First Lite Men’s Wick Longsleeve Crew

Best wicking

Photo: ALBANESE

Brand: First Lite

Model: Men's Wick Longsleeve Crew



Our take No baselayer will stop you from sweating, but this one will at least keep you from marinating in it. The Wick combines a blended fabric (65 percent merino wool, 33 percent polyester, 2 percent elastane) with tiny, embedded grains of volcanic sand (you can’t feel it) that use billions of micropores to increase surface area. The result: “I got sweaty on my skin up New Hampshire’s Mt. Moosilauke, but everything dried out in 10 minutes and I didn’t catch a chill on the way down,” one tester says.

The details Mesh panels in the armpits and along the sides add venting, and a loose fit makes the Wick extra-comfortable. Its fabric withstood heavy pack straps and skis over a season of use without pilling. Yay: “The thumb loops and cuffs extend over your hand to cover all the way up to the fingers,” one tester says. “It was great for skinning, when I didn’t want to put on gloves but still needed some extra protection.”

$80; 8 oz.; m’s S-XXL

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