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Looked on wiggle, CRC, tredz.
Wiggle want £40 for dhb.
Surely there is someone with a good deal. I would prefer mock neck or slightly higher than your standard crew neck. I commute to work so Ide like a couple that are the same height around my neck as my jacket.
Long arms as well.
It's easy. There are two materials , wool and plastic. Despite what the makers say the plastic ones are pretty well the same thing, just woven in a different way and styled differently. A 10 quid job from Trespass or Mountain warehouse will do the same job as something 5 times as expensive if the cut, thickness etc feel right to you.
My most comfortable vest is one from Craghoppers. Beats the expensive stuff that was bought as presents any day.
Bit like Lusso clothing, as good as anything else out there if it fits but no one wants to admit wearing it.
Got a couple of long sleeve merino ones from mountain warehouse and they've been great, good weight and cut and only abiutb£20, survived loads of washes too
Decathlon do a few options for not much money too, I was there today but it seems either me or their sizing is a bit odd as the bigger sizes just get wider and not longer.
I like the on-one merino stuff at 20quid a throw.
Been wearing the Helly hansen stripe crew base layers for years. Usually about £20 sometimes £14 -15 in sales seem fine to me.
Or Italian army spec for £3.95 never tried them tho!
Whatever you pay, if you get the right one, it won't seem expensive at all.
Helly Hansen lifa long sleeve merino for me - was about £25, if I remember correctly. Had them about five years and still going strong.
If you're buying belly Hansen, make sure and buy some halo or similar to wash with. They ain't known as smelly Hansen for nothing!.
smelly helly is old news, the current ones aren't anything like the old ones.
Get some Helly Hansen lifas, brilliant stuff and not the same as all the other 'plastic' ones. It actually seems to help regulate your temperature as well, I often wear my 3/4 length bottoms skiing even if it is quite warm.
The lifas with merino are for colder conditions I think, and some people don't like plain merino as it gets wet with sweat. Merino lovers will tell you that it stays warm, but every now and again you get a thread on here where lots of people slag off merino.
Craft Xtreme ones from CRC for £28 seem good value.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/craft-zero-extreme-cn-long-sleeve-top-ss14/rp-prod110567
Quite a few sub-£30 on there, including HH Lifas.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/base-layers?f=4294957818&pf=0&pt=30
Gooutdoors have various ones.
Sign up to SportPursuit. All sorts of base layers on there for good prices. They've currently got Janus wool ones for around £30
There was still quite a lot of base layers left in my local aldi yesterday from the recent bike and running sales. Good value at £10.
+1 for the Helly Hansen LIFAs
The 'Dry' ones are fine for cycling during the UK winter. I think they are rated for comfort down to -16 Celsius. The merino version is more expensive but I found them too warm for any kind of intense exercise.
The new ones are made of propylene instead of polyester so don't smell after you wash them.
They also last a long time if you treat them well. I have a set that are still going strong after five years.
I have a lovely DHB one on the classifieds 😀
I've amassed quite a few base layers over the years my favourite ( for winter at least) is a very expensive Norwegian Merino wool one. But these are really not that far off for £10.
[url= https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thursday-16-october/product-detail/ps/p/workwear-base-layer-t-shirt-1/ ]Aldi base layer[/url]
+1 for Helly Lifa. Got some which are 10+ years old, been worn weekly and still not smelly!
Merino is my favourite, must have at 10 base layers but would choose one of the 3 merino ones everytime. Craghopper one my favourite and was about £25
As ^ hello Hanson lifas.. worth whatever they cost you
I had one from Primark the other day, an Admiral one. £8 and kept me warm whilst doing a tough mudder including swimming in ice and lots and lots of cold water.
Best for sweaty days (by a long way) - Patagonia
Worst for sweaty days (clammy) - Berghaus TechT
Best for wet, damp days - Helly Hansen warm Merino/manmade mix
Best for soaking wet days canoeing - Patagonia or Montane Merino.
Despite having about a dozen baselayers 😳 I keep pulling the Helly Hansen warm and Patagonia 2 out of the drawer...
Oh, and always buy in a sale....
I really rate the Endura BaaBaa merino baselayer.
You can get them for about £30.
the neck is tight and higher than a crew neck.
Don't bother with merino if your wife doesn't read washing instructions.....
I like this -
[url= http://www.altura.co.uk/products/detail/AL28THRB ]Thermacool base layer[/url]
never known anything to be so 'right' in such a wide range of conditions and so comfortable. Something to do with the very thin material, fabric weight / weave and the tight fit I think. Wet and cold, dry and hot but chilly am and pm, general UK use etc. I've lived in it for over a week at a time : ) Very light and packable too, dries fast. Taken it on a few long trips now and it's an essential item. I like merino a lot, but this dries faster and is lighter.
I've found gore base layers work the best for me. You don't need a many (two does me and I ride most days).
mattsccm - MemberA 10 quid job from Trespass or Mountain warehouse will do the same job as something 5 times as expensive if the cut, thickness etc feel right to you.
But that's the thing. They probably won't have the cut and the thickness. I've got a drawer full of cheap tech tees. I rarely ever wear them on the bike as I prefer to wear my good ones. I've got a nice Altura one with a massive drop tail and just the right weight. Either that or my ice breaker merino, or my mountain equipment polygiene mid layer if it's really cold.
