Backpacker Magazine – Fall/Winter Gear Guide 2011

Gear Review: Mammut Moench Zip Tee

This baselayer fits like a cycling skin suit without looking like underwear

by: Nancy Prichard Bouchard

Tags:
• Apparel
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“It fits like a cycling skin suit without looking like underwear,” says one Tahoe tester who wore this top on more than a dozen low-single-digit ski days in February, then out for dinner at night. In comparison to the Craft top, with its delicate see-through mesh, this top is extremely rugged, with a design that’s more wearable in the frontcountry.

The shirt is made from nine precision-cut panels of Polartec Power Stretch Pro—a nylon/poly/spandex blend—to create a fit that is trim and athletic, with seams that avoid rub-prone areas like the top of the shoulders, waist, and under the arms. That makes it ideal for climbing or any activity where upper body mobility is important. “The tail is cut long (below the hips), and so are the sleeves so there’s no gapping or compromise in mobility while I was wearing this shirt,” reports an Oregon tester who wore it skiing on cold, wet powder days off the backside of Mt. Bachelor and paddleboarding in windy, snow-sputtering weather on the Deschutes River.

“It wicks well, and remained dry so it never got too stinky,” said another tester who logged five days of ski mountaineering in 20°F temps on Steven’s Pass, Washington. The 12-inch front zipper provided ample venting, but the stiff “splash proof” zipper flap rubbed some testers’ Adam’s apples wrong, and seems superfluous on a top that’s not waterproof. Ouch: the price.

$125
7 oz.
m’s S-XXL, w’s XS-XL
mammut.ch


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