Outdoor Wear
Outside the Box
MADE IN THE USA
Origin of The Backoff!™
Tye Crossing, LLC, is inspired by the Appalachian Trail junction with the Tye River in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, an hour from my home. But our first innovation, The Backoff!™, was born from a sweaty back on the slopes of Mt. Rainier in October, 1987. That’s when I first wished I could remove just the back of my fleece jacket, too hot beneath my pack, while keeping the front layer in place against the chilly wind.
When home from that trip, I started cutting the backs out of sweaters and used these primitive “Backoffs” whenever I was working hard, moving forward in the cold, and needed less protection on my back than front. Backpacking, of course, but also when skiing, biking or even kayaking.
The Innovations
Now you can have a beautiful Backoff!™ vest without destroying any sweaters! You easily unzip and remove the back panel when you know you’re going to be working hard and sweating. You zip it back in, warm and dry, when you take a break or make camp or are strolling around town.
HipZips™, our other outside-the-box solution, allow the lower front several inches of your vest to be raised so that a backpack’s hipbelt can be cinched smoothly underneath. No more uncomfortable compressed lumps and folds of fleece under your hipbelt, and your pockets stay accessible--no more having to undo your hipbelt to get your chapstick! The fit and function of your hipbelt is improved, too.
Tye Crossing fleece vests with these innovations are proudly made in the USA!
Innovation Details
The Backoff!™
Mesh understructure
Elastic Band understructure
These Tye Crossing vests are made from Polartec Thermal Pro® 200-weight fleece, fast drying, durable, pill-resistant, and warm for their relatively light weight (11.7oz and 15.1oz, respectively, for women’s and men’s mediums). Classic shearling style on the outside gives way to a smooth inner surface that slips easily on and off of your base layer.
When the Backoff panel is removed, the vest’s structure is maintained by either stretchy, breathable polyester mesh OR three-quarter-inch braided elastic bands (the closest to nothing at all). At checkout you’ll be asked to choose mesh or bands for your understructure.
More info on the Mesh vs. Bands choice
HipZips™
HipZips™ are short YKK zippers (8 inches) up the sides of your Tye Crossing vest.
When unzipped, HipZips allow the lower front of your vest to be raised as a flap while you secure your backpack’s hipbelt where it belongs, snugly over your base layer.
Then you simply let the flap fall back down over the hipbelt. Both your vest pockets and hipbelt pockets are now accessible!
Contact Us
Please use this form to let us know if you have any questions or comments. If you don’t see your size among the “Shop” options, please fill in the size and understructure options you would like. Then we can let you know a timetable for availability of that size!
