walkhighlands

Add reviews of outdoor gear and equipment here... or simply chat about gear and ask for recommendations

Gear review - warmer baselayers

Gear review - warmer baselayers


Postby Paul Webster » Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:09 am

Phil Turner wrote:Baselayer tops have a tough job, particularly in winter – they need to keep you warm when stationary and prevent you from overheating when working hard. Moisture-management is key; sweat needs to be removed from the skin efficiently and cotton T-shirts have long been derided for UK outdoor use with good reason – when sweating the moisture tends to soak into the garment and stay there. That’s fine if you keep moving and generating heat, but when stationary a sodden T-shirt is less than ideal. The same also applies for moisture reaching the garment from the outside – getting caught in the rain in your favourite Thomas the Tank Engine T-shirt is never fun....


Read the full review now to find Phil's top choices - and let us know what you think here.....
User avatar
Paul Webster
Site Admin
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 5919
Munros:282   Corbetts:222
Fionas:71   Donalds:45+17
Sub 2000:123   Hewitts:133
Wainwrights:135   Islands:93
Joined: Jan 6, 2007
Location: Highland
Walk wish-list

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby smirnie71 » Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:28 am

Fantastic review as ever!
Hope you don't mind me saying that the adverts within the review are slightly off putting and make the page look quite cheap.. not sure how else to describe it.
I know there's a need to maximise profitability but the ads just look wrong.

On a positive note, I love all the new design features of the site. Fantastic!!!
User avatar
smirnie71
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 249
Munros:12   Corbetts:3
Fionas:1   Donalds:1
Sub 2000:7   Hewitts:24
Islands:14
Joined: Dec 30, 2009
Location: Falkirk

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby tomshaw » Thu Apr 26, 2012 7:38 pm

Rab meco 165 long sleeve base layer superb bit of kit used in the depths of winter and more recently in the lakes on warmish claggy wet days! Really good at wicking away the moisture and very good at odour control as most reviews of this garment suggest. Best Base layer I have had to date. Nice medium fit as well not one of your 'skin tight' throttle tops! But each to their own I suppose. Great kit from Rab as usual :-)
User avatar
tomshaw
Stravaiging
 
Posts: 8
Munros:219   Corbetts:19
Joined: Feb 3, 2010

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby ChrisW » Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:14 am

All good, interesting stuff Paul though the timing of a 'Warmer base layer' review might have been a bit better, we are moving into summer after all :lol:

From a personal standpoint the Merino wool stuff takes some beating, odour free but more importantly able to maintain its thermal properties when wet, I know a lot of synthetics say the same but I've yet to find one that actually does stay as warm when wet as when dry (I mean warm when stopping and sitting a while at the summit after sweating your way up there) I always go with wool base and wool socks.....maybe because I'm a Yorkshireman :wink: :lol:
User avatar
ChrisW
Rambler
 
Posts: 4941
Munros:18   Corbetts:5
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:6   
Joined: Jan 25, 2011
Location: Cochrane- Alberta - Canada

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby PhilTurner » Fri Apr 27, 2012 7:48 am

ChrisW wrote: the timing of a 'Warmer base layer' review might have been a bit better, we are moving into summer after all :lol:


You can tell you're not in Scotland any more - it's decidedly wintery out there :)

Timing of winter gear reviews is difficult - in order to publish a winter gear review before the winter season starts I'd need to test the equipment over the summer, which isn't ideal. Alternatively, I wait for the following winter and find that some of the models are now obsolete. A third option would be to get the items in during late autumn, give them a cursory glance over and write a few words - something that we're not going to do. I had over 20 baselayers to review for this one, which required a World Cup style qualifying round to decide which items would make it through to the final group of 12 (it was supposed to be 10). That takes ages to do thoroughly, hence the April release.

As a bonus - many of the models reviewed will be going into the end of season sale at retailers - hurrah!
User avatar
PhilTurner
 
Posts: 184
Munros:42   
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:14
Wainwrights:26   
Joined: Feb 26, 2010
Location: Cornwall

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby tookiebunten » Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:19 am

Enjoyed the reviews as usual. I have the Paramo top as well and I have never worn it smooth side in, I too, much prefer the velvety side.
User avatar
tookiebunten
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 27
Fionas:3   Donalds:3
Sub 2000:1   
Joined: Aug 5, 2010
Location: East Kilbride

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby 147cjl » Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:11 pm

LOL - I'll stick to my trusty Aldi baselayer which I'm sure performs just as well as some of these £££££ :lol:

