Mountain Hardwear ThermaDry Zip T Tested
We test Mountain Hardwear's polyester baselayer fabric in versatile, zip-neck, long-sleeved tee-shirt form.
Posted: 15 June 2005
by Jon
|
Mountain Hardwear ThermaDry
Zip-T Tested
|
|
|
Price:
£30
|
|
Weight: 200 grammes
(medium)
|
|
Features:
Thermadry fabric, 2-inch stand-up collar, *" deep front zip,
long sleev esm seams away from abrasion areas.
|
|
Decent wicking and thermal performance.
Doesn't dry as fast as thinner fabrics.
|
The Concept MHW bill ThermaDry as a cold-weather baselayer so
it's intended to offer decent wicking to transport moisture away from
your skin along with a little bit of extra thermal efficiency - it's
cold right, so you want to stay a little warmer.
Features ThermaSkin is MHW's own brand bi-polar polyester
fabric, it's essentially similar to most other polyester base-layer
materials in that it uses the structure of the fibres to move
moisture away from the skin then spread it out to evaporate or pass
through other layers into the great wide open.
The Zip-T is our favourite baselayer configuration with warmth and
sun protection from the high collar, ventilation from the zip and
forearm coverage thanks to long sleeves, it's simply very
versatile.
Finally, flat-locked seams are positioned neatly away from
abrasion and wear areas.
 In
Action We've been using the ThermaDry Zip-T for a while and the
experience has been happily uneventful. That's not a negative thing,
it just means that the garment has got on with doing its job in a
quietly effective way from winter through to early summer.
Like we said, the long-sleeved zip-neck is our favourite design
for its versatility and sun protection - ideal for glaciers for
example - and the MHW version works just fine. Wicking is on a par
with similar polyester base layers from other brands and while not
quite as effective as thinner fabrics, is still very decent.
The slightly thicker material does make for slower drying however,
so be prepared to wait if you're indulging in a mid-trek laundry
session. The same's true of other thicker materials as well, and the
extra thermal effectiveness in colder conditions is arguably worth
the slight inconvenience.
In very hot conditions it can get a little too warm, particularly
in the black colour way tested, buton early summer days it did just
fine. So far it doesn't seem to pong either, so good marks in the
skunk test.
| 