EDZ Merino Baselayers -
First Look
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Price:
£25 top / £25 leggings
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Weight: 206g
(men's medium top)
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Features: Simple baselayer garments made
from 200-weight merino wool. Long-sleeved, crew-neck top,
leggings with fly opening. Available in both men's and
women's versions.
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What's It
For?
Simple, next to skin baselayer intended to move moisture away from the
skin and outwards. Merino wool has an interesting mix of strengths
including anti-microbial properties that make it wearable for several
days. What marks the EDZ kit out is the affordable price tag, budget
merino wool we've used before has tended to feel slightly rough and to
wash badly.
The Techy
Bits
Merino fibres are much finer than normal wool, making the fabric very
comfortable to wear - normal wool has much larger fibres which cause
irritation to some people's skin - it's a natural fibre and has a
natural anti-microbial element which stops bacteria multiplying and
creating bad smells in your clothing.
Merino handles moisture in a different way from commonly used
synthetics like polyester - these move moisture outwards across the
structure of the material. Merino, on the other hand, works by
absorbing moisture and holding away from the skin meaning it's still
comfortable even when damp. That means that if you run really hot and
sweat a lot, you may be better off with a high-wicking synthetic, but
for normal use, merino's very comfortable. It's also non-flammable.
How It
Performs
The EDZ merino is pretty basic in design terms, that means a
simple long-sleeved, crew-neck top and straightforward leggings in
utilitarian but inoffensive marl grey hues. Fit is close but not tight,
about right for an average bod, we'd say. The fabric itself though,
feels good and is as smooth as merino we've used from much more
expensive brands.
It's comfortable against the skin and exhibits all the classic merino
properties meaning it handles moisture well, staying comfortable even
when you're on the sweaty side of things and defying odour even when
worn three days on the trot. The fabric will get damp, if you overload
it but even when it's sweaty it stays reasonably comfortable. It
doesn't dry as quickly as synthetics mind.
The fabric's 200-weight which is about right for a year-round
baselayer, not thin, but not overly thick either. One potential
weakness is that the seams aren't flat-locked, so there's a small ridge
along, say, the shoulder seam, which could be an issue in some
situations. For cold weather use with layers above, we didn't
experience any discomfort and it's quite a small seam, but worn alone
with a heavy pack, it might rub uncomfortably under the shoulder
straps, though we didn't have problems,
As we said above, we've had problems in the past with budget merino
washing badly and shrinking in particular. Happily the EDZ
stuff emerged the same size as it went in and without any bobbling or
change of feel. All good. The same's true of the leggings which are a
simple, functional design with a fly for added convenience.
The EDZ merino kit is a simple, no frills design devoid of zips or
collar - thinkk function rather than fashion - but none the worse for it, as the fabric itself works as well
as any other merino we've tried and so far has emerged from the OM
washing machine unscathed and unshrunken.
There's a small
question mark over the non flat-locked seams, but so far it's not
proved to be a problem and we'll report back if it develops into one.
All in all, great value in a no nonsense package.
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 Affordable tops
and bottoms with classic merino performance - anti-pong, comfort et al.
 Seams not
flat-locked, really sweaty folk may better off with high wicking
synthetic.
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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.
Colm ab Ifan.
