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Base layers are one of the most important components in any clothing system because they are next to your skin and are relied upon to keep you as dry, warm or cool and as unsmelly as possible. It is a sign of the times that we have both what were traditional man made materials and even more traditional natural materials being reintroduced.

We told our tame tester that he had to examine a lot of underwear. His eyes lit up, only to dim again with disappointment when we explained we meant base layers. Some say he has more skins than an onion and if his base layer is removed there's nothing underneath - which is why he spells it underwhere. Others that he eats raw garlic for breakfast and never cleans his teeth. All we know is he's called the Sprag.

BORN TO IT BAMBOO T
Men's £23 Women's £21
www.borntoit.com

At first glance the Born to It T looks and indeed feels like a high quality cotton T. In fact it is made from 70% bamboo. Bamboo is one of the world's fastest growing and most versatile plants. By processing the bamboo
it makes a comfortable and quick drying T that works on its own or as a part of a layering system. To keep
its structure some cotton is used and whilst this is usually the most unsuitable material for a base layer, for summer use this did not seem to be a problem. It wicks fairly well and dries reasonably fast and doesn't
smell too bad either. I even asked an independent witness to verify this too. Not an item for the harshest of conditions but great for summer.

HELLY HANSEN
Trail Wizard £35 short sleeved £40 long sleeved
www.hellyhansen.com

Originally a sailing brand and much loved by fell runners and climbers for more than 25 years, the ubiquitous Helly has evolved and is still going strong. In fact it is going stronger than ever. Helly Hansen now have a large range of base layers that are specifically designed to either shift perspiration and keep you dry, keep you cool or keep you warm. Their latest technological development includes combinations of fabrics and weaves that 'pull' excess heat and sweat from your skin's surface to create long term coolness during intensive activity. They call it advanced dry fibre technology with air circulation features HH Cool and Lifa Stay Dry fabrics. A bit of a mouthful, but they work and look great too. Being cool in both senses is always good. They also work well as parts of a layering system and unlike some early editions do not smell even after many washes. The smelly Helly is a thing of the past.

LOWE ALPINE
DRY FLO ZIPNECK £30
www.lowealpine.com

Lowe Alpine's Dry Flo base layers have been about for quite a few years now. They are made from treated polyester. It is made in two weights. Light and Full. Both work well. They are treated with an antibacterial agent, Healthguard to reduce smelling and rotting and which can be reapplied when it wears off with
use and washing. Life Systems, the people who make first aid kits and other such stuff make it. Despite being thin the Lightweight is also UV resistant so you don't get burned from the sun either. They are the definitive polyester base layers. Nothing fancy, they just do it.

ICE BREAKER
Mondo Zip £49.95, Olympia Zip £69.95, Olympia Crewe £54.95
www.icebreaker.com

Wool underwear used to be bought from ex-army stores and, in addition to being warm had the major disadvantages of being itchy as hell and when wet smelled like a damp dog.
In 1994 the founder of Icebreaker met a New Zealand sheep farmer and discovered for himself (New Zealand sheep farmers knew already) that Merino wool is dramatically different from other wool. It is soft, the individual trands (or staples) are long and so it doesn't itch (it's the ends of the staples that cause the trouble) and it washes brilliantly and, wonder of wonders, doesn't smell bad either. Icebreaker make a huge range of very fine knit merino wool products that feel great on and look pretty good too. The Mondo for men or the Olympia zip for women have short neck zips and are good examples of their type.

PARAMO
CAMBIA
Zip Neck T Shirt £35, Sport T Shirt £25
www.paramo.co.uk

The designers of Paramo gear always seem to have a fresh approach to problems and their solutions seem to work. Paramo base layers are no exception. There's is a range of long, and short sleeved and long sleeve zip necked garments for both men and women called Cambia. The interesting thing about these tops is that they have two different surfaces, each of which performs in a different way. The advantage is that they are reversible. By wearing the smooth layer against the skin, water is kept closer to your skin but evaporates off quickly, keeping you cooler. Great for high aerobic activity. Reverse the top so that the honeycomb side is against your skin and the water is kept away from the skin, but still evaporates away well and you keep warmer. It all sounds a bit unlikely, but it really works. Clever. They do need regular washing.

MARMOT
POLARTEC POWERDRY
£35
www.marmot.com

The combination of Marmot's excellent design and Polartec's Powerdry fabric (with Cocona - more of that in a minute) makes a very good combination. The fabric dries very fast and doesn't hold excessive moisture and doesn't smell too bad after repeated wearing without washing (all in the cause of testing). It is even UV resistant. The Cocona is a yarn made from coconut shells to form a carbon polyester yarn that would otherwise be thrown out as rubbish (doesn't anyone make door mats out of the stuff anymore?) Because of the coconut based yarn, the wicking and non-smelling properties last for ever. One tip is to machine wash it several times before you wear it. It seems to get better for laundering rather than worse. In fact straight out of the box it doesn't seem nearly as good.

LEADERBOARD
RATING           MODEL                    PACE NOTES

9.5                   Trail Wizard             No more Smelly Helly. Original and still one of the best.
9.4                   Powerdry                 Gets better the more you wash it - how good is that!
9.3                   Cambia                    Reversible for staying cool or keeping warm - genius!
9.2                   Mondo/Olympia      Merino wool takes some bleating, bah the price.
9.1                   Dry Flo                      Proven over the years - if it ain t broke don t fix it.

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