I bought one of these from Endicott's in Exeter earlier this week and tried it out on a visit up to Dartmoor the next day.
http://www.endicotts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1899
My first impression was that the material was incredibly soft to the touch. I have tried several 'technical' base layers in the past and they were either quite itchy or so close fitting that they were somewhat restrictive around the collar and cuffs. This product has a nice 'V' neck and long sleeves. It is also long enough not to come untucked no matter what you do.
We set out on a walk around Burrator Reservoir on what was a warm day with a gentle breeze. I wore the base layer under a micro fibre fleece and was carrying a fairly small Berghaus pack which doesn't have a particularly good back system and promotes quite a bit of sweating.
Sure enough, 20 minutes into our walk, I had quite a sweat on and was concerned that, as the garment was soaked through, I would get cold when we stopped. I needn't have worried; once I took my pack off the base layer and mid layer did their job of wicking moisture away from my body and I was quite dry by the time we moved off again. This cycle of wetting and wicking continued all day until we reached our desired camping spot.
Around camp, the base layer continued to do its stuff and remained stubbornly planted below my waist band and refused to come untucked which is always welcome when constantly bending down and up to set up camp.
I wore the top all night, including in my sleeping bag and didn't find that I was uncomfortably hot but remained pleasantly cosy.
When I eventually arrived home the following day, I had been in this garment for something like 30 hours solid and had done some fairly rigorous exercise. I wasn't greeted with 'Yuk, you stink' which was a pleasant surprise. Trust me, Mrs Sainty and the kids don't hold back with those sort of comments so the 'anti-bacterial' properties seem to have done their stuff.
In conclusion, I would have no hesitation in recommending this product. For the money (£14.50), I felt that this offered excellent value for money compared to other far more expensive items of technical clothing and will be contacting Kevin and Paul at Endicott's for more of these in the future.
Martin
http://www.endicotts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1899
My first impression was that the material was incredibly soft to the touch. I have tried several 'technical' base layers in the past and they were either quite itchy or so close fitting that they were somewhat restrictive around the collar and cuffs. This product has a nice 'V' neck and long sleeves. It is also long enough not to come untucked no matter what you do.
We set out on a walk around Burrator Reservoir on what was a warm day with a gentle breeze. I wore the base layer under a micro fibre fleece and was carrying a fairly small Berghaus pack which doesn't have a particularly good back system and promotes quite a bit of sweating.
Sure enough, 20 minutes into our walk, I had quite a sweat on and was concerned that, as the garment was soaked through, I would get cold when we stopped. I needn't have worried; once I took my pack off the base layer and mid layer did their job of wicking moisture away from my body and I was quite dry by the time we moved off again. This cycle of wetting and wicking continued all day until we reached our desired camping spot.
Around camp, the base layer continued to do its stuff and remained stubbornly planted below my waist band and refused to come untucked which is always welcome when constantly bending down and up to set up camp.
I wore the top all night, including in my sleeping bag and didn't find that I was uncomfortably hot but remained pleasantly cosy.
When I eventually arrived home the following day, I had been in this garment for something like 30 hours solid and had done some fairly rigorous exercise. I wasn't greeted with 'Yuk, you stink' which was a pleasant surprise. Trust me, Mrs Sainty and the kids don't hold back with those sort of comments so the 'anti-bacterial' properties seem to have done their stuff.
In conclusion, I would have no hesitation in recommending this product. For the money (£14.50), I felt that this offered excellent value for money compared to other far more expensive items of technical clothing and will be contacting Kevin and Paul at Endicott's for more of these in the future.
Martin
