been shopping this arvo, for a merino base layer.
ended up buying 2.
1 x icebreaker 200 series long sleeve £50
1 x 100% merino identical to the icebreaker 300 series with the zip. £26.99 from BHS.
like this
http://www.icebreaker.com/site/icebreaker_man_bodyfit260_slalom_zip.html
i know it aint icebreaker, but surely merino is merino???
what do you think.

merino is merino

merino is merino and is crap for biking.

They've got some for £20 here but they've only got small left.

Juan – Totally disagree. My base layer is great in winter and definitely not crap. Now if you said "crap for biking outside winter" I'd agree.

Icebreaker is overpriced, overmarketed and overbranded, annoying Kiwi clothing, which plays on some vague nuance of 'exclusivity', contrived by its high pricing and oh-so-authentic NZ origin, in order to generate considerable demand for what is simply a merino baselayer. Merino is just merino afterall.

Merino is just merino, like a bike is just a bike, a car is just a car, a tyre is just a tyre and coffee is just coffee.

Get a grip folks. There's lots of poorly made merino garments out there, from the weave of the fabric to the cut of the garment and the quality of the stitching.

Patagonia from TK Maxx or Endura for me.

Juan, merino is tip top on the bike. Seriously.

+1 for Juan.

It's just a thin wooly jumper that stays wet for ages, wicks poorly and costs a stupid amount of money.

'But I can wear it and it doesn't smell'

..which is only an advantage if you are a stinky monkey, which I'm not.

Got merino, used it, was really surprised that it performs so poorly compared to man-made base layers, gave it away.

Not even as good as this;
http://elucidportal.co.uk/ribble/sp/mtb-bmx-bike/Infil-UNDERWEAR-SHORT-SLEEVE-Infil-Vest-Short-Sleeve-Underwear/INFIZUSS200

I did the two week test with my Endura BaaBaa baselayer – and it still smelt sweet

it sweat a lot, and merino keeps me warm when i sweat.
i tend to chill a bit in manmade stuff like capaline or merkalon.
so i think merino is nice.

merino [icebreaker here] is king for ski / board and bike.

viva the lecht 🙂

I've a HH top that the body and most of the arms are merino and the underam bits are lifa. Used for winter walks in Scotland and its great, but generally a bit warm for biking – until it got really cold. Been using it for a month or so on the commute and it's much better at cheating the wind compared to my long sleeved winter jerseys.

But unless I could get a really good deal on one, I'd still buy synthetic. Just on cost grounds.

juan where do you bike mate .merino & biking is the ultimate .
ton i would still rather invest in the original teile

forget merino….you want 100% Marina

Am I alone in using a man made compression top with Merino on top? Usually with just a shell jacket on top. I cant remember the last time it was warm enough to wear less. Biking and skiing, I love merino but once it gets above 10C it will be gone.

Agree with Juan and Crikey

Over priced, stays wet for longer than my man made layers (and hence keeps me colder), wicks poorly.

Crap selction of colours/designs/shapes etc.

Some odd comments. I have 2 merino tops now (from ground effect) and they beat my man-made stuff hands down.

rofl @ Barry Bethel

They've got some for £20 here

Not any more they don't 😉

merino is merino and is crap for biking.

?

Its the only thing thats gotten me regularly out on the bike in sub-zero temperatures over the past 5months! 😀

Its fantastic. Will pop into BHS- thanks ton. What WERE you doing in there BTW? Looking for a over-50's double GG cup for a lady?

[homer mode on] Mmmm double G cup, drool….[\homer mode off]

I use merino in the summer too, not on really hot days. Although I think it does a good job of keeping me cool.

Plus, how many really hot days do we get?

On the original question though: In the main, I can't justify £50 for a baselayer myself. Cheapy £20-30 ones seem to do the job.

I bought my Icebreakers 10yrs ago when they were circa £25. Expensive then- one has holes but who cares? They both WORK and I wore both on yesterdays STW ride. I'd honestly pay £100 if I thought two items were going to work and last 10yrs and counting.

Aldi did Merino mid layer tops for £15.99, totally brilliant for staying warm in this weather. They do them each year around Christmas for skiing.

Some of the cheaper merino is hand wash only. Bang it in the machine and it shrinks. Like most things – buy cheap and buy twice.

trek mates base layers. man made, cheap, work.

done
its a base layer

if thats too expensive try a string vest.

Icebreaker is a cut above the rest.
Have 150 weight Atlas ss. Lovely and light.
Looks and feels like silk, awesome.
Bought of here for 1/2 price.
The quality, fit and feel is so far ahead of Endura BaaBaa.
Will pay the full asking price, they are that good.
I wear mine off the bike mostly though.
Own 2x Icebreaker, a BaaBaa and a Smartwool. Icebreaker deffo the nicest.

I wear merino all year round. Don't leave home without it. It dries quickly and is much more comfortable then the nasty man made stuff. If you're not wearing merino, I would expect your house to have a black and white TV and an outside loo.

