Capilene 4 vs Phase SV: dry time

From the pix I can find of the Phase SV, it looks like the old expedition weight Power Dry fabric. I'm sure that it wicks and dries well, but a fairly heavy base layer material.

The Power Dry HE is a different ballgame. It has grids that are heavy material alternating with lines of very, very light fabric that dries and breathes like crazy. I can't imagine that there is any comparably warm base layer that wicks, breaths, and dries quicker. It really is fantastic for high aerobic/sweaty cold weather activity.

Here's a close up photo of the inner surface of the Cap 4 fabric I posed a while back:

And the Marmot version of Polartec Power Dry HE. For all intents and purposes, it's identical to the Patagonia version, but the grida aren't abraded away quite as much at the edges. I haven't seen the LLBEAN version yet, but I'm guessing it's he same as the Marmot version.

Ok, I saw a good sale on cap4 at basegear.com and I got a LS Crew for $60 shipped. I'll see how it works. I just had a poor experience with Nike Profit so in general I have disliked synthetics, but technology seems to have come a long way so I'm going to give it another shot.

If I like the Cap4 I might purchase a phase SV LS crew just to compare them. Though I'm rapidly approaching a point where I have more than enough base layers…

i have the phase SV, phase AR, old cap4, T2/T3

with similar weight fabrics its all roughly around the same … i wash em all the time in batches and none stand out significantly in term os drying time

in fact i just washed a whole ton of them yesterday … all the synthetics and fleeces are dry … none of the merino ones are

;)

Phasic SV is definitely not Power Dry e.g. Power Dry is 100% polyester en Phasic SV contains 8% polypropylene.

I recently switched from Phase SV to Cap 4. I think Phase SV might dry a tiny bit faster….maybe.
The reason I switched is that the cap4 feels warmer and more breathable. Thus better across a wider range of temps when combined with a wind shell.
Both are excellent payers though in my opinion, so it's hard to go wrong.
-Chris

Are we talking about drying when you take it out of the washing machine? Or drying when you are wearing it and it gets damp?

"Phasic SV is definitely not Power Dry e.g. Power Dry is 100% polyester en Phasic SV contains 8% polypropylene."

This thread is referencing primarily Capilene 4 aka Polartec Power Dry High Efficiency. This has 8% spandex in the tops i have.

>>>>all the synthetics and fleeces are dry … none of the merino ones are

Bingo

Euh, I was just responding to this: "From the pix I can find of the Phase SV, it looks like the old expedition weight Power Dry fabric." And OK, there may be some spandex in it, but that's only to add stretch.

I see, well in any case i was just pointing it out for clarity's sake. Yes, the spandex is for stretch. Might slow down the drying time very slightly, but not enough for it to be significant.