Review: Sub-Skin Heat Gear Compression Baselayer

not headless me!

 

I bought through BBS a long sleeve compression baselayer close to a couple of months ago, and have used it for offroad rides, night rides and RTW. In the swimming pool, too. You may have seen athletes wearing them for quite some time now, e.g. footballers in the English Premier League and Major League Baseball players. There are many brands available in the market, including Nike, Adidas, Canterbury, Skins, Zensah, Sub-Skin, Under Armour, etc. Google up 'compression clothing' or 'baselayer', and they'll pop out.

 

The one that I bought is Sub-Skin Heat Gear. That's the cheapest long sleeve I could find, at RM100 postage included. If you're lucky, you could pick up some (other brands) from bundle shops at dirt cheap price, as one of my fellow riders did.

 

What made me use it? A friend of mine suggested for me to try it, as a friend of his who studies sports science recommended so. The main benefit cited was regulation of body heat. The other benefit is that the one I bought is UV resistant, hence I don't have to lather up my arms with sunscreen (lazy!).

 

Compression baselayers have been touted as assisting in reducing fatigue, quick recovery, and getting more power from the muscle. However, those are not included in my reasons of donning the technical garment. In fact, I don't really feel any noticeable difference in those aspects, compared to wearing normal loose jerseys.

 

The one that I bought has anti-bacterial properties. As a result, it's not smelly after being soaked with my sweat from the riding. More importantly, I'm not smelly. It is not of branded technical cloth like X-static on one of my Brooks jerseys, but still it works fine.

 

Yes, I do feel cool when I don the tight fitting garment, with a normal loose jersey on top of it. That's because the material is thin so I need some sort of protection for the cloth itself, primarily; not because I don't have a six pack on my midsection, mind you. Ahem.

 

If you're unsure about the right size for you, furnish the seller your weight and height. He'll sort it out for you. In my case (170cm, 70kg), he recommended using M size and it is spot on. Not too tight, not loosey either.

 

It's counter-intuitive to wear a tight clothing when the weather is hot, but it works amazingly. This is because the thin layer of the cloth wicks away sweat from the skin thus giving the cooling effect. While having a break and idling around, I don't feel cool but it's not warm either. When getting back on the bike and as soon as I started moving, I feel the breezy cooling effect on my body.

 

During night rides, it doesn't make me feel too cold either. It's like it is regulating my body temperature. Like I mentioned, not cold, but not warm either. The cool, breezy feel is there, but not like it would chill my spine out. For my RTW, it felt quite cold at first when the body is dry, but then the temperature regulation takes place once I sweat out. Arrive at the office feeling cooler than without. Swimming? Yes, I wore it solely because I'm lazy to lather sunblock on my body. Also, it serves as a skinny bagging to cover up my midsection (ha!). Initially it is cold during the shower up and dipping into the swimming pool, but after a few minutes, its okay and I feel normal.

 

Is it a good buy? Indeed, for the things that I'm looking for, it works great. If it does assist in faster recovery, reducing fatigue and juicing up power from the muscle, then those are bonuses for me.

 

One thing, though. The seller informed that the cloth should not be washed using washing machine, hand wash only. I see that the instruction states not to wring it. Me? I'm lazy. In the machine it went. So far, it's coming out ok. Well, so far...

 

image from Sub-Skin's ad in BBS.