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Odlo Base Layers
There's a lot of companies producing base layers out there. Some of them are simple, some highly technical; some are a 'me too' product, others have come about as a result of years of research and experience. Most of the product you'll come across is excellent, and reputations have been built on this; Helly Hansen, Skins, Under Armour to name but a few.
Odlo's technical undergarments have been around for a long time, and have been steadily evolving, adopting new materials and designs. It's not a company known for standing still, as their products prove.
Odlo's base layers are certainly more expensive than some competitiors but, the company maintain, you get what you pay for - and in Odlo's case, this includes improved odour management, thanks to the inclusion of silver in the manufacturing process, which stops bacteria from developing. Flatlock seams and high stretch fabric for comfort and freedom of movement so you can perform in your chosen activity with no restriction.
As a retailer, selling the right base layer is partly about engaging the customer in conversation: What are their needs? Where are they going? Ian elaborates: "Ask if they are a naturally warm person? Ladies tend to be colder than men - with almost every couple the ladies will be looking for something warmer, while the guys will generally be looking for something a little bit cooler. It depends on the activity and on where they are doing it, in terms of temperature. Once you know that, you have an idea of what you should be pitching to them."
Odlo's current crop of base layers covers a spread of temperatures that will satisfy any user, from -30 centigrade to 30 degrees+ centigrade. That takes you from the mountains to a European summer quite comfortably - but with the impressive array of product Odlo offers, which is right for the customer? Ian explains.
X-Warm
"X-Warm is for extremely cold weather. It has thicker panels in key positions, this is done by a doubling of the fabric in sensitive areas of the body such as the kidneys, or where there is naturally less flesh on the body, such as the shoulder blades, where you tend to get quite cold quickly.
"We make the material thicker but we still maintain the Odlo mantra of good moisture transport. If you do start to warm up immensely, it will still transfer the moisture away. The thing we think about most of all with the X-Warm product is comfort; the fabric is polyester based, but when we produce it we brush it on the inside so it has the ‘ooh factor' - women in particular love it because it is instantly warm. It is a very, very comfortable fabric.
"X-Warm is wearable at minus 30 and up to 0 degrees if you are not being too active. If you are going to be active, we'd move you up to the next one, which is Warm. The ideal wearer of X-Warm is someone who is out in all weathers where the temperatures are well below zero, and who may not be particularly active.
"Some retail staff tend to sell it to Ski beginners, which I think is a mistake because what you tend to find with beginners is that they are actually working very hard learning new techniques and they generate heat very quickly. It might suit an experienced casual skier, though.
"In the UK, X-Warm is good for hikers who are going into pretty exposed areas, If you're taking a comfortable walk in sub-zero temperatures, X-Warm will work well for you."
Warm
"If you look at our Temperature Control System graphic, you can see how the X-Warm and Warm fade into each other. More and more people are going to Canada and the US to ski, and in particular on the East side of north America it can get very cold, in the -30s and below, and if you are working really hard, really pushing down the hill, you probably still need something like the Warm quality on to keep you warm and comfortable.
"Cross-country skiers could use the Warm, but if they are at competition level, they are likely to be in Light, the next step.
"The Warm customer is perhaps a UK Alpine skier, who goes away for a week- or two-week holiday each year. It is going to be a lot of women again, and some guys will wear it. Basically your Alpine winter skier is going to be very comfortable in Warm. The product has been developed and refined for this exact market over a number of years.
These base layer strata come in different fabrics, too, with the highly technical Evolution product, as well as the standard Originals fabric in Warm. Ian continues: "In the UK, outdoor consumers are very big on Warm through the Winter months. We sell it to running outlets on a regular basis, although the Evolution, which is a newer product, has really taken over on the running side, the seamless body mapping helps keep the overall body climate more constant. Outdoor and skiing are the main customer base for the Warm quality Originals. Evolution is also growing in popularity in these markets and will continue to do so.
"The Originals is a brushed, warm, soft fabric while Evolution is a body-mapped seamless style. Although it is seamless is it thicker in some areas, thinner in others following the male or female physiology. For example, down the middle of the back, we all sweat a lot more than we do across the shoulder blades, so the fabric is thinner down the middle of the back to aid moisture transport and it is thicker across the shoulder blades keeping the warmth in the right place. Evolution is actually made on a 3D knitting system, it is seamless - so there is no need for unnecessary uncomfortable ridges (seams) in order to add thicker fabric in particular areas. It is an amazing product and a manufacturing technique that is up-to-the-minute."
Light
"There's a very broad temperature range for Light, and so there should be, bearing in mind that we have three fabrics now that we produce in the Light quality. We have the body-mapped Evolution, as described in Warm, and we have Cubic, a looser cut and design which is made in little cubes which trap air but also, where the cubes come into contact with skin, they move moisture away incredibly quickly; finally, we have the Originals fabric in the Light version.
"Light is fantastic because you can wear it in a wide range of outdoor temperatures, depending on the activity.
"It's more and more about getting moisture away from the body as quickly as possible. The problem with getting hot is that your body's automatic reaction is to make you sweat to cool yourself down. The amount of energy and moisture that is used really does deteriorate and this affects your performance levels, so if you can control that so you use less energy and less moisture to cool yourself down, and your core temperature stays more constant then your performance will improve - and that's what we aim for with Odlo.
Cool
"This is the hardest sell in the UK; people don't take to the idea that you should wear a base layer when it's hot. They feel that another layer will bring heat, rather than keep their temperature consistent.
"But the quicker you can get the moisture off your skin when you start sweating, the less your body temperature is going to fluctuate. Base layer Cool is all about high breathability and incredibly fast and high moisture transport. Odlo has developed a fabric to deliver exactly that.
"Cool fits into the summer period; from the end of May to September these days you have a temperature on average somewhere between 18 and 22 degrees in the UK, and if you're hiking you can wear Cool and be very very comfortable. People wear Cubic Light, or Evolution Light, but Cool will be a lot more comfortable in those temperatures.
"We are now introducing a really exciting new development - EVOLUTION COOL. This will give you the latest manufacturing techniques combined with the very latest fabric weighing in at just 85 grams with the silver ions permanently in the garment and comfortable in temperatures at 30+ degrees.
"Anybody doing high activity during the summer months is going to want to wear Evolution Cool. If you are out walking, running, horse riding, cycling, or playing golf - any of these activities - you can use Odlo to your benefit. You may not think about it at the time, but it will help your performance because you will dehydrate less and your core temperature stays more constant."
