• Specification

• Price: £39.99
• Sizes: S-M, L-XL
• Size tested: S-M
• Colours: White
• Website: Altura
• UK distributor: Zyro Fisher

The mesh panels that can be seen throughout the base layer offer up good levels of ventilation, while the knitted fabric itself feels soft and cool against the skin despite its relatively thick gauge.

Certainly to touch it’s not like those super-featherweight mesh base layers you often see, but instead feels much more substantial. This gives it a little extra feeling of reassurance and warmth when the weather turns cooler too.

However, it does still manage to feel light against the skin, even when working hard to shift the maximum amount of sweat. In an intense turbo session, for example, it performed brilliantly without really making itself known in terms of silhouette or the bulk.

Those hems circulate your shoulders and neckline closely with a great deal of comfort, and if the high cut on the neck worries you in terms of being restrictive (as it did me with me initially), it needn’t. It’s very flexible.

Additionally, the base layer washes through effectively without shrinking or losing shape – something that can’t always be said of merino-based base layers that many prefer – while the quality of the garment is impressive considering the meshed construction, which itself is not always the strongest in my previous experience.

The overall elasticity is a real plus point here, as is the slightly greater thickness compared to other warm-weather base layers that provides a sense of quality and longevity.

Conclusion

This is a great-performing moisture-wicking sleeveless base layer that, although fairly narrow in its cut in the top half, is comfortable to wear and is definitely up to the task of keeping you dry when you get a heavy sweat on.

Pros

• Great fabric comfort
• Very breathable
• Flexible for both cooler and hotter days

Cons

• Very slim upper body cut

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