The other thing is that the more expensive ones, ime last quite a bit longer too. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
++ HH lifa got a New one after not owning one for a number of years, I've been sutprised at how well it regulates my temp
for merino I would recomend a blended fabric like rabs meco something that keeps you warm but also has some better wicking qualities
Rapha Merino.
yes, spend a lot on a designer brand of merino.
I bought my wife some icebreaker merino for skiing as everyone was recommending it, but she hated it. Got wet with sweat and then she got cold on the lifts because she wasn't doing anything - as bad as a cotton t-shirt.
Now imagine you are on your bike and have been sweating, and then have an accident - so now you are not doing any activity to keep the merino warm, plus you are probably in shock, so the cold is even worse.
It seems to me that the only decent merino is the hybrid stuff, and that is only really suitable for very cold conditions.
Lifa FTW.
I like the Howies classic base layer, they have a long skinny fit which is good for lanky people like me.
most important decide on what works for you
Plastic/synthetic
or
Wool
Personally, like Turnerguy wool does not work for me as a base layer as I sweat so much I wet the wool out and it is impossible for me to get warm.
Synthetics as a next to the skin layer is brilliant for me, I really sweat
I have over the last 30 years spent a fortune on base layers so cost wise
Decathlon
Aldi
craft
helly Hansen
lab gear/polartec
lowe alpine
RAB
for what it is worth
Patagonia......never worked well for me
berghaus....died badly and smelt like a dead camel
Look for the sales, tk maxx....
On one have got some cheap merino. Otherwise decathlon for plastic.
All much the same in my experience.
I never really rated merino next to skin but it is good as a thermal mid layer. Sport wool has been ace but limited manufacturers make it pricey.
You don't need a base layer either, a close fitting t shirt will do which opens up cheaper options.
You don't need a base layer either, a close fitting t shirt will do which opens up cheaper options.
I really hope you don't mean a cotton t-shirt? If you're thinking of a technical material what's the difference between a baselayer and a tight fitting technical t-shirt...?
I've been wearing a merino wool Rab one that I purchased for trail walking in winter. To be honest I can't wait to put in the bin because it itches like mad. It's as if it's made of wire wool. £50 it cost me and never again.
You don't need a base layer either, a close fitting t shirt will do
T-shirt made of what ?
Tried many variants but always ended up back with HH LIFA. Versatile and lost the smelly Helly tag years ago IME. The premium pricing in a lot of stuff is bllx, one of the best really warm tops I have came from M&S!
skiing is a good test of the performance of base layers. Even in sub zero conditions you still get hot and sweaty when skiing if you're pushing it, then sit on a chair lift for 15 to 20 mins or so exposed to the temperatures and wind, so a real test of base layer performance. Over the last 5 or so years of skiing down at temps around -10 and even -30 one year due to wind chill, my cheap decathlon base layers have done a sterling job. Before that I was using a more expensive set of base layers and the Decathlon ones perform equally as well.
Last year's holiday was a hot one, barely getting below zero, too hot for base layers so I just wore a T-shirt underneath my jacket. It wasn't great - the T-shirt just absorbs sweat and chills down as you ski and you end up shivering at the bottom of the run despite it being about +20 degrees outside. Then you don't warm up quickly as your wet T-shirt is chilled and takes ages to warm up. Definitely not comfortable on the long chair lift back up the mountain.
also
recommended
ODLO
not so great
SKINs
again cotton not as a base layer, it holds the wet turns damp and reduces your body heat
technical t shirt is still baggie so a next to sken need to be tight,.
Worth investing in good quality base layers.Seem to last forever if looked after. On the "economy" vibe,I used to work with a guy who was very "tight in the @rse",shall we say and he swore by using old football jerseys as base layers as they were a cheap charity shop buy,the trick being buy a size down. But as said in earlier posts,by those far more intelligent than myself the tech is the same,despite the price so pay what you think is fair and do what many do and use your base as a warm weather shirt in milder weather. Shop I work in sell Regatta and Dare 2 Be base tees from around £10 so not too pricey imo. 🙂
Beware of some of those compression layers as they will make you feel cool rather than act like a base layer - I was looking at the review on that UA top on Amazon and cant conclude which way that top goes.
Today I wore a Gore Windstopper long sleeve base layer with a short sleeved technical top and gilet. Considering it was around 12 degrees with a NE wind I was certainly toasty.
Not cheap, bought mine when it was on offer. You need to go up a size too.
I've ordered one of the Amazon UA ones, so I'll let you know.
My favourite base layer is an Altura compression one, only item of their clothing I've not thought to be really shit. Think it was £30 or so.
I jumped on the merino bandwagon about 5 yrs ago but for past year have been using craft and helly warm. IMO much better for active stuff like MTB. The merinos are now used for walking/lounging 😀
SportsDirect have some for about £5 or £6, eg http://www.sportsdirect.com/campri-thermal-base-layer-top-mens-402149
I've got a few of these, they are OK, fairly warm. Not as tight a fit or as nice a feel as Helly Hansen, but fine for most cycling etc.
Currently , I have five base layers. 3 short sleeve ones, 2 of which are Decathlon poly ones which cost £3 each 10 years ago and just won't quite die. A poly Hi Gear one from Go Outdors and was a fiver last spring. All work fine.
Long sleeve wise a four year old poly M and S one and an Endura Baa Baa.
All do the job just fine . The Baa Baa though and despite costing more than all the others put together , was still good value at £30, is great if I'm away for a few days as it just needs drying and other riders can follow me without having to just mouth breathe .