Review - Scramble 'Legal' Hooded Top

Summary
Super soft, comfortable and snug fitting hooded top loaded with cool little details and an eye-catching design. One or two small little areas could see an improvement in my opinion, but overall, the Legal hoodie is an excellent leisure/casual wear item.

Information
Available from the Scramble website.
Price - normally £44.99, currently on sale (as of 29-June-2014) for £24.99

Disclosures
I have had numerous business and design collaborative projects with Scramble in the past. I have had no involvement with this product.

Introduction
I must confess I have a bit of a hoodie obsession. Some of my BJJ colleagues online express their BJJ-love by buying numerous kimonos. But for me, hoodies are my weak area. I probably own several dozen hooded tops from various fightwear brands as well as my own Meerkatsu branded tops. I enjoy wearing both zip ups and non-zipper hoodies but if I had the choice, the zip ups would be my favourite to wear.

When Scramble asked me if I wanted to test out their Legal hoodies, I couldn't say no. The last Scramble hoody I bought - the OSU hoody - I was most impressed with the thick and sturdy craftmanship. It *was* my favourite hoody from their brand, until these babies arrived through the door.


Description
The first thing I noticed with the Legal hoodies was that they are a bit thinner than my OSU hoody. They're less endowed with stitched on graphics so feel less chunky. Certainly the hood portion is not as thick as the OSU hoodie.

Currently there is a choice of either grey or light blue versions. The front and back of each model is decorated with screen printed graphics. The text celebrates the international powerhouses of vale tudo and MMA, notably Japan, Brazil, USA and hey, UK cos that's where Scramble are based (other powerhouse MMA nations are available too).

The screen printed ink looks like it is made from water soluble ink and printed using discharge process. This gives the ink a soft texture that is ingrained into the cotton fibres - preferable to plastic based inks in my opinion.

The hood can be pulled tight with a generously flat drawstring. It is a lovely luxurious touch to the material and there is even a branded metal ring to protect the hole.

In the photo above you can see the zipper pull tab. I like the rubber branded pull tab itself but I do feel the metal chain link feels like a weak point. I should note that in two months of wearing it, the zipper has held up fine, so I'm probably just worrying over nothing.

The zip itself is plastic, I feel a metal zip might be a better option for longer lasting quality. Again, it performed the function fine so I'm probably just splitting hairs.

The sleeve cuffs are snug and tight fitting.

The pockets are generously sized. I was able to walk around with my wallet, mobile phone, keys and not have them fall out. But I'm worried the way the pockets are attached (via a thin piece of fabric tape) to the main inner body of the hoody could mean they tear off easily. This didn't happen to me but I do feel it is a weak area.


Fit, Feel, Comfort etc
I got myself the medium size and immediately the fit was perfect. Post wash, it was still perfect with zero shrinkage. On top of the fit, the material itself was super comfortable, really really soft. The slightly thinner material compared to the OSU hoody means I can wear this as a lightweight top for the milder and even warmer months of the year, whereas I would reserve my OSU hoody more for the colder months.

Conclusion
These hoodies are amazing. The medium fitted me perfectly and the material was super soft and comfortable. I love the graphic design and all the little details, such as the branded metal rings and branded zip pull tab. I feel the zip itself and the pockets might be a weak area but in my testing period, neither failed to function so I'm probably over-criticising. In summary, the Legal hoodies are now my favourite tops to wear and with Scramble's current sale, at £24.99, are a terrific bargain!



.