very light powerdry baselayers – under armour

[M B]

In search of new baselayer.
I was looking at the stuff Cabelas had recently . Heavy, heavy.
Stumbled into the Under Armour display. Basegear 2.0. Box felt light.
Took it out, ridiculously light and THICK. So I bought it and brought it home.

This is form fitting stuff . Tights, are tight.
I would classify the 2.0 as almost expedition wt to me anyway, and it goes up to 4.0 too.

anyway. Base 2.0 medium tights – 5.1 oz, Large top 6 oz. Pretty incredible thickness for the wt. Was immediately feeling hot in store when put on. This would be like a Patagonia Cap 4+ I think.

So I ordered the Base 1.0 for comparison. About like a patagonia Cap 2.

Medium tight….3.2 oz. Large top 3.98 oz. Wow. Its light.Super breatheable.
Fits me well too. My waist is ~31. Normally smalls with most mfg are 28-30 and med are 32-34, leaving lean trim people with no choice but to wear oversize mediums. This is like it should be IMO.

[Richard Fischel]

i'm a big fan of their heatgear. i'm not looking for insulation from my baselayer as much as i'm looking for light top with wicking ability. i like the *fitted* version so that it layers well. even without a thumb-loop the sleeves don't ride-up, but aren't so tight that the top feels like compression gear. the nike dri-fit line is pretty nice too.

[Max Dilthey]

I lived in an Under Armour Heat Gear t-shirt for 30 days straight on a summer bike tour. I was wearing a mountain biking hydration pack the entire time to hold a 1.5L reservoir and a DSLR, and eventually the T-shirt started to chafe. At one point, I had to slap a moleskine sheet on my back just to keep the stinging at bay in particular areas.

I wouldn't wear the UA Heatgear Tee for backpacking. I mean that literally- I wouldn't. You might be able to, but I will not. YMMV!

I am now using an Arcteryx Motus crew, which uses the lightest SL fabric from them. It feels smoother than the UA shirt, but I have not tested it long-term.

I have heard good things about the Arcteryx AR Baselayer system, but you get what you pay for- it's pricey. Maybe I'll take the plunge next winter.

[Richard Fischel]

guy who turned me on to it wouldn't wear any other base layer, top and bottom. he's summited a hand-full of 8000m peaks and with some regularity headed down to south america (typically peru) for two to four weeks at a time to climb. my record for wearing the same heatgear top straight is only 7-days and i've never had a problem, but i periodically move my shoulder straps around and as a base layer, more times than not i'm wearing something over the heatgear.

[Max Dilthey]

Both relevant. I will add that my heatgear tights are smooth, and my heatgear t-shirt is slightly textured. That may have had something to do with it, and I might switch to a smooth top and try that out.

I like UA, but I was not fascinated by it or amazed with its performance. My Phase SL top actually is rather radical feeling, noticeably lighter weight, and definitely more breathable. I don't mean to doubt your reference (since it's a phenomenal one) but I'm sure UA gets the job done; it's a matter of how well different materials perform rather than whether they perform at all.

I'm not an expert. Take my advice with a grain of salt.

[Author]

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