After more than 20 days in the Rab, I say the slight dip in feel is dramatically overshadowed by the versatility and performance benefits of the merino-Cocona blend. Pure-wool baselayers have the unhappy characteristic of staying sodden once you’ve wetted them out. I wore the Rab MeCo to the Alpine Training Center on two occasions, soaking it thoroughly during one of my suffer sessions. After a 15-minute ride home, the T was nearly dry–something my pure merino layers won’t do.
The funk factor is huge with Cocona, too. Pure merino resists the funk extremely well, better than 100-percent Cocona garments. The combo, though, of merino and Cocona–Rab’s MeCo–seems to have all the odor-resistance of wool, with the above-mentioned benefits of the poly. I wore the MeCo T for 14 days–climbing, at the ATC, mountain biking, and demo’ing our garage–and I could perceive a tiny funk if I literally inhaled through the armpit, but that was it. (Yes, I should probably live in a cave alone and be a virgin…but the gods know I do these sorts of things for YOU, the devoted reader.)
I’ve yet to pop a stitch or snag a fiber, so durability looks good. I absolutely loved my patagonia ultralight, wool baselayer, but after two years it is totally shot. Time will tell if the Rab fares as well, but my gut is that it’ll last a bit longer due to the Cocona content.
Flatlock stitching is low-pro and comfortable.
Fit-wise, the T is definitely a narrow/slim/performance fit. I’m 5’10”, 170 lbs, so from the pics you can see it runs towards thinner frames. If I could change one thing, I’d make the torso an inch longer, to keep it tucked in and under a harness while climbing. That said, I wouldn’t say the torso’s too short, just that I appreciate longer tops and I noticed the Rab wasn’t quite as long as some other Euro brands.
Rab makes bottoms as well, but I didn’t get a glimpse of ’em. I run so hot anyway, I rarely have use for baselayer bottoms. They’re out there, though, if that’s your style.
Colors–I’m not sure what other colors it comes in. Mine is sort of a gold/wheat with dark gray panels. Not bad, but I prefer the red of my long-sleeve zip-T to the gold. Check the site or a retailer for more options.
Looking down the road, I’m especially stoked to review Rab’s much-heralded hardshell crafted of Polartec NeoShell. NeoShell is the latest-greatest hardshell material, fully waterproof, but many times more breathable than Gore-Tex and even better than eVent. The material is garnering rave reviews already, but it really shines in colder weather, so I’ll wait and give you guys a good glimpse of it once the temps go down in the fall. Preliminarily I’ve really liked it–it wears like a softshell and has a great cut. Stay tuned.
