For a riding adventure in Patagonia I expected to see weather conditions ranging from near-freezing to a balmy 30°C and encounter the infamous Patagonian wind that can reach speeds of 100mph and blow motorcycles over.
My answer to this was to take a variety of lightweight layers, including a heated jacket, so I could add or take layers off as the weather changed.
A base layer is the one worn nearest the skin and I choose them for their comfort and tight fit, their ability to wick moisture away and preferably some feature that means they don’t get too smelly too quickly.
For this trip I took the Oxford Advanced Base layer, which fits closely and is very comfortable with seamless construction.
Oxford’s spec says the garment wicks away moisture and I never felt wet and uncomfortable, even on 30°C days while stood on the pegs and manoeuvring a Triumph Tiger 900 around on gravel roads, some of which required a lot of physical activity.
Oxford don’t say if the top has anti-bacterial properties to reduce the smell that comes from sweat and bacteria, though I presume the ability to wick away sweat will help with this and from my experience it didn’t get too smelly too quickly.
In conclusion this is a comfortable base that is a close fit, so my next layers will fit easily over it. It wicks away sweat to regulate my temperature and it can be easily washed while on a trip, in a hotel sink, and left to dry overnight.
I am sure this base layer, which is also competitively priced at £24.99 at the time of writing, will go with me on many future adventures.