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Monday 22 March 2010 | Personalise | Help  
 REVIEWS 27 / 11 / 08
 

Marmot Midweight Baselayer First Look

By Jon

Power Dry with added coconut? We check out Marmot's new baselayer top.

Marmot Mid Weight Zip Neck LS - First Look

Marmot LS zip neck 

Price: £35 

Weight: 160g (men's medium top)

Features: Mid-weight baselayer made from Polartec Power Dry stretch fabric with Cocona. Long sleeves, zip neck with zipper garage, flat-locked seams,  tag-free neckline.


What's It For?

Baselayers are designed primarily to wick moisture away from the skin and outwards through other layers of clothing. Ideally you want a close fit for the most efficient transfer of moisture along with some sort of odour-fighting properties to help you retain your friends and sanity. Finally fast drying is good.
The Techy Bits

Marmot's new baselayer clothing uses Polartec's Power Dry fabric. In the case of the mid-weight version, this has a small grid pattern on the inside to give a little extra warmth. On top of that, it uses Cocona in the form of activated charcoal produced from discarded coconut shell husks, which is then blended into the polyester of the Power Dry.

Cocona is claimed to work better than its bamboo equivalent and have a list of natural benefits including 25 per-cent faster drying times, natural odour resistance, UV protection and outstanding comfort against the skin. The properties are all natural and because they form part of the structure of the fabric, they're permanent.
How It Performs

Marmot's new baselayer has rapidly become a cold weather favourite. It's light and comfortable with stretch in the fabric giving a close but not skin tight fit and a nice, warm feel against the skin. The slightly thicker than average material also adds a little extra insulation.

Detailing's good with comprehensive flat-locked seams to avoid pack strap chafing and a neat zipper garage that protects delicate neck skin from the metal zipper. The long-sleeved, zip-neck is our favourite baselayer design as well with the zip giving venting options, the collar offering neck protection from sun and cold and rollable sleeves useable in summer and winter.

The fabric so far has been great. It wicks as well as anything else we've used, dries fast after exertion and doesn't smell noticably after use, which is all good. In fact we can't really fault it.

Initial Verdict


So far Marmot's new baselayer has performed superbly. The design is well thought through and ticks all the boxes while the fabric wicks and dries fast and doesn't pong. It's not cheap, but it is very effective.

 Top notch performance from the Power Dry with Cocona fabric and a well thought out design with it.
 Pricier than most, but then it performs better than most as well.



Marmot web site


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