Marmot Lightweight Kestrel/Lana Crew
Best value baselayer from the Fall/Winter 2018 Gear Guide.
Dollar for dollar, this is the best top we used this winter. A versatile, no-frills synthetic number, the Kestrel kept us happy through the skiing months and well into hiking season with its quick-wicking and -drying properties and comfortably flexy fit. Thin and light, its sweet spot is the 20s through the low 50s.
THE DETAILS
Sweat management is characteristically swift for a synthetic (the Kestrel is 87 percent polyester, 13 percent elastane): “While hiking near Vail in temps that reached 60°F, I was a little toasty in this plus a light jacket,” says a tester. “But it did a really good job of keeping moisture away from my body.” We noticed no pilling after a full season of testing. Ding: It gets ripe after just one sweaty outing.
TRAIL CRED
“It’s a trim fit, but the material has a lot of stretch,” reports one photographer tester. “While skinning up to Red Lady Bowl outside Crested Butte, Colorado, it never inhibited my movement when I was hunching over in weird positions to get the shot.”
Weight: 10.6 oz.
Sizes: Men’s S-XL, Women’s S-XL
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See more of the best Baselayers for Winter 2018
See the entire Winter Gear Guide
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