Deal Alert: Base Layer Tops



CAMPYBOB

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2005
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Deal alert!

Check out your local WalMart for Russell brand 'Training Fit' crew neck long sleeve Dri-Power "Performance Long Sleeve Top" for $11.88 and "Cold Compression Mock Neck Top" at $15.97. Bonus...Made in Egypt. Meh.

These tops make great base layers and are light weight enough to use as a single base layer under a jersey in warmer weather or use in multiple layers under a jersey and/or jacket when the temperature drops.

If your local WalMart has the heavier weight Starter brand compression tops with the mock turtleneck...snag one or two. They make great cold weather base layers.
 
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I've been getting my under layers at Wally World and Target for years. I especially liked the C9 (Champion) form Target but unfortunately they switched brands.

I did snag up some under layers from Wally World about 2 months ago. Nice thick and soft! Few others too when I can find good deals.

Someone did tell me that the Under Armor are superior. So I picked up a couple ($30) and Nike ($40).

I can honestly say now, whoever told me the UA and Nike are better is full of BS! :lol:

I have few Starter under layers from Wally World too. Be careful as they seem to run a bit small and different. I've gotten the same sizes in different colors, some fit and some are super tight. If I ever need to wear an evening gown to a ball, I've got my girdle. :p
 
UA does have the best cold protection, IMHO, for extreme cold, in their 4.0 series (they now have 5.0 which I haven't tried yet). That level of protection would be great for Ohio but overkill in So. CA weather.

I have a few sets of the Russell - comfortable and good for mild cold conditions - definitely a good value for the price.
 
UA is good stuff. I have some UA hunter clothing and it helps keep me warm in the woods. But my old cotton long johns, Woolrich and Carhartts do the same thing. I can layer up using a whole bunch of combinations and stay warm.

My only complaint about UA is at the cash register. Like Arcteryx, Columbia and Nike and North Face and...it's priced as much by trendiness as for quality and features.

And please...whatever you do...don't get me started on 511 'Tactical' clothing and gear.

Training is important and spending whatever amount on clothing that keeps a guy in the saddle is the right decision in my book. Cycling, despite what the retailers and The Rules™ tell us, is NOT a fashion show.
 
Yup, the "premium@ brands are a premium without necessarily offering an advantage.

Cotton though is the only thing I won't wear on a ride except in really hot weather - where the right cotton jersey can be a plus.

Learned that the hard way in November 2012 when I was back into cycling by about 3 months. Got home late from work on a Friday night and in a big hurry to get on the bike. 35ish degrees with fog/mist - decided to just wear the cotton v neck T I had worn under my dress shirt all day as the base of the base - then layered about 4 layers over that - ending with a nylon shell Columbia rain-resistant jacket -

You know the rest of the story - drenched with sweat then chilled to the bone about 20 miles from home at 11:00 on a Friday night - not even a big box in the vicinity where I could have bought an emergency change of clothes.

So it was a miserable lesson learned the hard way -
 
We have ALL learned the harsh lesson cycling in cold weather while wearing cotton. Thankfully, I did learn all about Merino wool at a young age. Yes, I'm so old the only plastic clothes available back when I was a kid was the stuff the Mercury astronauts flew in!​
 
Wool is another story. I keep intending to buy a Smartwool base layer because I love the feel of their winter thermal wool socks ... Just never got around to it yet.
 
I'm learning from you guys. And CampyBob, I can just barely, barely remember the Mercury space program. Which was followed by Apollo. You have a way better memory than me.

Smartwool, UA, Russell, makes my simple brain spin. I'm learning, and will buy.

Bob
 
Quote by BC.
"And CampyBob, I can just barely, barely remember the Mercury space program. Which was followed by Apollo."

With Gemini in between them.


"You have a way better memory than me."

Probably not! I suffer from OldTimers Disease!



Quote by MBB.
"...I love the feel of their winter thermal wool socks..."

Same here. I buy the el cheapo Christmas sale wool socks at Cabela's.

Just yesterday we passed by one of the many Alpaca/Llama/Vicuna ranches in my neighborhood and I told my wife that I needed to stop in the local Alpaca Farmers' Market ripoff store and drop some cash on a pair or two of their ultra soft, ultra warm socks. $15-$27 a pair on Amazon. Probably around the same price made locally by the women folk that have the various farms.
 
I stocked up on the $5 x-tek baselayers at the Menards Thanksgiving weekend sale. They are not super warm, but at that price it is easy to layer up.
 
For summer weight riding, WallyWorld has those neat Starter compression jerseys for about $11, too.

And speaking of the early days of NASA, am I the only one who remembers their concept of a re-usable "space glider" called the Dyna-Soar? :D
 
The Russell compression top is thinner material than the Starter compression top...at least when compared to the Starter brand compression tops I bought a couple years ago. Thus, the reason I snagged a couple of the Russell compression tops and one of the Training Fit Crew Neck tops.

I over-heated in the Starter tops on some of the warmer days I wore them. Aditionally the mock turtleneck collar on the Russell top is much lower than the one on the Starter top. Again, this allows a little better cooling for use in slightly warmer temperatures.

Both brands are really good bargains, as far as cycling wear goes. Buying some of the name brand gear marketed to cyclists will break the training bank a lot faster than WalMart.