Tops for Adventure Racing
By John Walter

It's 1:00 am. I'm trekking with my teammates up to the unknown CP6A, the most recent twist thrown into this race. We're trudging on wet and muddy trails and eventually through snow that was deposited on previously dry trails when a late spring storm dropped 18 inches in the Wasatch Range three days ago. The temperature is in the mid 20's and ice is beginning to form on the small streams that are running down the trails.

My mind drifts back to the start of the race ten hours ago. Paddling on the lake in 80-degree temperatures in the bright sunlight seems so removed to my current situation.

Fast-forward 12 hours and it's almost 60 degrees warmer. We've just finished pushing our bikes 15 miles through 12 inches of snow and the most horrendous, brake clogging mud that I've ever experienced, up 2000 feet to the top of our 300 foot rappel. In the coming hours we'll be trekking, in-line skating, and eventually paddling our way to the finish line.

Adventure racers experience an ever-widening range of extremes. Equipment for adventure racing has to be able to accommodate those extremes, especially when it comes to clothing. Clothing helps to regulate a racer's personal environment, fending off hypothermia at one end of the spectrum, and heatstroke at the other.

This month's review column takes a look at some of the latest offerings in shirts for adventure racing. Instead of a traditional comparative review on like products, we include a broader range of products-from adventure travel type shirts to performance wool sweaters.

Icebreaker Tech Top
Icebreaker Tech Tee
Lava Gear Clothing Parallel 9 Adventure Shirt
GoLite C-Thru Short Sleeve Shirt
The North Face El Cap Shirt
The North Face Tek Tee
The North Face Velocity Tek Tee
The North Face Performance Tank
Pearl Izumi Endurance Tee
Pearl Izumi Sleeveless Ultrasensor Tee
Pearl Izumi Xsensor Tee

Icebreaker
Adventure racing has its roots in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, so it's quite fitting that we reviewed some products that hail from the home of our sport.

The clothing from Icebreaker is made from Merino wool, which has it's home in the mountains of New Zealand. The sheep that produce this wool have adapted to keep them warm in cold and wet conditions found in the higher pastures of the mountains, while keeping them cool at the lower, warmer elevations. Merino wool is about ¼ the diameter of traditional wool. The smaller fibers of the Merino wool means less itch and more fibers per square inch, which means more insulating ability and better temperature management. It has better insulating ability than traditional wool and synthetics. It also doesn't retain body odors, although when wet, like any wool it will have a slight "wet wool" smell to it.

Icebreaker Tech Top
$80

The Tech Top has a generous cut in the length, yet is sized to fit close to the body. It has thumbholes at the cuffs to keep the sleeves in place during activity. It includes a metal zipper for venting. The Tech Top is another one of those products that we were apprehensive about racing in. This is a really nice sweater. It has a mild retro design that looks good in the office or at the club, yet it is made for the trail. I wore this in the race mentioned above during the night and it regulated my body temperature well. By the time I was finished with the race, this originally gray sweater was mud brown. One time in the washing machine and this top looked great again. The only real drawbacks are that it is a little heavier than the synthetic products that we tested, and it didn't dry quite as fast as synthetic materials.

Icebreaker Tech Tee
$60

The Tech Tee is a Merino wool version of the tee shirt. It has the same technical properties of the Tech Top, just lighter in weight and made from a thinner material. The Tech Tee has a longer cut as well. The design is more of a retro look than anything else. I initially thought that wearing this shirt in hot weather would be unbearable. However, I found that as I ran in 80+ degree temperatures, I stayed fairly comfortable. The natural temperature regulating properties of the Merino wool work as well for hot temperatures as they do for colder temps. And don't worry about any itch. This shirt was as comfortable as any of my cotton tees.

Icebreaker is distributed in the US by Gramicci and can be contacted at 800.814.5000 or at www.gramicci.com. Icebreaker website is at www.icebreaker.co.nz.

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Lava Gear Clothing Parallel 9 Adventure Shirt
$70

Made from Supplex, the Parallel 9 Adventure Shirt falls into the adventure travel shirt category. However, don't let this mislead you. This is one tough shirt, designed and tested by kayakers and fishermen of the 9th Parallel North (hence the name). The chest pockets have zippered closures, and are large enough to easily carry your compass, your passport, or whatever else you need quick access to. For ventilation, the Parallel 9 Adventure Shirt sports a two inch mesh panel that runs the full length under the arm and down the side of the shirt, as well as a venting flap under the yoke, and a smaller mesh pleat down the back. Bottom line, you could get married in this shirt one day and then wear it racing in the Costa Rican jungle the next. Lava Gear Clothing makes the Parallel 9 Adventure Shirt for men and women.

Contact Lava Gear Clothing at 888.249.7631 or at www.lavagearclothing.com.

