Last month it was my birthday. There was a distinct lack of well wishes and cards from you, my esteemed readers. . . I’ll get over it.

Somehow.

But what made up for feeling ooooohhh sooooo alone, was also feeling so very warm! I received something that I have been pining over since I first laid my fingers on it at Interbike last fall up in Showers Pass swanky hotel suite. I am of course talking about the Body-Mapped Baselayer. Hence, of course the name of the article. This thing is nice. I don’t even know where to start. It’s gray. That’s kind of nice. Gray goes with everything. Even other grays.

It says it’s seamless, but that’s just not true. If you want to get technical, there is a seam around each arm, which means that there is armpit seamage. I haven’t noticed it at all, though. What you will notice more is the lack of seams around your sides and the thumbies. Which means you’re going to be wearing the most comfortable shirt in the world. Seriously, get like five of them.

They have done some sort of special weaving with the spandex, modal, nylon and wool and all that so that it stretches with you. It’s like you’re wearing nothing at all; except you’re comfortably warm. It’s better than being naked. Unless you have a severe wool or lanolin allergy. It is merino wool and smart wool to boot so less likely to cause allergies, but some people. . . you know. . . some people. . . they’re allergic to everything. Thankfully wool is not on my list.

And for those of you that are wondering about the whole vegan thing; I’ve mentioned it before on my blog; I’m not the vegan messiah. I have a lot of health issues and self-care is as much of a priority as my ethics. So, if someone gifts me something that is sustainable and wonderful and helpful to my health, I’m more than tickled (but I’m not, because I mentioned I’m not allergic, and this is a great quality of wool-blend which makes it so it’s NOT itchy!). Wearing eight layers is not pleasant. This fabric is thin. Not to the point it’s see-through or awkward for the ladies; but nice t-shirt material; and it’s warm. I love the fact that I’m not pulling on yet another bulky layer. That’s amazing to me.

Showers Pass have created this specific venting type system with their stretching so that it matches up with their jackets. I actually haven’t worn it with my Shower’s Pass rain jacket yet. I’ll hold them to it that the air vents actually do match up. I like that the gray on dark gray kind of make me look like a futuristic cyborg. Or like someone from Avatar or the Matrix. (I’ve never seen the former, but really like most of the latter films.) I doubt that’s the intention, but you know, bonus!

It’s also super packable! As I mentioned, it’s not bulky. I keep mine crammed at the bottom of my backpack and forget about it. Then When I get cold at work, I can go into the bathroom for a Superman/Clark Kent change and slip it on underneath a short-sleeve shirt and instant warmth.

A lot of cyclists need to learn about layering and how to appropriately use base layers. This is a great investment to that. It gets my flail of approval. Or twitch. Do I do that now? I love mine. I can’t say that enough.