Anyone else wear.....

[Gareth]

the humble string vest?  After all, if it's good enough for Edmund Hillary then it can't be all bad.

[AimlessWanderer]

It was good enough for Rab C Nesbitt too 

I'll pass 

[Gareth]

It was good enough for Rab C Nesbitt too 

I'll pass 

Yeah, somehow I knew he'd come up in this thread.   Thing is, if you don't wear something over the string vest it won't work.  Mister Nesbitt was doing it wrong.

[styx]

what are they used for? like a normal undershirt or?

[Gareth]

what are they used for? like a normal undershirt or?

that's the idea.  The mesh holes should, in theory, trap air and help regulate body temperature.  Think modern, synthetic, base layer but less likely to make me sweat.

[styx]

ok now they sound interesting

[Gareth]

These seem to be very popular amongst road racing cyclists, though they call them mesh base layers I believe.

[Gareth]

The reason I'm going to give these a go is that synthetic base layers always make me sweat (and I've tried a lot of different ones from cheap to top of the line) and I don't care about how well something "wicks" sweat/water in your clothing layers isn't good when hiking in cold weather.  So, for the last couple of year I've gone back to a cotton t-shirt and greatly lessened the amount I sweat.  Now I get the disadvantages of cotton; once it's wet it holds the water and so cannot hold air pockets that make for insulation.  Of course as long as I don't get the t-shirt wet then this isn't actually a problem, but things can go wrong. 

The idea of the mesh/string base layer is that it's less likely to make you sweat in the first place, isn't affected by being wet (the open weave doesn't care if the fabric is wet) and so will maintain a good level of insulation.

The disadvantages are that you must use them under a "capping" layer that'll stop the wind from taking away your nice warm air pockets and that I've been told they might cause a level of chaffing if they do get wet. 

Of course, none of this would be an issue if synthetic base layers didn't make me sweat, but sadly they do.  YMMV.

[styx]

Damn that's insightful. Well if it works for you then great. And don't forget that an extra layer might help with chafing which cotton can cause

[AimlessWanderer]

The reason I'm going to give these a go is that synthetic base layers always make me sweat (and I've tried a lot of different ones from cheap to top of the line) and I don't care about how well something "wicks" sweat/water in your clothing layers isn't good when hiking in cold weather.  So, for the last couple of year I've gone back to a cotton t-shirt and greatly lessened the amount I sweat.  Now I get the disadvantages of cotton; once it's wet it holds the water and so cannot hold air pockets that make for insulation.  Of course as long as I don't get the t-shirt wet then this isn't actually a problem, but things can go wrong. 

The idea of the mesh/string base layer is that it's less likely to make you sweat in the first place, isn't affected by being wet (the open weave doesn't care if the fabric is wet) and so will maintain a good level of insulation.

The disadvantages are that you must use them under a "capping" layer that'll stop the wind from taking away your nice warm air pockets and that I've been told they might cause a level of chaffing if they do get wet. 

Of course, none of this would be an issue if synthetic base layers didn't make me sweat, but sadly they do.  YMMV.

Good luck Grampa 

I do get the theory, but I think times have moved on a bit    Fair play to you though if you haven't found a modern replacement that works for you. Just remember to pack some plasters too, to protect from joggers nipple 

[NKlamerus]

The reason I'm going to give these a go is that synthetic base layers always make me sweat (and I've tried a lot of different ones from cheap to top of the line) and I don't care about how well something "wicks" sweat/water in your clothing layers isn't good when hiking in cold weather.  So, for the last couple of year I've gone back to a cotton t-shirt and greatly lessened the amount I sweat.  Now I get the disadvantages of cotton; once it's wet it holds the water and so cannot hold air pockets that make for insulation.  Of course as long as I don't get the t-shirt wet then this isn't actually a problem, but things can go wrong. 

The idea of the mesh/string base layer is that it's less likely to make you sweat in the first place, isn't affected by being wet (the open weave doesn't care if the fabric is wet) and so will maintain a good level of insulation.

The disadvantages are that you must use them under a "capping" layer that'll stop the wind from taking away your nice warm air pockets and that I've been told they might cause a level of chaffing if they do get wet. 

Of course, none of this would be an issue if synthetic base layers didn't make me sweat, but sadly they do.  YMMV.

Good luck Grampa 

I do get the theory, but I think times have moved on a bit    Fair play to you though if you haven't found a modern replacement that works for you. Just remember to pack some plasters too, to protect from joggers nipple 

Grrr. Joggers Nips will be the death of me. Surprising it only happens with 50/50 shirts.

[Gareth]

Trust me gents, the plasters are already on the packing list for the next outing.

[dks]

A vest with smaller holes will work better, by the way, as it stops/slows down the occurence of convection currents in the air pocket.

[kkokkolis]

I had a light blue one when I was younger. I  made some holes on it and wore it either as it was or over a black Tshirt. In fact I considered it lucky because I wore it during my exams for  the Medical School. I kept it somewhere but my wife threw it away stealthly at some point. No puzzle, girls loved it (it was perfect with that Heavy Metal look I had then).
Apart from that it was good for old time (WWII) tank or battleship in the tropics service.

[nervium]

i always wear, pure cotton. good for health, bad for charisma ))

[Gareth]

Funnily enough I've just been using these for the last couple of weekends.  I've been very happy with the results; nice and regular temperature, not too hot when working hard, but stayed nice and warm when camping out for the night in -3C.  Suiting me much more that synthetic base layers have done.

[Crow]

It is a good shirt. Just dont wear them with backbag on a long hike. You will get nice cross design on your skin.

When i was in army, we were issued two of these shirts, and istructed how to use them. Alltough our shirts had short sleeves on them.

[styx]

well technically t-shirts are underwear

[MadPlumbarian]

I used to, but then switched to a v-neck tee, the older kid on the other hand loves them.
JR