There are some aspects of kit you simply should spend good money on there are others that you just don't need to despite what reviews and marketing tells you.
147cjl
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 214
Munros:51   Corbetts:1
Fionas:2   Donalds:4
Sub 2000:8   Hewitts:10
Wainwrights:3   
Joined: Apr 29, 2011

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby tenohfive » Tue May 01, 2012 5:54 pm

I don't suppose there are any reasonably budget options out there? I was looking at either the Berghaus Active LS or Patagonia Capilene 3 but both are a touch more than I wanted to spend - ideally I'd like to spend no more than £15-20, with decent venting/wicking more important than warmth.
tenohfive
 
Posts: 780
Munros:2   
Hewitts:40
Wainwrights:44   
Joined: Apr 23, 2012

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby PhilTurner » Tue May 01, 2012 9:28 pm

As is often the way there is a simultaneous discussion running on the Walkhighlands Facebook Page discussing some of these very comments. I'm not sure it's possible to link directly to the comments there, but if you scroll down to April 24th and the photo of a muscular (plastic) chap in a red baselayer you'll find it.
User avatar
PhilTurner
 
Posts: 184
Munros:42   
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:14
Wainwrights:26   
Joined: Feb 26, 2010
Location: Cornwall

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby Gythral » Tue May 01, 2012 10:09 pm

User avatar
Gythral
 
Posts: 773
Munros:19   Corbetts:8
Fionas:4   
Hewitts:141
Wainwrights:1   
Joined: Jul 31, 2010

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby tenohfive » Fri May 04, 2012 11:33 am

I can't be trusted with dangerous equipment like needles unfortunately.

On a serious note, are there any reasonably good flexible baselayers that are cheaper than the Berghaus/Patagonia options mentioned above? In a half decent colour the Berghaus is coming in at £25-28 which is a bit more than I want to spend ideally.
tenohfive
 
Posts: 780
Munros:2   
Hewitts:40
Wainwrights:44   
Joined: Apr 23, 2012

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby nathan79 » Fri May 04, 2012 7:37 pm

When it comes to warmer base layers i use 2 long sleeved Lidl thermals or a short sleeved Merino number from Aldi. They all came in at less than 20quid.
For all but the coldest days over last winter i wore just my short sleeve under my soft shell.

For the rest of the year i just use a mixture of Nike, Regatta and Aldi baselayers. None of which cost the Earth
User avatar
nathan79
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 911
Munros:103   Corbetts:29
Fionas:16   Donalds:8
Sub 2000:16   Hewitts:20
Wainwrights:21   Islands:17
Joined: Jan 24, 2010
Location: The Kingdom of Fife

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby simon-b » Thu May 10, 2012 12:37 am

Phil,

I find your preference for zip neck base layers interesting. Obviously good for venting, but couldn't this cause a clutter of fasteners at the neck when wearing multiple layers?
User avatar
simon-b
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2377
Munros:282   Corbetts:31
Fionas:7   Donalds:12
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:155
Wainwrights:214   Islands:4
Joined: Jan 2, 2012
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby PhilTurner » Thu May 10, 2012 11:36 am

simon-b wrote:I find your preference for zip neck base layers interesting. Obviously good for venting, but couldn't this cause a clutter of fasteners at the neck when wearing multiple layers?


I can't say I've ever found this a problem. On baselayers the zip pull tends to be quite small and discrete, as it'll only really be operated with warm ungloved hands, in contrast to the larger glove-friendly zip pulls of subsequent layers.

The only exception to this is if I'm wearing multiple baselayers - in winter I'll sometimes wear a crew neck baselayer underneath a zip neck baselayer as a kind of 'vest'.
User avatar
PhilTurner
 
Posts: 184
Munros:42   
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:14
Wainwrights:26   
Joined: Feb 26, 2010
Location: Cornwall

Re: Gear review - warmer baselayers

Postby Gythral » Thu May 10, 2012 5:13 pm

simon-b wrote:Phil,

I find your preference for zip neck base layers interesting. Obviously good for venting, but couldn't this cause a clutter of fasteners at the neck when wearing multiple layers?


Between the fact that zipped baselayers use a much smaller zip and the collar is often lower than the collar on mid and outer layers, I dont find 2 or 3 zips a problem and rarely grab the wrong one!

But this might be because jacket zips are usually under my chin, not around my neck when done up...
(usually a good 2" from where I'd like them to be, but then I have no neck)
User avatar
Gythral
 
Posts: 773
Munros:19   Corbetts:8
Fionas:4   
Hewitts:141
Wainwrights:1   
Joined: Jul 31, 2010

Next



Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Gear and Equipment talk

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests