Sunday, January 29, 2012

OR Discovery-Eucalptex Base Layer: Super Comfort, Natural, Quick Dry, No Smell, No Chemicals

Outdoor Retailer never disappoints. Among all the glitzy big booths and flashy products and technologies small innovative gems hide in the side aisles.

Modrobes eucalyptus based Eucalyptex based layers was one such find. Steven Debus the CEO gave me a long sleeve sample to try.

I gave it the Sam test: multiple days of use for multiple activities. I did a full day of alpine skiing, then under my work clothes, then an indoor hour plus run in warm temperatures with no washing between.

1) Unlike synthetics or my usual winter favorite wool the Eucalyptex is extremely soft and comfortable on the skin.
2) I was never chilled (down hill skiing) or overheated ( running indoors at about 65 F).
3) While it did not dry as quickly as my Patagonia Silk weight it dried about at the same rate as light wool such as Icebreaker 150 or Patagonia Wool 1 and when wet was not clammy.
4) Stink test: smelled fresh after 2 full days of use.
5) Made in Canada from sustainably forested eucalyptus using a closed loop process which is certified to be environmentally safe.

My only concern is durability and care over time. It needs to be washed cold and line dried much as many of the newer base layers,  It may pill when abraded.


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