Although I do feel that one day Howies will email me to say they're changing the company name to Scootash in honour of all the money I've spent there.

works really well for me, been wearing my Endura one for a while now.

For those who want to know there are different grades of Merino going on how fine it is, the finer the nicer the pricer, apparently in Oz some of the merino sheep with the finest wool have coats to protect the precious wool.

It's just a thin wooly jumper that stays wet for ages, wicks poorly and costs a stupid amount of money.

Amen to that.
Merino is good as casual t shirt as you don't stink at the end of the day and it's warmer than coton.

I have tried merino several time on my bike.
First during summer/mid season commute. Poo I got in the train all wet and the stuff wouldn't dry during the journey.

I said ok it's me, maybe I am pedalling too fast sweating too much.

Second, I have tried it in a chilly october ride from Fontan up to le lac des mesches and down to bergue up to the fire road and back again. Same, at the end of the first climb (not even 2 hours) I had to remove it as it was all soaked up with sweat.

Thrid during a winter ride up to le mont chauve and same again got absolutely soaking wet to the top, it wouldn't dry and I got a cold.

So that's a no no for me… On a very funny note, the mountain shop next street sells merino. 4 of the salesman are very good moutain bikers (by very good I mean top 20 at la trans vésubienne and the record of la spécial du mont chauve). They have plenty of merino stuff and petrol based stuff. And guess what, they don't use the merino to ride bike.

As above i don't tend to smell when I am sweating during sports. So lets face it, my icebreaker merino top is now my favourite pyjama top…

I have sold vast amounts of Icebreaker in my stores over the last few years, the wool is sourced from some very isolated stations in the south island and is chosen for its unmatched quality, the wool is not contaminated by burrs,(as most Oz wool is) and to be honest the quality control is some of the best I've ever come across in the outdoor gear market. The Superfine rnge is truly miracle clothing, one of our lads from the store wore his in 42 degree heat in singapore and reckoned he was comfortable. I use a 260 techtop as a base layer when boarding with just my jacket over the top, its the best combination of layering i've found over 20 years of wintersports.

bamboo is the new merino.

mountainfactor have 20% off the icebreaker stuff atm (limited stock though)

just bought an Atlas 150 LS – very comfy. Did a 3 hour ride on Sat and it was great.

http://www.themountainfactor.com/

on a plus note
i wore mine yesterday on a 4 hr ride with a thin fleece over the top.
i was warm and snug, and finished the ride slightly damp but toasty.

merino rocks.

I like it but am with the naysayers about it's performance as a technical biking top (when I'm wearing it). Doesn't shift the moisture that well, subsequently making it cold wet and uncomfortable. Don't get the same experience with synthetics.

Best thing I've got is a Groundeffect heatwave top (Submerino http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product-detail-SUB-WIN.htm) that's a bit of merino mixed with a bit of synthetic:

"A bi-component knit combining 62% Merino wool and 38% Polyester. This hi-performance thermal bodywear utilises the unrivalled properties of superfine 18.5 micron merino against your skin to wick away sweat, while the polyester provides a durable, non-pill outer. Light 'n' tasty at just 190gm/m2 and machine washable."

So I'm confused, where should my loyalties lie?

If Ton's a Clydesdale then I always thought GE stuff was sized pretty large (defo' their shorts).

Anyhoo, all this dogmatism about base layers. Internet-warrior-tastic.

It's a classic STW thread, and merino is classic STW wear; too expensive for the oiks, just niche enough to allow people to feel that they are being clever to buy it, faint underpinnings of eco-sensibility, and above all it makes absolutely no difference to anyones ability to ride a bicycle. Particularly not middle aged mountain bikers 😆

…and it doesn't really work as well as the cheaper alternatives.

It's also not really a new idea; my old roadie mates used thin wool sweaters in the years before 'technical fabrics'.

Anyway, as you were..

I've tried loads of different base layers, and merino (Icebreaker – bought cheap off here) is the best at regulating body temperature.

I don't need the non-smell properties as I can wear a synthetic top 3 times without it smelling. I sweat a fair amount and merino gets no more wet than other tops – doesn't dry as quick, but thats its only downside.

The temperature regulating is brilliant though. Shame the Icebreakers are so pricey! Mine was £15.

Got a couple of tops, do need (well, like) the aroma control aspect and I never notice it is wet, on my back under my pack until I am back again. Stays warm if it is wet and feels good, and happily wore it to work for a week when a normal shirt starts to smell by the end of the day (newish and boiled to within an inch of it's life).
As long as lots of you have some that you don't like, fair doo's, bung it on the classifieds, the price is the only thing that slows me down getting more.

Merino is merino… until you wash it. Icebreaker (and some others) are absolutely fine in a 40 deg wash with everything else. Some others I've had came out literally half the size and had to be given away to 7-year-old relatives.

I love icebreaker, but not at UK prices. Stocked up on my last NZ trip!