the mountains. If the weather report calls for a storm, we'd recommend a heavier piece or at least throwing a rain shell overtop.

Breathability

Though lightweight, this jacket failed to breathe as well other lightweight jackets in our test. The shell trapped heat well, which helped keep it warm, but also prevented it from breathing. Without thinner material in the side panels, a dual zipper, or breathable panels, our testers sweated through this jacket and then got cold while hiking in the chillier winter temps.

Should You Buy the Cotopaxi Teca Calido Hooded?

Cotopatxi designed this jacket as more of a stylish piece of outerwear than one intended for demanding backcountry mountain adventures. If you love bright, fun colors and you're looking for a mellow, thin jacket to toss in your backpack in case it gets a bit chilly, or just something to throw on around town or around the campfire in spring or fall, this is a great option.

What Other Insulated Jackets Should You Consider?