New for review is the latest top from Swiss baselayer specialists
X-Bionic, a zoned
Winter/Treking and Ski Touring
mid-compression top.
XBionic, same people as XSocks, is the most zoned, zoned baselayer
clothing out there and, in very simple terms, uses different densities
and configurations of padding and fabric to suit different areas of the
body based on a lot of serious lab research.
So, the shoulders on the winter top have a thick padding both to add
insulation and to increase comfort when worn with a pack, then the
centre and small of the back have obviously channeled areas that
X-Bionic says are designed to both insulate and draw sweat away from
the skin, other areas are thinner to conduct warmth away without
impeding performance. There are even 'Underarm Sweat Traps' no less.
At first glance the zones are really obvious though, as with most
X-Bionic stuff, it looks like it's been shrunk in the wash until you
put it on when you get a proper, next to skin fit for maximum
efficiency. The result, says X-Bionic, is a system that cools you when
you're sweating, keeps you warm when you're cold, but is also carefully
designed to reduce sweat rather than preventing it.
The thinking behind this last bit is that a thin film of wetness is
left on the skin, which in turn while not feeling wet, evaporates
helping cooling when needed, but still prevents you over-cooling during
recovery.
If all that seems hard to grasp, don't worry. This is the most
complicated baselayer technology in the world. So complicated that the
excessive box-based packaging folds out into a massive library of
graphics and information. It's all a bit much and hard on trees too.
The bottom line is 'does it work?' and we'll be letting you know. It's
easy to be cynical, but we've found the X-Bionic boxer shorts to be
excellent, so we're keeping an open mind.
You can find more X-Bionic information, lots of it, at, hmmm, all that
packaging and we can't find the URL, hang on...
www.x-bionic.com
