Zerofit Heatrub Apparel
If you follow this site relatively closely, you’ve noticed every now and then that I mention randomly stumbling into a new brand or product that unexpectedly catches my eye. This recently happened to me with a Japanese company called Zerofit that specializes in activewear for cooler temperatures. Zerofit’s founder, Mr Koji Higashi, launched the brand in 2005 to meet his needs as an avid golfer in the dreaded colder seasons. By 2011, the Zerofit Heatrub base layer was introduced to the Japanese public and the brand took off from there. A decade later, Zerofit offers a wide range of products to help regulate your body temperature for any outdoor activity. Here in Chicagolad, the Heatrub Ultimate and Move base layer and hoodies seemed perfect for my cold weather golf needs.
The Technology
There are two different base layer options in Zerofit’s “warm weather” offerings. One is the Zerofit Heatrub Ultimate base layer which is designed to seal in body heat. What’s unique about the Heatrub Ultimate is that it features extra-long fibers that generate more friction on your body. This in turn helps generate heat to keep you warm. Of course, you don’t want to get too hot so this five-fabric material breathes well, too. Additionally, the Heatrub Ultimate has enough stretch built into it so you can make a fully comfortable golf swing. This layer will likely be more appealing in the coldest of temperatures which is especially helpful for the Chicago winter golf season.
The Zerofit Heatrub Move is a versatile base layer that’s best fit for crisp autumn or winter weather. Zerofit designed the Move to help avoid a “cold sweat” where your shirt holds onto moisture (sweat) in the cold weather and just makes you colder. By using a combination of polypropylene and polyurethane on the underside of the base layer, the moisture is wicked from the skin instantly and polyester outer layer will allow it to evaporate quickly. Like the Heatrub Ultimate, the Move will comfortably allow you to make all golf movements while keeping you warm on cooler days.
Comfort Level
Generally speaking, the Zerofit Heatrub Move hoodie, base layer, and Ultimate base layer are very comfortable. The material blends are very soft and easy on your skin with good breathability. MUCH more enjoyable than the usual death-grip blends of polyester/lycra blends typically found in base layers. There’s also a good amount of stretch so the clothing doesn’t waste any space, which is especially important with a base layer. I would say it feels like the clothing fits to your body, but it doesn’t squeeze you. You’ll be able to make all the movements you need to make when you’re playing golf and won’t have that feeling where your clothes won’t “stay with you” during your swing. If you’ve been there, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
On-Course Performance
A lot of the on-course performance around this Zerofit gear will really revolve around the comfort and technology I’ve already spoken about. I would start out by saying that I found the technology described in the section above genuinely works. This was the most noticeable with the Move hoodie and it became an instant go-to for me. The hoodie fit comfortably and regulated my body temperate perfectly in a pretty wide range of temperatures. With temperatures starting out pretty cold around here, the lightweight hoodie really kept me warm. However, if you know Chicago-area weather, 40º temperature swings are the norm in the spring. When the temperatures got a bit higher by the afternoon, I was equally as comfortable. This served me quite well for a windy, diabolical April round of golf.
With this type of apparel, mobility is really the biggest factor. Your outerwear and base layer can keep you as warm as they want, but if you can’t make a golf swing… Fortunately, all of the pieces of Zerofit apparel I tested provide a great range of motion that allows you to feel totally natural. This is a great benefit so you don’t have to make any swing compensations and can just focus on playing your game.
Final Thoughts – Zerofit Heatrub Apparel
The Zerofit Heatrub products are exactly what I need for cold-weather Chicagoland golf. And let me tell you, if you’re a big time golfer in this area, you’re playing a lot of it. There’s still plenty of golf to be played if you can handle 30-50º temperatures. With the Zerofit Heatrub base layers and hoodie pictured here, I felt absolutely perfect in these temperatures. While they’ve become automatic golf options, I’ve also adopted Zerofit for many more uses such as spectating my kid’s soccer games in the cold, unenjoyable freezing yard work, and shoveling snow.
Beyond the three items pictured in this post, Zerofit has many more products available to fit active outdoor lifestyle needs. They even offer products for warmer weather when you’re looking to protect yourself from harmful UV rays! You can check out the full lineup of Zerofit products here.
