Just Say No To Wicking: Non-Traditional Base Layers Based on a Next-to-Skin Fishnet Model

It doesn't have to be fishnet to work. Quite some years ago, very loosely woven mesh polos and T's were common, and they worked as well, perhaps even better, than the fishnet. And looked much better, coming in different colors and tailoring.
Unfortunately, a lot of them were cotton or cotton-polyester, and while much more effective under an outer layer than plain woven cotton, wore out quickly. Several days of rainy hiking on the AT rotted out the last of my mostly cotton ones.

Then manufacturers made the mesh denser to improve their view of appearance; but this greatly reduced the fishnet factor. An example of this end stage development was the 'mesh' polo from Royal Robbins with the embroidered hiker on the chest.
When PC's came out, spent hours on the web searching for light mesh polos with no luck. What is called mesh now still has some advantages, but is nothing like the loosely woven material of yesteryear.

Can't comment on your science; but what I liked so much about these garments was the comfort and wide temp range. They were airy and cool on hot days; but when the mountain air got cold, just the addition of a windshirt over them warmed me up faster than anything else, and remained very comfortable during exertion. They also provided great comfort and warmth for weight under GTX shells for rainy hiking.

'Fashion trumps function,' was the comment made about the demise of true mesh on this site several years ago. The much denser polyester mesh sold today isn't bad, but doesn't hold a candle to the earlier stuff.

Maybe your article will encourage some product redevelopment. Hope so.

In 1969 Colin Fletcher spent two pages extolling the virtues of fishnet underwear in the Complete Walker)pp 199-200). In 1984 (Complete Walker III), he went into more detail on how it works along with comments on other materials like Polypro. Also both editions have some firsthand anecdotal comments about the WWII British connection (as stated earlier).

I have been using a fairly wide mesh shirt since the 80's (REI brand). At one time I had a dozen, but 10 of them wore out over time. I currently have a sleeveless and a short sleeve with a snap 1/4 top. They breath extremely well in desert heat and work well under other layers. Made from 100% polyester. The material is somewhat thicker than most baselayers we see today. Very comfortable under pack straps.

So I guess we can call this a traditional base layer.

Close up of REI mesh shirt.

Super close up of mesh material.

@RJ – many people talk about controlling sweat by changing activity level (among other options like taking off layers etc)….how does that fit with daylight and the time you have to hike a given trail…

I know that for me (and i am by no means super fit or a hiking guru or anything) i need to keep on pushing (especially if its uphill) to make good time to be able to hike longish days…especially since i tend to hike off season (in autumn) when trails are many times timed for peak season sunlight

do you REALLY slow down just in order not to sweat – even though from a fitness perspective you could push on???

Mike

Reliable racing has them on sale but only has small size available.

I did send a polypro top to Vic Hines in 2006 to try. Didn't hear back on how it worked.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=2990

David,

I ordered one from Wiggys. Thanks.

"Bennett" liked fishnet too.

I got ahold of the Canadian distributor of Aclima and inquired about their wool net pieces- she sent me a price of $117 for the zip neck top and $107 for the crew- I'm assuming that's w/o shipping as well.

Needless to say I'll stick w/ my Merino 1 for the time being :)

Update: for anyone interested, these appear to be available at NordicLife.co.uk with reasonable shipping rates to the U.S.

I've used my Wiggys top for a couple days now and have been quite pleased. I used them working in the yard (fishnet+polypro+windbreaker or raincoat) at 40 degrees F with and without heavy rain and also at the gym (with cotton T over them). In all situations I felt warmer than I would have without them.

My large size is made of nylon and weighs 9+ ounces. So the question that remains "is this the best bang for the 9 ounces". In other words would I have felt as warm with 9 ounces of something else (e.g. a second polypro pullover). Don't have the answer to this question…..yet.

Richard

"When used as a base layer, there is no difference between fishnet and any of the other common knits relative to your core temperature."

Not sure how to interpret this statment. Could you elaborate?

Does it refer to the insulating value of the garment? If so, does this assume that the base layer is covered by other clothing. Worn alone it is hard to believe that a garment with mostly holes in it (fishnet) would be as warm as a knitted garment of the same weight.

Thanks,

Daryl

Richard,

Thanks.

Very helpful.

Daryl