The Great Outdoors – July 2019

NOTES: - All base

layers tested are

women’s specific.

• Weights are from
  my digital scales

Photo: Shutterstock

78 The Great Outdoors July 2019

Base layers

Judy Armstrong assesses the most versatile tops for all year round

L

Let’s talk about lightweight base layers.

No, don’t yawn; these things are awesome.

It’s rare that you will pause in an outdoor

store, reach out to touch one and know,

deep in your heart, that you absolutely must

have it. But if there is one garment that

you cannot do without, it’s a really good,

lightweight, long-sleeved, next-to-skin top.

It is versatile for every season: as a single

layer in warm weather, or layered when it’s

cold. It’s even a ‘must’ for safety: keeping

skin dry is vital to comfort and, in extreme

conditions, your life. Hypothermia is never a

problem for walkers who are warm and dry.

While features are relevant, they’re

fairly basic. What matters more is fabric.

The main fabric groups – polyester,

polypropylene, nylon, merino wool – have

different performance characteristics.

Often they fly solo but increasingly they

are combined – for example, polyester with

polypropylene or wool – along with less

traditional components, such as activated

carbon embedded in fibres, bamboo and

silver salts – and even coffee grounds, in the

case of Helly Hansen’s Lifa Active.

Here’s a summary of the most common

fabrics; for blends, you can work out

Check for this

WOMEN’S

the likely characteristics based on the

percentage of each fibre.

Polyester is the most common base

layer fibre. It is relatively inexpensive, wicks

sweat rapidly and dries quickly. It gets

smelly, although some odour resistance

treatments (especially those with a silver

salt base) definitely help in the short term.

Polyamide (nylon) is less smelly than

polyester. It too wicks sweat but is slower

to dry.

Polypropylene is hydrophobic, pulling

sweat away from the body and pushing it

to the next layer. Lighter weights dry very

quickly. It does get smelly but modern long-

chain filaments are more odour-resistant

than the old-style tops that gave polypro a

bad name.

Merino wool varies between brands.

I haven’t included it in this test because I was

focusing on lightweights for summer, but

relevant factors include the weight, fibre

softness and diameter (coarse wool causes

itching) and fibre treatment (eg chlorine-

free wool). Wool is naturally odour-

resistant but is slow to dry and, when damp,

feels clammy against the skin. See the panel

on the facing page for more info and tips.

Gear comparative review

1. A close fit picks up and moves moisture
   more efficiently than a relaxed fit. Tight tops
   need stretch to avoid being restrictive. In warm
   weather, a looser fit allows airflow but is slower
   to move sweat.


2. Flat-locked seams are more comfortable
   against bare skin than raised seams. Exterior
   stitching, which is the norm with flat-locked
   seams, has the potential to snag or abrade at
   rub-points like rucksack straps, but it is rare
   this affects seam integrity.


3. Tops should be long enough to tuck into
   shorts or trousers, or under a rucksack hipbelt,
   and stay there. Plus, tight, stretchy tops that
   are too short tend to roll up from the hips to the
   waist, like a rubber ring.


4. Women’s lightweight base layers differ
   from men’s: they have more shaping, often
   through curved or offset side seams. They have
   narrower shoulders, more waisting and hip,
   and can be slightly shorter.


5. Anti-odour treatments have become more
   effective but the fibres are more relevant:
   wool resists odour best, followed by nylon,
   bamboo-related fibres, with polypropylene
   and polyester fairly level.