Before I was a cycling journalist I was an exploration geologist. My first job out of University was a winter on a drill rig on the side of a Norwegian mountainside. It was FREEZING. Before I flew out I spent a couple of hundred great British pounds on wool. Merino socks, and Merino base layers. I used the base layers every day for five months straight, and so good were they that, ten years later, I’m still using them each winter for riding.
No, I don’t mean I’ve replaced them like for like. I mean the same item of clothing. The same base layer that I’ve happily used every winter for the last ten years is still going strong and I can’t recommend it more highly.
The base layers in question are from Icebreaker, and my Everyday 200 1/2 zip still comes out of a box every time winter rolls around, and it’s showing no sign of slowing down. The 175 version, an ever so slightly lighter weight option better suited to higher tempo activities, is now pretty heavily reduced for Amazon Prime Day in the USA only, along with a load of other base layers from the brand that I rate too.
While it’s not the exact product I used, the only difference is the wool weight, so I’m more than happy to recommend the 175 and think it is actually an even better option for riding in.
This isn’t a cycling specific base layer, for those you’ll need to go to my colleague Tom’s guide to the best cycling base layers, but nevertheless I still use it each winter.
The high neck means you stay really toasty, especially if you’re also wearing a neck warmer, but the short zip does mean you can open the upper bit of your chest to the wind and dump off some heat on a climb; something that isn’t possible with a crew neck base layer.
The Everyday 175 is made of 100% Merino, and I never felt it itchy at all. It is warm when you need it to be, though I wouldn’t really suggest it for really high tempo riding. Cosy long rides in the biting cold are where it excels. Breathable enough to not cook on climbs, and snug in the chill air. I have even layered a short sleeve Icebreaker base layer underneath it pretty regularly on the absolute coldest days.
Being 100% Merino I found it resisted getting stinky really well – It would easily go a week between washing on fieldwork without becoming criminal – and while it does get a little more baggy with wearing a wash cycle brings it back to a more taught state.
If the high neck and zip isn’t to your taste then the Icebreaker Amazon Store has a load of other options, a lot of which have a big discount today.
The same base layer that kept me work on a Fjord in 2014 is still going today for most of my winter rides. (Image credit: Will Jones)
