Tad Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 OK, It's time to replace my trashed base layers and wonder if anyone uses LIFA brand and why. It's a brand I've never bought but am curious about its performance and comfort from a "real" user's standpoint, beyond the advertising and sales talk. If you don't use LIFA what brand(s) do you find perform and fit well? Polypropylene, polyester, silk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeclimb9 Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 I'm slowly re-replacing all my synthetic base layers with wool blends. Same brand of stuff I used back in the eighties (and I wonder why I ever used the polypro stinky layers). The Ullfrotte brand (http://www.ullfrotte.com/) works great. I recently did a bike tour in southern Utah, and wore the same clothes for eight days --the smell was comparable to about two days in polypro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmoss Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 I've got a patagonia silk weight capaline T, and man does that thing soak up the man funk. I have to leave it outside when I get home from a trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobinc Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 SmartWool is effective, even if it is kinda expensive. It is comfortable over a wide range of conditions and is easy to clean. It does tend to stretch out after repeated use and washings, but overall I prefer it over polypro, especially on the funk factor scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellemontagne Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 I made the move from Capilene to Mountain Hardwear's ZEO2 long underwear a few years ago. the ZEO2 was great at wicking and absolutely superb at odor control. Mountain Hardwear has since dropped ZEO2 in favor of a product called eXtend. It's basically Malden Mills Power Dry fabric with silver weaved into the fabric. As some may know, silver is effective at preventing bacterial colony growth.. Katadyn also uses silver mbedded in their ceramic filters to kill any lingering bacterial colonies in their filter elements. Anyway, Sporthill SportHill also sells products using the same Malden Mills fabric. Their brand is called X-Static. I bought one of their X-Static Zip T's, and it works VERY well. In my opinion, it is superior to any base layer I have used. Odor control and wicking are great. An advantage to buying from SportHill is that their Zip-T's with the same silver material as Mountain Hardwear eXtend line are $20 less. I think I paid around $45 or so for an X-Static Zip Tee from Sporthill. They don't have the products listed on their website, but you can order the product directly from the company. Either way, Mountain Hardwear's eXtend line and Sporthill's X-Static line are definitely worth looking at (and definitely superior to the other products on the market). From an (un)paid endorser of Mountain Hadwear and SportHill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 My vote's for smartwool. Like tracking who's who in professional sports these days, the underwear industry is just as confusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 I'll probably get slammed for this, but I like a cotton shirt for comfort and breath-ability. I strip down when I'm heading uphill with a pack on so that I don't get all wet, and when I do soak my shirt with sweat, I take the first possible opportunity to peel it off and put it back on over a sweater so that it dries out. By carefully avoiding wearing a wet underlayer all day, I am usually warmer than my buddies who soaked their synthetic base layer that is supposed to be warm when wet. No responsible person could recommend cotton, but my point is that no miracle fabric will keep you comfortable without a steady effort and some attention on your part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by mattp: I'll probably get slammed for this, but I like a cotton shirt for comfort and breath-ability. I strip down when I'm heading uphill with a pack on so that I don't get all wet, and when I do soak my shirt with sweat, I take the first possible opportunity to peel it off and put it back on over a sweater so that it dries out. By carefully avoiding wearing a wet underlayer all day, I am usually warmer than my buddies who soaked their synthetic base layer that is supposed to be warm when wet. No responsible person could recommend cotton, but my point is that no miracle fabric will keep you comfortable without a steady effort and some attention on your part. i like that malden powerdry that you can get from almost any company. and i find if your next layers are breathable/wicking they end up stinking and not the base layer cause all the sweat transports into them... not going to happen with goretex over your base layer, but with a regulator jacket and then a windshirt or schoeeler top, or with some powershield over top, it works great. or with just your base layer and a good breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tad Posted March 1, 2002 Author Share