Le Col Winter Long Sleeve Base Layer

Tell us what the product is for

Le Col says: "The Winter Long Sleeve Base Layer is designed to keep your core warm on the coldest days. Sitting next to skin and worn under your jacket as part of a layering system, the Winter base uses Polartec® Alpha™ on the interior layer and Polartec® Powergrid™ Fleece on the exterior to offer the best thermal protection.

"Ergonomically designed to sit close to skin, with a lightweight, low bulk construction the combination of Polartec® fabrics ensure warmth is maintained when temperatures dip into negative numbers while keeping bulk to a minimum.

"Polartec® Alpha™ was developed for the U.S. special forces to regulate comfort in changing conditions. Requiring consistent warmth and breathability in extreme temperature variations without the need to remove layers. These qualities are closely aligned to those of a cyclist in the colder months.

"Polartec® Powergrid™ is a patented grid construction knit that increases warmth and breathability, while also reducing fabric mass."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

8 sizes for men, 5 for women

Seems strongly made but the stitching is lumpy and untidy.

Le Col's main aim is to create a warm baselayer at minimal weight and at this it has succeded; I used it down to -4°C under a warm outer layer and was comfortable. Breathability of the back panels was good, and the fleecier front got quite "dewy" on the surface which suggests it's doing its job. The poor fit of the arms and neck compromised the warmth, though.

I have doubts about the long-term robustness of the Polartec Alpha fabric (the fleecy parts); essentially an open mesh with fluffy fibres woven through, it seems quite vulnerable. The Polartec Powergrid seems stronger, despite its light weight. The stitching, though unattractive, does seem strong.

Le Col says the garment is designed to fit close to the skin; I found it did this except at the cuffs. The Polartec Alpha fabric has good horizontal stretch but not as much vertically, it seems, which may be why I was having to pull it down at the hem and cuffs a fair bit. The Powergrid fleece has better stretch.

According to Le Col's size guide, my 40in chest and 32in waist put me firmly in medium territory, but I found it short in the body and sleeves.

It comes in eight sizes for men, five for women.

Light for the warmth offered, though no lighter than, say, the Spatz BASEZ 2.

The fabrics used certainly seem warm and comfortable. The choice of where to use the fleecy fabric seemed odd in places – under the arms, for example. The very open neck doesn't seem right on a baselayer, and the fit at the cuffs could be better as, combined with the short sleeves (on me), it pulled up at the wrist.

It's the same price as the Spatz BASEZ 2, but there are a lot of cheaper options out there that do a good job.

For the quality of the cut, build and limited features, I think it would be reasonable to expect more for your money.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

OK so far; we'll see how the Polartec Alpha stands up in the longer run.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Le Col aimed for a warm winter baselayer that is light and breathable and has achieved this using the Polartec fabrics. Unfortunately I thought the performance was mainly tied up in the fabric rather than the rather crudely designed and cut layer that Le Col has produced.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Warm, good breathability.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Low on features, odd choices about where to use the Alpha fleece, poor cuffs, too much exposure at the neck, short sleeves.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's the same price as the Spatz BASEZ 2 (£74.99), a feature-laden garment that offers similar warmth and is almost identical in weight.

Another baselayer that uses Polartec fabric – though this time the Power Dry specification – is the dhb Aeron Polartec. Stu Kerton found this had plenty of length in the sleeve and it may be more versatile as it looks less bizarre. At £50 that's good value.

Use this box to explain your overall score

My experience of this garment is that the fabrics perform very well: I had a nice warm core and arms in some pretty awful conditions. The Polartec PowerGrid fabric used in the back and sleeve tops has good stretch and excellent moisture transfer, and though the fuzzy Polartec Alpha is less stretchy it did its job of gathering moisture on the surface when I worked hard. However, the odd looks mean you're unlikely to wear it other than as a winter base, which limits its versatility. Le Col has also put the warmest fabric under the arms, which seemed wrong to me, and the cuffs and neck are crudely seamed and some of the seams are lumpy. All in all, I thought most of the best things about it came from the fabric choice, and Le Col could have made a better garment from it, especially at this price.