Embers Mohaka Zip - First Look
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Price:
£69.95
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Weight: 335 grammes
(medium)
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Features:
Long-sleeve, zip-neck merino wool top, 100 per-cent NZ 300
grammes per square metre weight merino wool with 21 micron
fibres, heat transfer neck label, long body and arms to stop
riding up. [note: test garment is chocolate a new colour
available soon, current Mohakas are
'midnight']
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What's It For? Embers Merino is a new small Derbyshire-based
outfit specialising in merino. The guys say that they're an 'active
lifestyle brand' and reading between the lines, the idea is to
produce kit that's both capable of active use on the hill, but also
good looking enough for casual wear.
The Mohaka Zip is a middle-weight sort of grade material so you can
use it either layered over some finer merino or next to skin as a
serious cold weather baselayer or simple for casual wear.
The Techy Bits Unless you've been hiding under a large stone
for the past few years, you'll probably know that merino wool is an
ultra-fine New Zealand wool. The fine fibres avoid the scratchy feel
of traditional wool making it comfortable to wear next to skin. It
also manages moisture very effectively and can absorb a considerable
amount of water while still remaining comfortable. It's warm in
winter and cooling in summer and as a bonus has natural anti-pong
properties making it ideal for multi-day use when trekking.
The downside is that it doesn't wick moisture as well as some
synthetic baselayers and takes longer to dry. As it stays comfortable
when damp, that's often not an issue.
How It Works We don't need to be convinced about merino's
performance, it's comfortable and effective, so we were really just
looking at the design and fabric. It's good news on both fronts, the
quality of the New Zealand merino is directly comparable to other
merino stuff we've used and is comfortable next to the skin.
We also like the design. For starters it's cut on the long side
with longish sleeves to prevent riding up in active use. There's a
heat transfer instead of a sewn-in label to stop scratchiness on the
back of the neck and the shoulders are cut so there's no seam in that
area where a pack might rub.
The Mohaka Zip is a medium to heavyweight merino, which means it's
probably a tad warm for fast-moving use, but would work well as a
super warm baselayer in seriously cold conditions.
Based on the Mohaka Zip, we'd happily recommend the Embers
Merino kit to anyone looking for a merino baselayer. You'll either
like the shrubbery graphics on the front of the garment or not but we can't
really fault the rest of the top for fit or quality and touches like
the heat transfer label show a real attention to detail.
For active use we'd suggest one of the lighter weight baselayer
tops rather than the Mohaka, but for casual / active mid-layer wear,
it's great and while the price is relatively high compared to
synthetics, it's in the same ballpark as other quality merino.
It's also British in the sense that the company is based in
Derbyshire and Chris, half of the company, is a Brit, while partner
Marianna is a Kiwi and was brought up with sheep, erm, or at least in
a merino-friendly environment.
Another great, natural, feel good alternative to synthetic
baselayers.
Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own experiences of this
product check out our user review system and post your opinions to
the world. If you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our
gear
forum.
