Helly Hansen Merino Review
Worth £60 for a baselayer? We think so!
Here at MI, we offer a large range of baselayers from some of the world's biggest brands. But what differentiates from garments at £5 upwards to this Helly Hansen garment at £60?
Our friends at Helly Hansen kindly gave us some garments to test out in early September. This Merino 1/4 zip baselayer having recieved the most wear, tear and hammer so far.
Helly have certainly been extremely busy in the last 18 months, their new product launches have been real cutting edge, great on the eye and as expected using the technical fabrics they are synonymous with.
So to this tested garment. As very often with Helly, they have taken their workwear garment ideas from the sports range, which is no such bad thing. Reading the reviews on Helly's sports site for the sport version of this garment shows 110 reviews with average of 4.9 out of 5, suggests a good product. The reviews showed a lot of wearers in snow/wintry conditions, including skiing.
You may have heard of Merino wool, but what is Lifa? Lifa™ is Helly Hansen's registered trademark for it's own Polypropylene fabric composition that wicks moisture away. Lifa's job is to transfer the heat (and sweat) away from the body to ensure when you perspire you don't overheat, then start to chill when it's wet.
So to Merino wool. This is a type of ultra-fine soft wool that is harvested from a Merino sheep from the South Island of New Zealand. Merino is the outer layer of this garment, giving you the warmth whilst Lifa stops you over heating. Pretty nifty gear.
So what makes Merino garments higher in price? Merino wool is sold on auction. 2016 merino wool was sold out more or less as soon as it came off the sheep. So demand is outstripping supply.
So to our review! We have worn the Navy garment since early September. It has been worn on it's own (no inner layer, no top over it) in 15c sunny weather, and has also been worn in 2c cold warehouses. Both times, the top has been excellent, with a lovely feel to it. It is available in four colourways, Navy, Steel (blue), Grey and Black.
When first putting the top on, the Merino wool, gives it a super smooth feel to it. As you would expect with any wool garment, you may see a little change in the feel after a few washes. This has now been washed at 40c on approx ten occasions. We thought it be good to put a photo of the top now (see below). This after been worn for a few days, so needs an iron, a wash and a better camera than an iphone. So at least we are showing it in it's worst light.
If you are a thicker set, heavier body shape this may not be for you but still worth trying on. It's a super, slimming fit of a garment and does the job for me (6ft, 12 stone and a bit skinny) in a medium fit.
The zipper is a real nice feel, and quality touch and even though the neck is quite high, doesn't get in the way and feels nice on the skin. We like the HH logos on the neck and the base of the rear, subtle but well positioned. We appreciate some people like big logos on garments, then others prefer the more subtle option - this is the subtle option.
As like the sports range Merino offering the top is extremely lightweight, so needing the warmth you don't need heavy material to keep you toasty. As said above this has been worn in 2c warehouses, but also whilst sat at my office desk in slightly warmer conditions.
For someone that often wears technical tops like this from sports brands, this is right up there and costing no more. We would suggest it's not light enough to run in, but other than that it ticks the boxes.
We would absolutely recommend Helly's Merino offering, we think the price is worth paying. Remember that the best way to keep warm in cold conditions is to layer up, not wear bulky non breathing garments. This clearly does the trick, as you can pop a lighter top garment over it, to keep you warm in the cooler months.
If you want to ask any questions just email us here and we will answer questions - enquiries@misupplies.co.uk
You can order this Merino garment here from MI.
