Anybody Using BRYNJE Fishnet Base Layer?

Everyone is using them :)

I saw about 3-4 out of 10 AT UL through-hikers in mesh this year. The rest are in Alpha and remaining few are in more traditional base layers.

I’m using Brynje as well and swear by it. In theory.

The big problem is you look like a dive bar stripper in Brynje. So, you end up putting on a wind shirt on which nullifies the whole breathability point. If the trail has people on it, then I’m usually in Capilene. Unfortunately, that means that most of the time it’s Capilene, not Brynje.

I guess it’s that ageist thing. I head into the store, then I realize what I’m wearing. Oh well. I can’t sing, I ain’t pretty, and my legs are thin.

Yes. I used it, liked it, and would buy it again.   I recommend trying it. You might wait for a seasonal sale unless you need it now.   Historically Ryan Jordan favored the Bryne wool fishnet short sleeve top. More thoughts below.

I too am mature enough to have used fishnet but in my case I started in the late ’70’s when I was nordic ski racing in college (back when we actually “skied” using diagnol strides, etc., and only skating through corners).  Maybe the fishnet was due to the “Finn” influence at my college and in the nordic skiing community….ya, you betcha.  But I digress.

Back then, I’m pretty sure it was cotton (yikes)

Okay, in answer to your question.  Yes, more recently I had the wool Byrne long sleeve fishnet top.  Around 15 years ago. My impression was that it was effective and functional.  I actually like it a lot and it has been on my “to-do” list to buy another top and maybe try out bottoms.

My issue with it at the time was that it was accidentally run through the dryer and shrank a CRAZY amount.  Shrank much more than modern merino base layers would shrink with an accidental drying. And in my family we have a good front loading washer, good dryer with good temp controls…and we hang dry any of our “delicate” or wool clothes (bike shorts, anything with spandex, and anything with wool…..).  But one day the Byrne fishnet  top slipped through and got in the dryer.  <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Useless</span> after one trip through the dryer..and again we don’t bake things in the dryer.  So, be very very careful about that.

I actually want to try it again.  I’m also instinctively cheap, and since Byrne normally (or historically) had pretty steep discounts at the “end of season” I keep waiting to buy a set when the “next sale” happens. Also, I’d probably try short sleeve on the next order.

I believe that Ryan Jordan, of BPL is or was a huge fan of Byrne fishnet wool base layers and IIRC he favors short sleeve tops (mine were long) but I don’t think he ever said why he favored short.  Curiously, enough, and if IIRC, Ryan felts that the top is too revealing to be worn in mixed company on the trail, so always wears another layer over it.  That is NOT something I would worry about for one second on the trail. If it became too warm I’d strip down.  More thoughtfully, if it was warm enough to remove a light layer that was over the fishnet, I’d probably also take off the fishnet as well….and perhaps replace it with a light synthetic t-shirt for abrasion protection.

I purposely shrunk mine. I didn’t completely dry it and wore it wet for a better fit. I find wool can hold on to too much moisture. I find that the long sleeves can get twisted when putting on other layers and sometimes find them too hot. My next one will probably be poly and short sleeve. Depending where you live perhaps, they’re not always in stock in the U.S.

Maybe if I was younger I’d worry about how they look to others.  It’s not my problem, it’s theirs.

The short sleeve and long sleeve have diff temp ranges, have both.  For me, short sleeve when > ~ -3C but I try to move fast and sweat a lot. At those temps and pace I have no trouble keeping hands warm.  Lower temps the hands can get cold and the long sleeves help with that

I wear a long sleeve top when winter hiking.   It definately does what it says.  My back under my pack is dryer.  The material never feels wet.

I don’t see myself wearing it without an outer layer.   It wouldn’t be an attractive site.

I would try it if I weren’t so fat.

I would try it if I weren’t so fat.

Being mesh, it does have a little stretch. One advantage I found with the wool. Washing in hot water and wearing it wet. It shrunk in some areas, but not others.

I find 60 weight Polartec Alpha to be more suitable as a base layer than Brynje. Softer, stretchier, more comfortable, seems to dry just as fast, keeps a wet windshirt further from skin, vents just as well or better if you open up your shell, and is a great sleeping shirt too. In early spring and late fall I layer two of these under a shell to replace a camp puffy, wear one if the hiking is cold, wear the other to bed, and always have a spare if one of them gets wet. Brynje is much less insulative, so better for warmer temps, but it’s heavier despite being thinner, and I find I hardly ever wear mine. This is partly, though, because mine is a bit tight and the fabric doesn’t give me. By contrast, Alpha does shrink over time, and one of my Alpha sweaters fits snug like a next to skin layer, but remains comfortable due to the stretch inherent its knit structure.

What temp range did you find these comparisons?  I found brynje dryer than octa but less warm, and assume octa and ad will be similar.  I’m curious to retry octa as a base layer in the right conditions.

Being from Norway I can hardly remember a time before wearing fishnet base layers.

I’ve had fishnet base layers from several Norwegian brands, and I while they all had their peculiarities, I don’t remember thinking that any of them were especially better or worse than the other, just slightly different takes on some details that could make me prefer different brands for different activities.

Brynje seem to have found the best business formula, as the others seem to be much less known or even closed shop.

I believe my first sets were synthetics, some 30 years ago, but since then I’ve had long sleeves and bottoms in both wool and synthetic.
I never saw much use in short sleeve fishnets, so It’s only like 2 years ago I decided to try a wool short sleeve. It’s very comfortable and has its uses, but I find merino tees to be more versatile for their ability to keep disturbing sights out of peoples eyeballs and more reliably keeping UV rays off my skin.

In temps below 20 deg F, I wear the poly fishnet under a light merino zipneck.  For below zero I use a heavier merino.  I love this combination.  I stay warm, quite dry and comfortable.  When I anticipate heavy exertion while wearing a pack, I wear a 40 Below vapor barrier vest between the fishnet and merino and it keeps sweat from soaking my insulation layers.  I think fishnet is the way to go in wintertime.

Alpha 60 base layer. Hmmmm… Maybe I’ll get a top and see what I think.

I only use my BRYNJE base layer in winter and love it for skiing. In very bitter weather I wear heavy  polyester “polar” bottoms over the fishnet and under a 2 layer TNF ski pants shell. That combo is extremely warm and I don’t need my insulated bibs. But on those days I’m wearing my heavy HOLLOW alpaca socks with my ski boots. The alpaca socks are amazingly warm.

James R. I had exactly the same thing happen to my wool fishnet SET. Wifey threw them in the drier after being told never to do so. Aaaarrrrggghhh!  She got mad at me for getting mad at her. Typical.  After that fiasco I told her to NEVER launder any of my clothes. That was in the late ’70s and to this day I do  all my own laundry and have my own laundry basked, natch.

We finally got some daytime -25C highs today so went out with Brynje+Lifa+Octa+DecathlonMH100 (200gsm fleece)+Dooy

Was quickly roasting so took off the octa and temps were perfect.  The Brynje kept me nice and dry as always with frost forming on the inside of the Dooy.

That $15Can Decathlon fleece is a screaming bargain but I wonder how much drier a 120 alpha direct would be in the same use case, or layering a 60AD with the octa.  Hmmm…

My problem with my Alpha 90 top (Vado) is that the bottom hem rides up.  Compared to Brynje, Vado runs small. Sizing up isn’t an option. I don’t know if this is typical.