Vitalise Base T- Shirt & Ionic II Half Zip Fleece

Review Score

We've given the Vitalise Base T- Shirt & Ionic II Half Zip Fleece the Thumbs Up award.

This was a hands-on product review. The product was supplied to us to test and conduct the review.

Price Guide

Vitalise Base T- Shirt & Ionic II Half Zip Fleece Photos

Our Review

When you are off up the mountains it's vital that you are prepared for all weathers. With a DofE silver practice expedition in the Berwyn mountains imminent, it was time to test out a couple more DofE Approved products.

Our friends over at Craghoppers sent over a couple of things to try.

First up: Vitalise base T-shirt

Key features:

• DofE approved - i.e. the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme have recommended it as ideal when our kids go off on DofE expeditions.
• Crew neck
• Quick Drying
• 100% polyester

The T-shirt's quick-drying fabric wicks away moisture from the body, making it much more comfortable to wear on long day adventures.

It was a comfortable fit and for a fussy teenager, there were no complaints on the style. The polyester fabric allowed plenty of movement and was comfortable to wear, even with a heavy rucksack.

So after a couple of days hiking on the beautiful Berwyn mountains in October, what was the verdict?

Well, nature surprised the DofE expedition team, by providing glorious autumn sunshine!

During the daytime, it was T-Shirt weather, so the Vitalise base T-shirt proved very useful.

With a very heavy rucksack on her back, my daughter was glad of the wicking properties to keep her comfortable in the warm sunshine.

The lightweight material added to the comfort and the fact that it packed small meant it was easy to fit inside a full rucksack.

you don't have to be going on a DofE expedition to wear it

At night it was rather chilly, so the t-shirt worked well under a fleece as a base layer.

This is a great technical T-shirt at a reasonable price. Of course, you don't have to be going on a DofE expedition to wear it. It's a good outdoor technical t-shirt for everyday adventures.

Next: Ionic II half-zip fleece

Key Features:

• Polyester microfleece
• Elasticised bound cuffs
• Half-zip with inner zip guard
• 100% polyester
• DofE approved

A fleece is an essential item for any outdoor actives whatever the weather throws at you. Lightweight, quick-drying and insulating makes this fleece a great choice for outdoor adventures in all seasons.

My daughter loved the style of it.

Sometimes fleeces can look a little plain and boring. The sporty elasticated binding to the cuffs and zip area added a touch of style, as well as being functional as the binding added shape to the cuff area giving a better fit and helping with insulation.

The inner zip guard added to the insulation around the neck area and there was no catching of under layers in the zip. The zip was a good size and rather funky; no fiddly little zip!

So the verdict after a few days in the mountains? Well, the fleece did its job, when the cool chilly autumn air descended on base camp, the fleece provided a good insulating layer.

As the fleece was lightweight it was easily packed away during the day in the rucksack.

My daughter loved the styling of it and had no complaints on its performance. I might be borrowing it from her - as I loved it too!

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