Merino Base Layer Review by Matt Le Voi
Product Review courtesy of Matt Le Voi of Lakeland Mountain Guides
EDZ Merino Base Layer Long sleeve crew 200gÂ
Price: £49.99
EDZ’s Technical Bit:
100% Merino Wool 200gsm
Machine washable to 30C
Flat seams
Anti odour properties
EDZ Merino wool tops can be worn in hot or cold conditions, soft next the skin & comfortable to wear. Thanks to the natural anti odour properties of wool EDZ merino garments can be worn for many days with out needing to be washed. The EDZ long sleeve crew is cut long in the body, has a dropped back & long sleeves.
The Review:
Before our recent trip to Nepal to climb Mera Peak (6476m) EDZ Outdoor gave me one of their new season long sleeve merino t-shirts to test out on the trails.
In recent years merino garments have shot up in popularity, no doubt because people are finally starting to realise that one good merino top is easily equivalent to 3 or 4 synthetic t-shirts. As a working mountain leader I demand a lot from my clothing, and with my experience in outdoor retail, I understand how each garment is designed to perform. These two factors combined would in fact make me a tough critic.
Two years ago I went trekking in Nepal for 12 days and for the entire trek I wore one top from the Icebreaker RedRam range and it performed very well, exactly as you would expect a merino top to do, so the bar had been set high for this new EDZ top.
For the start of the trek when we were in the foothills I either wore a short sleeve CoCona t-shirt or a short sleeve synthetic top. It wasn’t until day 9 when we woke to a cooler morning at about 3500m that I thought it was time to test out the top. After about half an hour of walking the sun came over a ridge to our right and we all stripped off our mid layers and I was now down to the EDZ baselayer. The day got hotter and hotter and the top was already beginning to impress me. On a day where I probably should have kept on my lightweight short sleeve top the long sleeve merino layer was keeping me just as cool, and just as comfortable.
Even though I have long sleeve base layers I rarely wear the sleeves down and like to pull them up my forearm. The fitted cuffs on the top are firstly fantastic at staying up when pulled up, but unlike many other long sleeve tops the cuff does not seem to stretch and lose its shape, so when you pull it back down it is still fitted to your wrist.
I hadn’t packed too many tops for this trip but I was only intending on wearing the EDZ top for about 3 days when I would switch to a thicker Icebreaker base layer for the summit bid. The Icebreaker top got bumped and I actually ended up staying in the top, day and night, for about 6 days, and the only reason why I changed out of it was because we had descended back to much warmer temperatures after our successful summit bid.
Now I would say 6 days of trekking, including an arduous 10 hour summit day is a fine way to put a top through it’s paces, and as expected the top didn’t smell at all, it had performed perfectly. Furthermore, being 100% merino the top was very comfortable for the entire time, and once again as expected it didn’t ever itch.
The top has since been washed and still fits as it did the first time I put it on.
In Conclusion:
A fantastic t-shirt which performs exactly as it should. Doesn’t smell after use, doesn’t itch and has a superb fit. Finally, the top is at a great price point even though it easily performs as well, if not better, than it’s competitors items that are twice the price! The best base layer top I now own for sure!
Who Am I?
My Name is Matt Le Voi, Owner and Mountain Guide of Lakeland Mountain Guides as well as a general outdoor enthusiast. Furthermore, I have over 3 years experience in outdoor retail for large outdoor stores.
