comparative review Gear
The Great Outdoors July 2019 79Salewa
Pedroc Women's Hybrid
Dry Long Sleeve Tee£60 144g (M)weight, fabrics, features, fitnothingFabric: front/arms Dry’ton Active Jersey Melange
160 (92% polyester, 8% elastane), back/underarms
Dry’ton Honeycomb Giasmine Tiba 90 (84%
polyester, 16% elastane), shoulder insert Durastretch
Active (58% polyamide, 42% polyester)
Sizes: X XS-XL (men XS-X XL)
salewa.co.ukThis is by far the most technical and
innovative base layer in the test. It combines
fabric mapping and panelling with the most
effective odour management I’ve found
in a synthetic top, along with well-
considered design features.
The fabric used on the front and arms
is 160g/m² stretch polyester. On the back,
and under the arms, it’s a lighter-weight,
90g/m² even stretchier version with a
honeycomb textured inner face; this is
really comfortable, soft, and wicks well.
Shoulders feature a seam-free patch of
Durastretch Active, a Salewa softshell
fabric in a woven blend of polyester and
nylon, with durability to combat abrasion
from a rucksack harness. The patch feels abit odd to begin with, but that sensation of
‘difference’ soon passes. Despite the three
‘feels’ of fabric, it is very supple (especially
after the initial wash), and such a pleasure
to wear. Even better, Polygiene ‘permanent
odour control’ held its own throughout the
four months of testing. Polygiene uses silver
salts in small concentrations; but note that
it is added during the dyeing process, so it’s
not permanent.
In design terms, there’s a crew neck
(very slightly higher than normal but still
comfortable), angled, self-fabric cuffs (fabric
is folded into a double layer that gives better
‘hold’ than single-layer cuffs), ideal length
and arms with non-restrictive dimensions.
Body panelling accommodates hip and waist
curves, while underarm gussets run full
length, from waist to cuff. It wicks well, dries
rapidly and feels great on its own or layered.
Talk about bang for your buck: Pedroc is
simply exceptional.Merino magic
Moisture movement
Not everyone likes merino wool next
to skin: you may have an adverse
reaction, such as rashes or itching,
or just not enjoy the prolonged
dampness when it’s wet. On the
other hand, it is far better than
synthetic for odour control. So the
good news is that I’ve found the Holy
Grail. Wearing a lightweight merino
over a synthetic base layer stops the
synthetic getting smelly. I’ve worn
a polyester top that, on its own or
under a synthetic fleece or mid layer,
could reduce a tent to ashes with
the pong, but under a thin merino it
lasted for four days without causing
a neighbour’s nose to wrinkle. It has
worked on every base layer in this
test: solo, they all got smelly (some
faster than others) but with a merino
on top they lasted at least four days.
In colder weather, a slightly heavier
merino replaces a fleece; same result.
I know. You’re welcome.A base layer should keep your skin dry
by moving moisture-vapour / sweat
away from your body and letting it
evaporate. The usual term is wicking,
although not all fibres actually wick.
Wicking is when the fibre absorbs
moisture and spreads it out so that it
can evaporate. Polyester, nylon, wool
and cotton all wick. A garment that
wicks will not necessarily keep you
dry; that depends on the rate of drying,
which depends on the fibre or fibre
blend. Cotton and wool, for example,
wick very efficiently; but because the
hollow fibres absorb water, they are
slow to dry.
Polypropylene is hydrophobic
- ‘water hating’ – so it repels the
water, pushing it away from itself to
the outside of the garment, where it
evaporates. Because of this, the inside
of a polypro garment is generally drier
than any other.
A common performance claim for
wool is that it ‘stays warm when wet’.
In my experience, when wool is wet,
it feels clammy and cold. Another
common ‘performance’ claim is that
wool absorbs up to a third of its weight
in moisture; this is true, and explains
why it feels wet. It’s absorbing moisture
and holding it.