Paramo Cambia Long Sleeve T Reviewed

Paramo Cambia Long Sleeved Tee – Women’s

The Paramo Cambia long-sleeved tee – and it’s short-sleeved sibling – was new on the market this season. It works either as a single layer in warm conditions or as a baselayer with acres of fleece on top when the weather starts getting a bit nippy, like now.

The Cambia long-sleeved tee was preceded by a Cambia zip-neck, which is handy for dealing with changes of pace … and changes in the amount of sweat you’re pouring out. That’s not to say that the zip-less version doesn’t have its place though. This time around, we’re looking at a no-nonsense, simple, lightweight t-shirt that you can throw on and then forget about.

It almost goes without saying these days – but we’ll say it anyway – that this is a female specific active top, so if you’ve got a y-chromosome then it probably won’t fit you:-)

Paramo has been making reversible fabric for about ten years now and this tee is the latest incarnation. It uses Parameta T fabric which the brand describes as ‘directional’ clothing – it doesn’t simply allow moisture to pass through but actively ‘directs’ the moisture away from the body.

Directional fabric is an interesting concept if it’s also reversible, because it means that the your clothing must be directing moisture towards your body if you wear it inside out. Yes, exactly that. The idea is that you can stay moist and cool in summer by directing moisture towards your skin, but warm and dry in winter by directing it towards your outer layers and the world at large. No one-way streets here.

We’ve had our ups and downs with the Cambia long-sleeved t-shirt – normally both at the same time.

Starting on the plus side, we were keen on the fabric which breathes as well as it says it does on the tin. It’s handled a couple of deluges recently – not that we’re saying this summer’s been soggy or owt – and it dried much more quickly after the experience than we did. It’s also pretty lightweight.

Aside from performance features, it’s also a really soft and comfortable baselayer to put next to your skin. The damp/summer side of the reversible system – which is also the slicker side – is the softest at first and it’s the side on which the stitching protrudes the least, making it even more comfortable.

We aren’t too convinced by the idea of staying damp in order to stay cool in the summer though. We can see the logic, but one function of having over-sensitive, sweat-rash prone skin is that it doesn’t like to stay damp for too long in any circumstances. Maybe that’s just us, although we probably aren’t the only ones who like to keep our skin as dry as possible.

Having said that, as the tee dries quickly you’re never particularly damp, whichever way round you wear it, and you don’t get any cold spots either, as the moisture spreads itself out evenly across the fabric.

And what about the reverse side of the fabric? Well, that’s pretty soft as well, although the stitching – flat-locked admittedly – sticks out a little more, and as there are seams across the shoulders, that’s something to bear in mind.

At least this way round, the fabric really does the job when it comes to getting rid of moisture, but we’ve already waxed lyrical about that.

Our only other query is the fit, although obviously that’s personal and what works for us won’t work for everyone.

We’ve tended to find that the Paramo cut assumes you are below average in height and perhaps a little bulkier than the sizing suggests.

We’re fairly average in height (just over five foot seven) but the arms of this top fell an inch or two short on us, and instead of providing a snug fit it hung pretty loosely around the body.

That wasn’t too much of a problem when wearing the top on its own – it was quite cool as a summer top, and the extra flaps and folds caused by the excess material didn’t rub too much as the fabric’s so soft.

The same can’t be said when the temperature plummets and you want to wear it as part of a layering system though. At that point, its insulation qualities are affected if it’s too loose for you, because all the additional pockets of air can’t be so easily heated to form a nice warm insulated layer. It could also bunch up under your other layers, causing discomfort.

That was only our experience because our rather slender build doesn’t fit the garment all that well, and you might have a totally different experience. Still, bear in mind that the Paramo cut, if anything, is slightly short and wide.

The brand’s ‘directional’ Parameta T fabric is light, fast-drying and it gets rid of moisture at a rate of knots, which is perfect for a baselayer or a solo layer in the summer. The only thing to watch out for is the fit, which is quite large for its size, with short arms. If that’s you, great. If not, you might be better off looking elsewhere.

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