VIV SCOTT's review of Chocolate Fish Merino Baselayer [long sleeve t-shirt, leggings and boxers] for UK Climbing after using it for trekking, climbing and skiing in Alaska, June 2009

...the best base layers I've ever used by miles and already up there with my favourite take everywhere, everytime kit... superb.

TRIALS UK RECOMMEND CHOCOLATE FISH

WHAT !!!.... I hear you say, and no we haven't lost it ( well… not completely). Chocolate Fish is a range of clothing which has amazing thermal properties.We have been testing the range over the last few weeks in the bitter cold of the snow and wind and have been very pleasantly surprised at how warm it kept us. We have no hesitation in recommending them to you, even though we don't sell them direct, because they are that good. have a look for yourself here Chocolate Fish Website and stay nice and warm

Chocolate Fish new Taranaki Zip Neck, Beanie. Crew and Leggings update:Pete Mcfarlane - Scotland's outdoor guru to thousands - says this of Taranaki baselayer:

Regular listeners might remember the Taranaki long sleeve T-shirt from Chocolate Fish that I featured a few months back. On almost every trip I’ve had since then it’s been my baselayer. I’ve worn it to work, so it’s been crawling around on its belly under church floors looking for cast iron pipes, inside steam boilers repairing the brickwork. I’ve also layered it under a t-shirt for both practical comfort and insulation and also to look like I’m not 40 in about ten minutes.

I’ve washed it in water that was far too hot, I’ve left it lying crushed and festering at the bottom of the washbasket on occasion and it’s been accidentally tumble dried with Holly’s stuff on more than one occasion. Simply, I’ve tried to destroy it and failed.

The Crew is a great bit of kit. It’s been great to wear, performs as you’d expect a nice bit of merino to do and it’s kept its shape. The seams, which aren’t flatlocked, haven’t caused me any grief. This is something which always comes up in reviews and in popular opinion, flat lock seams don’t chafe. I think we need to revisit that and say “Well finished seams don’t chafe”. It looks well used now, but there’s no holes and there’s no burst stitching. But, a couple of weeks back it got put in reserve when the new Zip Neck arrived for test. The Zip has a finer fabric (it’s worth reading about the fabric on the Chocolate Fish website and the links from it, there’s a wealth of ethical and environmental information there as well as the genuine Kiwi credentials) and the same long body and sleeves. Teamed up with the Taranaki leggings from before, this has been my winter kit for the last few trips.

For the recent tent-in-a-blizzard trip the Zip and Leggings were my sleep kit and comfort was sublime, cosy, dry and smelling of roses was the order of the day night. The high collar is great, but there’s always a worry that a baselayer zip will irritate my neck in my sleep, but it was fine. In fact the zip hasn’t caused me any grief in that way, even when layering up under other stuff. That’s the joy of using intelligently designed midlayers as well, collars made to allow baselayer underneath. They don’t all do it you know.

Coming back into winter you realise a few things again. Merino is where it’s at for your first layer, it’s just more comfortable and it protects you from the unfriendlines of softshell pants against the skin. You don’t stink in the tent or in the motor on the way home. Last Saturday there were four of us in merino from wrist to ankle and the journey back was entirely pleasant.

I like the Chocolate Fish stuff. The fabric strikes the right balance between stretchy softness and having a bit of resistance. The cut is just right for me, the tops keep my kidneys warm and stay tucked in, the leggings don’t have an irritating waistband or ride up the crack of my arse (these things are vital to our mission and must be shared), and the Beanie is magic.

Yes, the Beanie. A simple wee bunnet made from fabric offcuts from the Taranaki kit, it fits under a helmet, a hood and weighs nothing. I had to fight Holly for it at one point as well, so there you go, it’s also a natural fibre non irritating weans heid warmer. Another thing, there’s important words attached to Taranaki kit. The obvious ones are well used above, but these need saying; independant and different. I’ll be using it all constantly through winter, I’ll come back again and see how it’s survived.

Jane Francis writes in her Antarctica report

Working conditions [Seymour Island, Antarctica] were pretty harsh - the island has no ice cover but is made of bare unconsolidated sediments. It was dusty and dirty work. The clothes did not get washed for two months and were used for more than 12 hours per day, day after day. Only the toughest survive.

My thermal underwear was made of superfine merino wool. My long-johns were worn for a week under cotton moleskin trousers while out to work. They also stayed on for the night so got a good test for 24 hours a day. They were great - very comfortable and a good fit. They felt softer and less sticky on my skin than synthetic thermal underwear. After a week's rest under my pillow (the Antarctic equivalent of a wash cycle!), I wore them again and they were still comfortable - they did not go too baggy and they did not smell too bad. I will certainly wear them again for comfort. The Zipneck was also soft and comfortable to wear, and made an exceedingly comfortable top to wear when travelling.

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