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GoLite C-Thru Short Sleeve Shirt
$37

GoLite has expanded its offerings this year to include some products that are very appealing to the adventure racing market. In fact, they have become the premier sponsor of Ian Adamson's world famous Eco-Internet racing team. Their C-Thru shirt is made with material constructed from fibers that have a patent pending C shape. This gives the fibers more surface area to in turn dissipate more moisture. Constructed with a tight mesh and flat seams, this shirt made with raglan sleeves to insure maximum comfort while carrying a pack. It also has mesh panels that run the full length of the body and under the arms to give better ventilation. Cut a little shorter than most shirts we tested, this shirt works well as a base layer under insulating layers, or by itself on a warm day. The C-Thru shirt is sized for men and women.

You can reach GoLite at 888.546.5483 or on the internet at www.golite.com.

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The North Face El Cap Shirt
$55

The long sleeve El Cap Shirt from The North Face has become an essential item for many racers and outdoor enthusiasts. Constructed from a mesh made from Polartec Power Dry synthetic material, this lightweight synthetic sweater supports a wide range of temperatures. It has gusseted areas under the arms and a relaxed fit. The deep zipper in the front helps ventilate for better temperature regulation. While this shirt is comfortable enough to wear next to skin, it excels layered over a base layer shirt.

The North Face can be reached at 800.719.6678 or on the internet at www.thenorthface.com.

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The North Face Tek Tee
$42

The Tek Tee from The North Face is a lightweight synthetic version of the cotton tee shirt. Also made with raglan sleeves, the Tek Tee has a loose fit for increased freedom of movement. I wore this shirt everywhere: layered under a sweater on cold days, by itself on hot days, on the lake to keep the sun off, and to the gym for the indoor workout. I found myself reaching for this shirt more and more as I was planning for my races, or running out the door for a workout.

The North Face can be reached at 800.719.6678 or on the internet at www.thenorthface.com.

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The North Face Velocity Tek Tee
$38

The Velocity Tek Tee quickly became the favorite top of our female tester. Cut to fit a woman's body, the Velocity Tek Tee is the woman's version of the Tek Tee. It has a zippered pocket at the small of the back that easily accommodates bars, or gel pouches, as well as any small piece required gear such as a compass, although you'd definitely want that pocket empty if you were carrying a pack.

The North Face can be reached at 800.719.6678 or on the internet at www.thenorthface.com.

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The North Face Performance Tank
$42

Another women's product from The North Face, the Performance Tank is cut to fit close to the body, which allows for excellent freedom of movement without any binding or restrictions. It is made from Vaporwick material, which dissipates the moisture more quickly than the CoolMax Alta material. The back panel is mesh, enabling it to dry quickly and ventilate during activities. All of these features make this shirt one highly functional women's garment made for aerobic activities.

The North Face can be reached at 800.719.6678 or on the internet at www.thenorthface.com.

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Pearl Izumi Endurance Tee
$42

When it comes to products for endurance racing, Pearl Izumi is well versed. They have been the major sponsor for Rebecca Rusch's team for the past 4 years and have used that partnership to develop their product line, one of which is the Endurance Tee. It has a hidden front zipper to increase ventilation. The Endurance Tee is constructed using Pearl Izumi's Microsensor fabric, which combined with the loose fit makes this shirt very comfortable. The fabric provided great moisture transfer and dried in a heartbeat.

Contact Pearl Izumi at 800.328.8488 or on the internet at www.pearlizumi.com.

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Pearl Izumi Sleeveless Ultrasensor Tee
$42

Pearl Izumi's moisture transfer material, Ultrasensor, was originally developed in 1981 and has been blended with spandex to create their world class cycling clothing. Their Sleeveless Ultrasensor Tee uses Ultrasensor material woven in a mesh for advanced breathability. While this shirt excels in hot conditions, I find that the inside of my biceps chafe against when I wear a sleeveless shirt, making me opt for short sleeves. However, other testers didn't find this to be the case. Bottom line, this is an extremely lightweight shirt that can't be beat when it comes to breathability.

Contact Pearl Izumi at 800.328.8488 or on the internet at www.pearlizumi.com.

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Pearl Izumi Xsensor Tee
$42

The Xsensor Tee uses the Ultrasensor material combined with X-static, the silver based fibers that fight the build up of bacteria. The benefit of this is that it helps to suppress the tendency for synthetic clothing to retain odors. The X-static also helps to regulate body temperature as well, making this an ideal base layer shirt. While testing this shirt, we found that we could wear it for longer periods of time and still stand ourselves. The true test comes when others can stand to be around you, though. And, true to form, the X-static does help to curb odors.

Contact Pearl Izumi at 800.328.8488 or on the internet at www.pearlizumi.com.

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Summary: There are as many products on the market as there are racers, it seems. While all products aren't going to work for every situation, these products will give you a good start on the clothing that you'll need for your next race.

Walt is the climbing editor/managing editor/webmaster/grounds crew/janitor at GearReview.com