Patagonia may not be a pure-bred cycling clothing company, with its heritage firmly rooted in climbing and general rugged outdoorsiness. However, it’s renowned for the quality of its garments, especially its base layers which are industry leaders for warmth and fabric technology.
This short-sleeve base layer, called M3, is made from wool, and although it may look like a common-or-garden T-shirt, it’s actually a bit special.
The M3 is incredibly simple, well designed, intelligently specced and properly built. It keeps us warm and dry under our cycling clothing on any ride that isn’t on a sun-block day.
What’s more, because it’s made from high-quality merino wool, you can get more than one wear out of it before it starts to get smelly. It’s machine-washable, too. This Patagonia top isn’t cheap, but it’ll be a base layer that outlives many of its polyester equivalents.