Words by Issa Breibish // Photography by Nita Breibish

Background

It may seem a little strange that I’d take time out to review something that often goes completely unnoticed but after this latest trek I felt that the folks at Performance Under Gear deserved a review. I’ve had one set of liners for the past three years and they’ve seen over 25,000 km on them – and they’ve been worn for every single one of those kilometres. I also wore them for two full seasons of track as well.

Purpose

Simply put, the undergarments are designed to keep the rider cool in warm weather by wicking away moisture from the skin using Coolmax® Extreme freshFX technology. As an added benefit, they make slipping riding gear on and off rather easy compared to struggling with gear on sweaty skin. I’ve ridden without them before and getting gear off at the end of an eight hour day can be a chore nobody wants.

Results

There are two things about this gear that really stood out for me over the past 25,000 km. Firstly, they don’t trap odour at all. Not to say they won’t get stinky if you don’t wash them but rather, when you do get around to washing them there’s no lingering smell in the fabric. At all. I can honestly say I’ve never had synthetics that didn’t trap something over time, but these things are as fresh as the day I got them after a wash.

Secondly is the quality of manufacturing. Like I said, 25,000 km and I have yet to see a sign of wear anywhere. The seams are still perfectly intact and my typical wear spots (such as elbows, inner thighs and knees) show no signs of thinning or wear. It’s a remarkable product.

In the heat the product did exactly what it was supposed to – my body felt more comfortable and less, well, sweaty than it would have without. And, although they’re not designed for cold weather riding, I find it so lightweight it just adds another layer of comfort from the environment without adding any bulk, especially when the temperature fluctuates such as crossing mountain passes into basins.

The call

At around $60 for the long sleeve mock-neck shirt and $60 for the compression legging, they’re not cheap. But if you look at the level of increased comfort, quality of manufacturing and the (astounding) durability of these things I’d have to say that the typical rider would be getting a lot of value for their dollar.