Posted March 1, 2002 Freeclimb9: What's Ullfrotte made of besides wool? Is it at all scratchy when moist? Stretch factor could be a bit of a problem especially when you pay so much for this stuff! > I agree with airmoss about Patagonia accumulating funk. I had an REI top that suprisingly stayed pretty funk-free. > Bellemontagne: Sounds like silver is a good idea, but I wonder if it makes you more of a lightning rod! > Mattp: I'm suprised! How do you change when the conditions are "full-on"? >> SO, has anyone tried LIFA? Or are the signature arm stripes too much for everyone? I know they have a new weave thats supposed to perform better than the older stuff both in wicking and odor control. Thanks for the replies so far. I'd welcome any more before I head to the store soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Tad: Freeclimb9: What's Ullfrotte made of besides wool? Is it at all scratchy when moist? Stretch factor could be a bit of a problem especially when you pay so much for this stuff! > I agree with airmoss about Patagonia accumulating funk. I had an REI top that suprisingly stayed pretty funk-free. > Bellemontagne: Sounds like silver is a good idea, but I wonder if it makes you more of a lightning rod! > Mattp: I'm suprised! How do you change when the conditions are "full-on"? >> SO, has anyone tried LIFA? Or are the signature arm stripes too much for everyone? I know they have a new weave thats supposed to perform better than the older stuff both in wicking and odor control. Thanks for the replies so far. I'd welcome any more before I head to the store soon! I got a 2-yr old LIFA and a 6-month old MEC powerdry an the powerdry is warmer and stretchier and less smelly and goes thru the drier better. i mostly wear the LIFA for summer stuff now because, as noted, it is not as warm. both are black by the way. i would recommend getting a color other than black for extensive summer use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Yount Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 I've got 2 long sleeve crew and 1 long sleeve zip-T LIFA, with cute stripes on the upper arms, I still use them and they still work, all from early 80's. Mine aren't as warm because in 20 years they've become thread-bare with small holes cropping up. I've no idea what they made since then.... Patagonia silkweight and silkweight stretch are the most durable, some of the best looking and best performing base layers I've tried. I don't have any funk issues, but maybe that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 moths dont eat polypro but they sure eat wool! I cant imagine how the sheep survive in heavily moth-ridden areas of the planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 ask cavey, i think he has a small flock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeclimb9 Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Tad: Freeclimb9: What's Ullfrotte made of besides wool? Is it at all scratchy when moist? Stretch factor could be a bit of a problem especially when you pay so much for this stuff! . . . SO, has anyone tried LIFA? The Ullfrotte top I have is 60-25-15% wool-polyester-polyamide. The inside has a texture like terry cloth and doesn't itch at all when wet, moist, or dry. I also have some old Ullfrotte bottoms that are 52-33-15% wool-fibro-nylon, and they itch a little. The torso length stretched a little upon wearing, but retracted when I washed it. LIFA is Helly-Hansen's first layer, and they make good stuff. But it's still polypro which needs a bactericide to kill the funk. It is possible to revive polypro funky clotes with Mirazyme brand enzymes. BTW, the SmartWool is supposed to be great, but I went with Ullfrotte because of lower price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 I wear all Helly hanson lifa long handles, the current generation of fabric. It is a great layer because it feels fantastic against the skin and is very comfortable in a range of temps. You've got to get the newest stuff though. Last year I was in a Helly Hanson store and they did not even have the new suff, only the old scratchy stuff! So far the only store in the US that I've seen it in is Teton Mtn in Jackson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredrogers Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 A big thumbs up fpr SmartWool. Their current "next to skin" is a bit heavy as a baselayer (think 100 wt fleece), but not bad for cold weather stuff. They'll be releasing a whole new batch of lighter weight and better/more styles this fall along with outerwear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 ...once you try a wool baselayer you will be sold and never want to go back to polypro again (although i haven't tried wearing wool baselayer in summer yet) -funk factor goes WAY down, esp on multi day trips, and the performance is way better than poly or capilene, it seems to stay dry a lot longer and then never be as wet and saturated feeling as a soggy set of polypro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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