Polaris BambooTec Base Layer Review

Simon Tuck

A review of the Polaris BambooTec Base Layer.

You can have all the fancy clothing tech you like on the top layer, but it won’t be as effective if you don’t have a decent base layer. This Polaris BambooTec base layer is a long sleeve base layer made of a fabric containing bamboo charcoal fibres.

The Polaris Bambootec base layer uses bamboo charcoal fibres to control your temperature and odours

Polaris started off making mountain bike clothing in the 1990’s. Based in Derbyshire, they don’t have quite the peloton-pomp of some more exotic brands. Whilst mountain biking is still at their core, they do have some interesting and quite colourful cycling gear for those of us who like a slimmer, more aero fit with our lycra. There’s also provision for the commuter with some comfortable layers that clearly have visibility in mind.

This Long sleeved base layer from Polaris is nice and soft. It’s not a compression fit like most of my base layers are. This might be because it’s not as elastic as synthetic or merino-blend items, or it may be because of the ‘unisex fit’. The only problem with this is if you wear a tight-fitting jersey over the top you may get some bunching up underneath. I had this a little on my sleeves, but because the material is so soft it doesn’t cause discomfort. And winter jerseys are usually thick enough to hide any unsightly folds in the base layer. The BambooTec is soft and gentle on your skin and having the washing instructions printed on the fabric means there are no annoying labels to cause irritation. I’m very sensitive to labels so this made me quite happy.

No labels means no rubbing, a nice touch from Polaris

One day I purposefully wore the BambooTec base layer under a jacket which due to a lack of venting tends to make me quite sweaty. I was quite impressed with how much sweat the Polaris item managed to soak up. Although both the base layer and the inside of the jacket were very damp after fifty hard miles in 3 degrees, once I took the base layer off my skin wasn’t dripping with sweat. Even though I’ve soaked quite a few gallons of pain juice into it over the last few weeks there are no unpleasant odours. I find my synthetic base layers soon develop a remnant odour even though I wash everything with an antibacterial detergent.

Overall I enjoyed wearing the Polaris BambooTec base layer.It was warm and comfortable and that’s what I look for in a Winter base layer above all else. The slightly looser fitting might be a bonus for some and it certainly didn’t detract from the comfort. The BambooTec compares favourably with merino base layers I own and kicks the synthetic ones to the kerb. At £29.99 it’s reasonable value too. The available colours are Dazzling Blue or Lime Green. Whilst neither will be seen when under my cycling gear I think I could just about get away wearing the Dazzling Blue one I’ve been testing out to the park or around the house, which is another benefit of it not being skin-tight.

Polaris

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