Baselayers, almost by definition, wick. But midlayers typically do not. Fleece might a little if the brushed side faces the skin, but it’s not designed to spread the wicked moisture across the outer surface like something like Powerdry does. Alpha Direct is the midlayer of the moment, but despite it’s high efficiency and breathability, it don’t wick. Oversized powerdry HE (R1, Thermal Weight Cap) or Powerstretch could work, but both have lots of spandex to make them stretchy enough to wear next to skin without constricting movement. In a midlayer that kind of stretch isn’t as necessary, and the spandex isn’t optimal for moisture management.
My winter layering has relied on Thermal Weight Cap or R1 for base/midlayer. But having the baselayer serve both wicking and insulating functions has its drawbacks, as does having one’s midlayer next to skin, and I’d like to try a superlight and thin merino base and wicking midlayer as replacement combination.
The only thing that really fits the bill for a wicking base without spandex that I know of is the Toray fleece used in the Kuiu Peleton 97. That’s supposed to wick, right? How well?
Anything else out there?
Does Polartec make ~100 weight Powerdry without spandex?
(BTW, why wicking midlayer? To have cake and eat too. Like Buffalo or DriClime, but modular. If you can get your insulation to help move moisture outwards, why not? )
