How to choose the right base layer

Your baselayer is a crucial component of your layering system, its regulation of body temperature, moisture management and wicking abilities allow you to focus solely on exerting your full potential. The most important factor for you to take into consideration when choosing what baselayer will be the optimal fit for you, is the intensity and duration of your intended workout.

First, let’s explore why the three named properties above are essential for your workout.

Nature has provided us with the ultimate training ground, being both inspirational and challenging in and of itself. The main challenge posed can often be temperature. Your baselayer will keep you cool and prevent overheating under warm conditions. In colder conditions, it is your primary layer of insulation, ensuring warmth by trapping air within its fine fibres.

Wicking refers to the way liquid naturally moves between the yarns of fabric in your baselayer. The baselayer is designed to wick moisture to the outside of the garment, where it will evaporate faster, so that this process requires less energy from your body. Ultimately, it keeps you dry. In warm conditions, it will assist in keeping you cool and preventing overheating. During your sessions in the cold, it ensures that as little moisture as possible is held next to your skin, which would otherwise rapidly chill you down. Through 20 years of experience, Dæhlie has developed a complete range of functional baselayers, combining design and comfort with cutting edge fabrics to allow you to maximize your performance. We constantly seek innovation in our fabrics and want to provide you maximum comfort even through your most challenging workouts.

Through Dæhlie’s pursuit of perfection, we have found that the right blend of wool, other natural fibres, and technically advanced synthetic fibers extends the durability of the garment, without compromising quality of its essential qualities.

Dæhlie believes in sustainability and strive for products that will endure even the most intense activities. Through ethically sourced materials, the use of recycled polyester and biodegradable wool, we stand for respecting nature throughout our process, so that you can continue using it as your training ground and source of inspiration.

Nature has provided us with its own technically advanced, high-performance fabric – wool. It absorbs an impressive amount of moisture, leaving your skin dry and comfortable. No matter how hard you push your limits, it still maintains breathability. Wool’s natural fibres adapt to their surroundings and is superior to any other material when it comes to temperature control, both in hot and cold conditions. In fact, we recommend wool year-round for many of your training sessions, as its numerous qualities can significantly enhance your performance, regardless of season.

Wool also has the remarkable ability to break down the bacteria that causes odour, eliminating the need for damaging antibacterial substances to maintain that fresh feeling.

Many baselayers are made with synthetic fibres, and we use polyester in our collection. Polyester is hydrophobic and gives optimal moisture-wicking abilities, moving the sweat away from your body where it can evaporate more efficiently.

This also means that the fibres don’t absorb water, or sweat, allowing the baselayer to dry faster. We see synthetics as the preferred fabric for high intensity or interval training – when you have the option to change as soon as you’re done.

We also use Tencel™ Lyocell in our Performance products, a fibre gathered from cellulose mass from the sustainable eucalyptus tree. This tree grows quickly and is gathered from an FSC*-certified supplier, with no use of genetic modifications or artificial watering. It is as durable as polyester, and soft like silk. Its breathability, moisture management and anti-bacterial properties makes it ideal for both high and low intensity training.