Bespoke Blog

I'll admit that I'm a bit of a base layer fan. The fabric tech appeals to my geeky side, and the insulation appeals to my "not freezing my butt off in the Peak District" side...

Base layer technology has advanced a lot in the past few years. Gone are the days of simple polypropylene fabrics like the classic Helly Hansen blue tops. They were great at wicking away sweat, but also tended to get stinky within hours and were frankly more suited to hiking or climbing than cycling, where they could actually cause you to overheat.

Modern tech has brought new fabric ingredients and new ways to weave them, and the spread of merino wool from niche to mainstream brings non-itchy insulation that gives an unrivalled balance between light weight and high performance, and naturally resists odour.

What's the difference between the Heavy base layer and the Mid base layer?

A new style for Autumn/Winter 2018, the Mid base layer is, as the name implies, a lighter weight than the Heavy base layer. This gives it more versatility through autumn and spring weather as well as in the milder days of winter.

The Mid may be lighter weight, but it is still optimised for cooler conditions, just less extreme than the 'deep winter' capabilities of the Heavy.

• The Mid is made with a 115gsm weight fabric, with 30% wool
• The Heavy is made from 156gsm weight fabric, with 38% wool