Wild Stripes base layer review

Wild Stripes are pretty new to the UK market. They're a base layer made from polypropylene, a material you may well have come across before in the shape of Helly Hansen's Lifa range. The benefit of using polypro in base layers is simply that it removes sweat from the skin - through mechanical drainage, not 'wicking' - faster than any other man made material (let's leave the pros and cons of merino wool for another time!). Andy Kirkpatrick sums up the function of a base layer. He says:

'A base layer is there primarily to keep your skin dry, and so give you a feeling of warmth and nothing else. A base layer is not a ‘thermal’, it is there to move the moisture off the skin so as to limit evaporative heat....when this isn’t possible you need your base layer to have got wet warmth properties, meaning low density and close fitting fabrics that dry quickly and offer less sanctuary for moisture.'

There's no doubt that Lifa garments fulfilled this brief brilliantly, the downside of course was the awful smell that they produced in doing so. So pungent in fact, that the word Helly was seldom uttered without being prefixed with 'smelly' when they first hit the market. On one-off uses this ought not to be an issue but my problem was that my Lifa top held onto this odour, even after a good machine wash. I'd be stinking within 10 minutes of putting it on.

Enter Wild Stripes: polypro base layers for the 21st century. My crew neck shirt does everything I ask of it: it deals with all the moisture I can throw at it, keeps me comfortable as a result, and does so without turning the air green in the process. I've been wearing this on it's own through the summer months and I never fail to be amazed at how comfortable it is, even on hot days when my old Lifa top would have felt 'plasticy'. Under a shell it's the same story, it may be damp to the touch but I never feel 'chilled'. I can even get away with several days consecutive wear without washing!

Any downsides? The sleeves could do with being a bit longer and a zip neck option would be nice (that may be coming soon).

Check out the bewildering range of colours at the Wild Stripes website.