The weather has been so bad lately that I have worn my Goretex waterproof continually which has made me realise how rubbish my merino base layers are. I come back soaked from anything longer than an hours ride so its back to synthetic for me.
What have people found to be the best for not getting ridiculously wet?
The Patagonia Capilene are good but very expensive relatively so what else is out there?

I really rate this poly base layer – http://road.cc/content/review/49111-altura-thermocool-base-layer I have a LS version and it’s very good, similar properties as a good merino layer but faster-drying. Great for a multi-day or weekend trip, good alternative to a thin merino base. It seems to cope with a wider range of temperatures than anything else I’ve used. I lived in one for 7 days, from below freezing to 30 deg and didn’t need to take it off.

I think merino is great if it’s a thin layer and you wear a wicking poly layer over the top, with a relatively breathable top layer if needed. Works well that way ime. If it’s overly warm/thick it’s not good on a bike with a WP/goretex layer on top, it’ll get soaked – as will a poly base layer of equivalent warmth. More to do with lack of breathability of the outer than the base layer perhaps.

To wick, I have found nothing comes close to Capilene (silkweight or 2). You can get them in sales, and my three are between 5 years and a decade old, and still going strong…
The issue can be that *any* baselayer will be overfaced by sweat under a jacket.
The downside of so many manmade (e.g. my Beghaus ones) are they feel cold when damp, really cold. For damp, I still prefer Merino mix stylee.

Merino doesn’t really wick, it holds moisture away from the skin and has a decent capacity for doing that, but once you exceed that level, it gets damp like sheep. To be honest, most good quality synthetic base layers should do okay, the majority are some sort of polyester which use a denier gradient, the structure of the fabric, to wick moisture outwards. Capilene varies, but some of it is just Polartec PowerDry, which is very good fabric.

Curved ball though, the Brynje of Norway mesh polypropylene base layers are brilliant thing, though not to be worn alone unless you want to rock the Right Said Fred look. Polypro is hydrophobic so absorbs hardly any water so they dry super fast, the holes in them mean they trap warm air when covered, but also work brilliantly when vented.

There are also non-mesh polypro base layers out there – Helly for example – which work quite well. I like the Rab MeCo – Cocona / merino mix, but it’s arguably not as fast wicking and drying as pure synthetics, though it’s not far off. Also the Arc’teryx base layers seem to work better than most.

oooh, I forgot about my powerdry gloves – the best thing evah for shifting water. I started wearing them paddling, and the amount of beading up of water on them was amazing…IIRC, the newer Capeline 2 is now powerdry…?

I have moved from merino (icebreaker and Endura baba) to Craft stuff for now and its much drier and warmer this time of year. I do like merino but its best on cold dry days for me

I lived in one for 7 days, from below freezing to 30 deg and didn’t need to take it off.

Did you have to have it surgically removed after that! I’ve got an Altura base layer I picked up for a tenner a good few years ago and that’s always been good. It’s always damper on the outside than the inside which tells me it’s doing it’s job. Unfortunately there is no information on what exactly it’s made from.

Odlo is the best for wicking for me

Another vote for Norvegian Brynje, the “fishnet” kind.

Anyhting would get wet though, especially under gore tex, I would try lighter weight merino like on one thin stuff, or a more breathable outer layer, like event.

Anything made from a decent polyamide will do a good job of keeping you dry. Also slightly more expensive ones with bodymapping will help (tight in the right places and vents on armpits and upper back). Man made fibres are far superior to merino.

Cool or summer baselayers (String Vests) are also really worth looking at if your warm under your jacket as these will soak up the sweat and dry quickly.

The top ones I’ve found are:

Craft Zero Extreme or Warm
Odlo Evolution
Under Armour Cold Gear

If your feeling warm look at Crafts Cool Superlight Sleeveless and just wear it under a jersey with your jacket.

In the last 4 years I’ve never ridden without a baselayer.